5 ADA Compliant Website Tips Business Owners Need To Know

Technology is part of everyday life with no signs of slowing. This makes it absolutely critical to have an ADA compliant website. Not having an ADA compliant website could be costing your business big time.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted in 1990 as a civil rights law protecting those with disabilities from discrimination. The ADA law is definitely applied to businesses, for employees and customers alike.

In 2018, new ADA regulations were served up in the online, digital arena. If you have a website for your business, especially in the space of ecommerce, you need to be ADA compliant. ADA compliant business types include:

  • Entertainment venues
  • Retail stores
  • Restaurants
  • Small and mid-cap businesses
  • Large enterprise companies
  • Local, state, and federal governments

Why does all this matter? Well, being ADA compliant is of course important. Having an ADA compliant website ensures your business is following the regulations set by the federal government.

Always good, and don’t think your website is safe from an ADA Compliance Title III lawsuit. In fact, 2019 was a breakout year for website accessibility lawsuits.

According to the Bureau of Internet Accessibility, “The surge in digital accessibility lawsuits over the past few years is something those in the industry — and certainly those who were sued or issued a demand letter — are well aware of, but in 2019 accessibility lawsuits caught the public eye more than probably ever before.”

You may have heard about the website accessibility lawsuit against global entertainment superstar Beyonce. Yes Beyonce.com was accused of not being accessible to visually impaired and legally blind persons. Retail businesses took a big hit in 2019 for website and app accessibility lawsuits, accounting for 60 percent of all ADA lawsuits.

 

Disclaimer: This post and the headline is my opinion. I provide facts throughout to inform that opinion. I am also not a lawyer and this post does not constitute legal advice.