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Needs For A Web Accessibility Conformance Statement
Posted on By Author ADA Support Categories Articles

Needs For A Web Accessibility Conformance Statement

A web accessibility conformance statement serves as an evidence that your website is accessible. There are tons of benefits for this, starting from legal to company goodwill. The internet today is ingrained in every facet of our lives.

Different people from all walks of life rely on it in one way or another. And that also includes disabled people. With a conformance statement, you are officially ADA compliant. Here’s all you need to know about an ADA compliant website.

What Is Web Accessibility And A Conformance Statement

The ADA requires websites to be accessible for disabled users under Title III. It states that places of accommodation need to provide equal access to users. And websites are categorized as places of accommodation.

So, according to the law, a website in 2022 needs to be accessible to all kinds of users. This includes people with disabilities ranging from hearing, visual, and also cognitive.

Private plaintiffs can file a lawsuit if they find a website inaccessible. This is where a conformance statement comes in. What does conformance mean then? A conformance statement is just a simple proof that you’re doing it right.

It means that your website is accessible. To be more specific, it’s compliant with WCAG 2.1 guidelines. ADA doesn’t have any formal guidelines or criteria as to what guidelines a website should follow for ADA compliance. But the WCAG 2.1 guidelines are used as a general standard.

The Importance Of A Conformance Statement

A web accessibility conformance statement not only saves you from legal liability but also works to create goodwill as well. Legal fees for accessibility cases can skyrocket. Although most companies usually settle. And that can be around $14,000.

Litigation, on the other hand, can cost around $100,000. But the long-term impact is much more. If your website is not accessible, you might be losing potential customers. Simply because they are just unable to use your website. And that can end up costing much more.

It’s always in the best interest of any company or individual that owns a website to have an accessible one. It shows you care about your visitors. And this creates brand goodwill. In this hyper-competitive market, goodwill is priceless. That’s why an ADA compliant website, along with a conformance statement is crucial.

A Deeper Dive Into The Conformance Statement

A conformance statement is written by a third party who has thoroughly tested your websites. This is done to avoid any conflict of interest.

But that isn’t all. To receive a conformance statement, you need to keep in mind a couple of things. Let’s break these down further.

WCAG 2.1 Guideline Levels

WCAG 2.1 has multiple levels. A, AA, and AAA. A is the minimum level of accessibility requirement level. But it’s risky to only aim for the minimum. A lawsuit can be very costly. So, to cover all liabilities, companies should aim for at least AA.

Multiple Pages

Some might think that only the home page needs to be accessible. That isn’t the case though. If a visitor needs multiple pages to complete a task. All of those pages need to be compliant. For example, if a visitor is to sign up to your website.

They might need to click the sign-up button on the home page. And then navigate to a page where they will create an account. And finally, finish signing up. All the pages involved in this process should be accessible. That means it needs to follow WCAG 2.1 guidelines.

Third-Party Content

If your website has third-party content, it needs to be compliant and accessible as well. Monitoring systems will help identify any parts of the website that don’t meet ADA compliance.

This will help companies to catch liabilities much more quickly. An expert ADA compliance consultancy service can also be very helpful. You can check the WCAG 2.1 guideline yourself for specific web accessibility terms.

Wrapping Up

An accessible website creates a better and equal opportunity for everyone. At ADA for Web, our experts can help you with everything related to web accessibility and ADA compliance. When you have the right partner, then you don’t need to worry about accessibility-related issues.

What Law Firms Need To Know About ADA Compliance Online
Posted on By Author content@adaforweb.com Categories Articles

What Law Firms Need To Know About ADA Compliance Online

ADA Compliance stands for the Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design. It entails the accessibility of all digital information and technology to people with disabilities. No business or company is exempt from adhering to the ADA and should be familiar with its requirements as stated. More specifically, web accessibility for law firms is crucial!

Most expect law firms to be among the most knowledgeable groups of people who deal with legal requirements. As this industry deals directly with the law, lawyers are typically the last people who would want to get involved in legal issues.

However, is the matter so severe that you need to hire an ADA compliance company to review your website? So to answer all your questions and for law firms to become experts on this topic, this article will cover all you need to know about web accessibility for law firms.

What Does ADA Compliance For Websites Entail?

Numerous laws in the US give disabled people civil rights. These laws include the 1990-enacted Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the 2008-enacted Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAAA). These laws forbid discrimination against individuals with disabilities and call for institutions to provide them with reasonable accommodations.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – Title III states that no individual shall be subject to discrimination based on their disabilities. They have the right to experience the equal and complete enjoyment of services, goods, facilities, advantages, and privileges of any public accommodation by the person who owns, leases, or operates it.
The law covers both physical and online businesses, including service providers and retailers on the internet. In other words, your website content must be available to all users if your company has an online presence. Adjusting your website to make it more user-friendly and accessible for people with disabilities is a vital part of this.

Why Should Law Firms Ensure Their Website Is ADA Compliant?

Undoubtedly, ADA compliance for websites can be a headache with many rules and regulations. Some law firms disregard the law entirely when developing their websites. But if Kylie Jenner and Winn-Dixie can get sued for their websites not being accessible to everyone, you may face severe consequences as well. Some possible consequences you may face include –

1. Legal Fees
Attorney fees can be pretty high if a company defends itself in court. Also, keep in mind that if the company loses the case, it will likely be responsible for paying the plaintiff’s legal fees and other costs.
Target eventually settled a class-action civil lawsuit in 2008 and paid more than $6 million for damages. They also had to pay an extra $4 million for the plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees in addition to this charge.The cost of ADA non-compliance to the company, including personal legal fees, was probably over $15 million.

2. Civil Penalty
Your company might also be required to pay a fine to the government if your website is inaccessible to specific people. Other than court costs, you may also need to pay fines to the government.
A company that violates the ADA’s accessibility regulations may need to pay between $55,000 and $75,000 in fines. Continuous violations can incur even more considerable penalties of $150,000 or more.

3. Staff Training
Let’s say you forgot to make your website accessible. Your actual storefront may fully meet the ADA requirements. However, the court might insist that you and your staff undergo ADA training.
Consider how a 2012 update rendered the website inaccessible to screen readers, leading to a lawsuit against Seattle Public Schools. The school had to settle and spent about $750,000 on an accessibility coordinator, ADA staff training, lawyers’ fees, website upgrades, and website maintenance.

How Can Law Firms Make Their Website ADA Compliant?

It’s best if you kept some factors in mind to make your law firm’s website ADA compliant. They are –

1. Optimized media: For videos, images, and audio files on your website, you must include alt tags or text descriptions incorporated into the website’s source code. Screen reader websites can read and describe the content of your website, which people with visual impairments frequently use.

2. Simple, User-friendly Website: An essential practice for law firm websites is to have a simple, user-friendly design accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. The elements of your website, such as the menus, links, and everything else in between, should be simple to understand and use.

3. HTML standard tags: This is an essential requirement for ADA compliance. For people with disabilities to easily read or hear the contents of your webpage, everything should be available in plain-text format.

4. Navigability with a Keyboard: Many disregard the ability to navigate a website using only the keyboard. But many people with disabilities won’t be able to use the website without this feature.

Conclusion

Nowadays, website accessibility for law firms is a pressing issue, but many often tend to disregard it as they are not knowledgeable enough about it. So here we shared everything you need to know about web accessibility for law firms.

Hope this article has informed you about the importance of hiring an ADA compliance company ASAP! Thanks for reading up till now.

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