Americans with Disabilities Act is critical legislation enacted in 1990, drawing heavily from the 1964 landmark Civil Rights Ruling. The ADA Act ensures that organizations protect their users or customers from discrimination based on their sex, race, national origin, or religion. The Act later got amended to encompass protection for disabled users.
Thanks to this Act, companies built accessible restrooms and adopted wheelchair access ramps at their workplaces. Since the Act came into play, equal-access accommodations have become the norm in contemporary architecture.
Little did the advocates of this ADA bill know that it would have different applications in the future. The entry of the Internet introduced an interesting caveat to the ADA regulation conversation. It became apparent that the Internet was the future business place. And, there was a need to make the WWW accessible to not only non-disabled people but to the disabled as well. An ADA website compliance audit, therefore, determines whether your e-commerce website is friendly to the disabled.
What the ADA expects from e-commerce sites?
Although proactive amendments to this legislation in the late 2000s, ADA website compliance standards are often subject to different interpretations. The closest connection can be inferred by referencing title number three of the ADA. This title requires business owners and organizations to provide equal access to all their legally certified disabled users. This statement likens a website to a place of public accommodation, and as such, it ought to have all the safeguards in place to ensure the disabled get equal access.
Considering a website as a place of public accommodation is indeed a valid argument. After all, there are millions upon millions of online shoppers. These shoppers need to be provided with an equal-access platform to make the right spending decisions, just like their able-bodied counterparts.
Landmark Case Ruling
U.S.courts have proved a link between commercial websites and the standard workplaces where ADA rules are in play. In a landmark case, the courts ruled that Winn-Dixie’s supermarkets’ website had violated ADA rules. The case found that the supermarket’s website was unsuitable for people with low vision. The website was found guilty of discriminating the low vision shoppers.
The problem with linking ADA rules to websites arises because there is no explicit federal rule. The U.S.continues to add more ADA regulations that only serve to complicate the already confusing issue. In 2018, the UU.S.authorities introduced new ADA accessibility requirements. All federal websites should now comply with the WCAG 2.0 Level AA ADA regulations.
In a recent turnaround, however, the current administration seems keen on undoing this legislation. A push for the deregulation of the WCAG 2.0 Level AA policies is being lobbied in Washington. This move has come as a shocker to the disabled community.
Does the site have to be ADA compliant?
Since it’s not yet clear how ADA rules apply to commercial websites, it’s not mandatory to comply. But, it’s a great idea to put up measures to inch closer to compliance, lest you want to get sued.
WCAG Over ADA Rules
WCAG, or Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, is a set of recommendations for websites. It’s not a must that you adhere to these guidelines. No one will penalize you for overlooking these rules. WCAG breaks down the internet access issue into three levels.
Level A
The first level, Level A, addresses the most pressing and urgent problems of web users. Your websites need to have user-friendly navigation to pass this level. This level focuses on the site’s overall functionality.
Level AA
The second level of compliance is known as Level AA. At this juncture, the law expects your commercial website to work on fine-tuning the user’s experiences.
Level AAA
Finally, the top level of compliance is Level AAA. It’s the highest standard of them all. It requires sites to have the necessary features to allow disabled users to get complete access to all site’s data.
ADA regulations focus on these poignant areas.
1. Understandable
The disabled user needs to comprehend all the data and information available on the visited website. The user needs to understand the site’s navigation as well.
2. Robust
Your website should be versatile. A compliant website is constantly evolving to meet the growing and changing needs of disabled users. Ensure your sites are fully compatible with all leading operating systems and screen readers to avoid locking out the disabled.
3. Operable
The commercial website needs to be visible to all users, not just the visually impaired. All site functions must be operable via the user’s keyboards.
4. Perceivable
Users should be able to find all the information on your website. To do so, the site owner must provide audio descriptions for any videos on the website.
A standard ADA test for compliance checks the following:
- All files should come with an ‘alt’ tag
- Place descriptive HTML tags on all online forms
- Use anchor text to describe hyperlinks.
- There should be a “skip navigation” link.
- Sites must use the proper header tag hierarchy
- The colors should be in line with WCAG regulations
- Making all the fonts accessible
- The call to action buttons should have an ARIA label
- The contact us page should be readily accessible
- The website should have passed WCAG tests
Checking your site’s Compliance Status
It’s now possible for anyone to quickly test their website’s accessibility. To check your pages, head to the ADA compliance website check tool to find your rating. Or, install the Accessibility Google Chrome Extension and test your site’s compliance manually. Both tests are free. There are different approaches to achieving that compliance. These include having the proper header structure, enhanced readability, link texts, and improved file accessibility. In short, you should design a website that engages visual, motor, hearing, and cognitive abilities.
