The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides for people with disabilities to have equal access to public places. Most of us are familiar with it in buildings: wheelchair ramps, elevator buttons in braille, and other instances. But recently it has played a more prominent role in access to websites. Due to increased awareness of this issue, it’s something your business may need to address.

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What is an ADA-compliant website?

In the strictest sense, it is a website that meets the standards set by section 508 of the government code on accessibility. One of the primary facets is that all content be available in text format. This means:

1

Text

Capital T, signifying textWhat looks like text on a web page can actually be a graphic. We don’t build our sites that way, for various reasons. The upshot is that all the text on the sites we build is just that: text.

2

Graphics

JPEG symbol, with picture iconAny photos or other graphic items should be accompanied by a description in the code. Again, something we normally do, since it is part of good, standard site-construction practice.

3

Video

Graphic of a film clapperIdeally all videos would include a transcription, although a brief overview may suffice. We do this as part of our SEO campaigns, so we’re well-versed in the techniques.

4

Documents

PDF document iconPDFs are the most common. Depending on how they’re created, they could be graphic or text. To confirm to ADA requirements, they need to be text. Besides those criteria, many of the rest involve making sites logical, easy to navigate, and in general, user-friendly. All of these items are simply part of good web design, which we have been practicing for years.

How much does a compliant site cost?

Most of the time, the items mentioned above are all included as part of our normal pricing. When additional work is involved (like transcribing videos or recreating PDF docs), there may be a nominal upcharge.

What if your site is not in compliance?

We strive to build all websites with as much accessibility as we can reasonably manage. However, true ADA compliance can only be achieved through an outside 3rd party vendor. Unfortunately, it can be prohibitively expensive. If you want that guarantee, we recommend engagement with a 3rd party certified ADA testing compliance agency.

We can put you in touch with agencies that specialize in ensuring that your website is fully ADA compliant. Please ask us if you are interested.

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