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Getting Threats from Lawyers About ADA Compliance? Here’s How to Make Your Website ADA Compliant

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Get groceries delivered, schedule a doctor’s appointment, send an email, view baby shark videos, or apply for a job. The Internet can help us with nearly everything. Now assume you can’t do any of these. 

It would be exasperating. Would you desire this life-changing technology? 

According to the 2017 Handicap Statistics Annual Report, 12.8% of Americans, or 42 million individuals, have a disability. Ordering things, scheduling appointments, or filling out simple forms on websites might be difficult for some folks. The site is not accessible if someone with a hearing, visual, or physical handicap (including senior age) cannot use it. 

It’s an issue. Web accessibility is expensive to ignore. Elevato is here to help. https://www.elevatodigital.com/ada-website-compliance-how-to-make-a-website-ada-compliant/

This blog post will help you understand accessibility and make your website ADA compliant. 

Accessibility is being available to everyone regardless of handicap, circumstance, or other factors. We’re all familiar with physical accessibility: wheelchair ramps, elevators, braille signs, etc. As the Internet has developed, accessibility has expanded to include the online as a public environment. 

(In case you’re wondering: Internet access does not equal web accessibility, even if they seem similar.) 

How accessibility has moved online 

Disabled people are protected by the ADA. Publicly accessible enterprises must eliminate impediments under Title III of the legislation. Some courts have held that websites are “places of public accommodation” and must comply with accessibility rules. 

How does ADA compliance affect websites? It requires accessible content, video, graphics, forms, guides around the site, approval buttons, and more. Let’s discuss the various disabilities and how a website may accommodate them. 

Visual Impairment

Visual impairment is usually the first thing we think of when considering website navigation concerns. From slight vision loss to blindness, this impairment can occur. 

Web navigation for visually impaired people involves: 

  • Zooming or expanding text 
  • Using a screen reader to read text 
  • Read Braille 
  • Bright modes 

Challenges: 

  • Pictures/videos without text 
  • Contrast 
  • No keyboard support 

Auditory Impairment 

Auditory impairments include hearing loss and hearing aid use. Despite having excellent eyesight, these people may not be able to hear a site’s video or audio. 

Web users with aural difficulties typically utilize the following: 

  • Transcripts/captions for audio 
  • Media players with font-adjustable captions 
  • Audio material may be stopped, paused, and adjusted. Background noise is readily identifiable from foreground audio. 

Challenges: 

  • No captions 
  • Text size and loudness cannot be adjusted. 
  • Illegible text 

Cognitive Impairment 

Cognitive impairment includes neurological, behavioral, and mental diseases that may influence users’ interactions with their surroundings. ADHD, ASD, learning problems (dyslexia), memory impairments, multiple sclerosis, and epilepsy come under this group. 

Web information is commonly navigated by cognitively impaired people using: 

  • Clear organization 
  • Link titles and simple navigation 
  • Form and button labeling consistency 
  • Content suppression options 
  • TTS software 
  • Webpage or text enlargement 

Challenges: 

  • Navigating complex buildings 
  • Audio and video that cannot be turned off or suppressed 

Disability 

Physical disabilities include arthritis, carpal tunnel, paralysis, and amputation. 

Disabled people commonly utilize special technologies to connect with web content: 

  • Mouth stick, head pointer, or other typing assistance 
  • On-screen keyboard with trackball, joystick, etc. 
  • Switches actuated by foot, shoulder, etc. 
  • Hands-free solutions include voice recognition and eye tracking 

Challenges: 

  • Interactive clicks 
  • Sites without keyboard support 

Impaired Speech 

These people struggle to speak. Speech impairment doesn’t normally apply to websites, but any program only accessible by voice or a firm that only supplies a phone number would be inaccessible to a speech-impaired individual. Instead of a phone number, the website should provide an email address for communication.