Substance and Style

If your business or organization has a website, and it probably does, it should be accessible for people with disabilities. Websites are considered public spaces; as such, there are serious ramifications for running one that isn’t accessible. 

There’s a lot of confusion about Section 508 Compliance, ADA Compliance, the difference between the two, and who must comply with each. Whether your business or organization is legally required to comply will depend on your specific circumstances, and you should definitely check with your lawyer. But, in general, the breakdown is as follows: 

Federal and government agencies must comply with Section 508. Nonprofits that receive federal funding or pass through funding from federal sources, businesses that contract with the federal government, and businesses and nonprofits that provide services to the federal government and/or organizations that receive federal funding must all comply with Section 508. 

Any other business or nonprofit organization must comply with ADA guidelines. You may be exempt from these rules if you are a religious organization that does not receive federal funding or if you are a business with fewer than 15 employees. Again, this will depend on your circumstances, so please check with a legal expert in your state. 

Failing to comply with Section 508 may result in the loss of government contracts or government funding, as well as lawsuits and fines. Failing to comply with ADA may result in lawsuits or fines. Inaccessible websites are considered discrimination against people with disabilities. 

If you are required to comply with Section 508, your first step should be to prepare an Accessibility Conformance Report using a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template. Visit the federal government’s 508 page for information about how to fill out and submit this form.

Baseline Best Practices

The Worldwide Web Consortium (W3) has developed a set of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which are the baseline standard for web accessibility. The latest version of these guidelines, WCAG 2.2, was published in October 2023. This set of standards is used to check for both ADA and 508 compliance. Whether you’re required to comply with ADA or Section 508, make sure your website meets these standards:

1. Your site should be responsive. It should have the same functionality regardless of whether the user is on a computer, tablet, or phone.
2. Your site should work with any screen orientation. 
3. The overall design should be as uncluttered as possible. 
4. If there are introductory videos or visuals, there should be a link to skip to content.
5. The menus and links should be consistent on all pages so that content is predictable. 
6. Navigation and layout should be simple and logical. 
7. Pages should have clear, descriptive titles. There should be headings and a clear hierarchy of information.
8. Each page should have a correct language attribute. 
9. Pictures, videos, and any other visual elements should have “alt-text.”
10. Charts and graphs should have clear descriptions. Any information conveyed by color should be able to be understood without color. 
11. Tables and lists should be consistent across the site.
12. Videos should have captions.
13. Autoplay should be disabled for videos. 
14. There should be an option to turn off any elements that blink or flash. 
15. Fonts should be legible, at least 16 points when possible, and able to scale to at least 200% without losing quality. 
16. Text should have enough contrast against the background.
17. Links should be descriptive and clearly indicate a purpose. For example, Visit My Site rather than Click Here.
18. The color red should not be used to indicate required fields or errors on forms; errors on forms should have an explanation of the error and how to correct it. 
19. Forms should have a logical, easily understood layout. 
20. Forms should not “jump” when someone is filling them out. 
21. Tasks that “time out” should have adjustable times.
22. Javascript should be as unobtrusive as possible. 
23. Content should not require “pinching” or two-fingered tapping to function correctly. 
24. Someone who cannot use a mouse should be able to navigate your entire site using the keyboard. 
25. The content of your site should be able to be read by screen readers.
26. PDFs and other documents should be able to be read by assistive technology. 
27. Shortcuts should not consist of a single character and be able to be accidentally triggered by voice-to-text.

Site Testing Resources

The best way to have an accessible site is to build it from the ground up. If your site has been around a long time, and you’re trying to make existing content accessible, it can feel very overwhelming. In the end, though, it’s worth it. Making these updates helps people with disabilities use your products or services, and will also help you avoid legal trouble. Use these sites to get a quick idea of how much more you need to do:

https://accessibe.com/accessscan

https://www.accessibilitychecker.org/blog/ada-website-compliance-testing/