ADA Website Accessibility Guide for Small Businesses
An accessible website is one that people with disabilities can use: people who are blind and use screen readers, people who navigate with a keyboard instead of a mouse, people with low vision who zoom in, and people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Accessibility is also good business. It reaches more customers, improves search visibility and reduces legal risk.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Talk to an attorney about your specific obligations.
Does the ADA apply to websites?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) predates the modern web, so it does not list technical website rules for private businesses. However, U.S. courts have applied Title III of the ADA to many business websites, especially when the website is connected to a physical location. The U.S. Department of Justice has stated that businesses open to the public must make their websites accessible, and it points to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as a helpful technical standard.
For state and local governments, the DOJ issued a rule under Title II that adopts WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the technical standard. Colorado also has its own accessibility law covering state and local government websites.
What is WCAG 2.2 AA?
WCAG is published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Version 2.2 is the current recommendation, and Level AA is the level most organizations target. Meeting WCAG 2.2 AA also meets WCAG 2.1 AA. The guidelines are organized around four principles, often abbreviated POUR:
- Perceivable: information can be seen or heard, for example images have text alternatives and text has enough color contrast.
- Operable: everything works with a keyboard, focus is visible, and nothing flashes dangerously.
- Understandable: language is clear, forms have labels, and errors are explained.
- Robust: code works with assistive technologies like screen readers.
The most common accessibility problems
Automated scans of popular websites consistently find the same handful of issues:
- Low-contrast text
- Images missing alternative text
- Form fields without labels
- Empty links and buttons (for example, icon-only buttons with no accessible name)
- Missing page language
- Confusing heading structure
The good news is that these are all fixable in the code.
Why overlay widgets are not the answer
Accessibility overlays are scripts that add a toolbar to your site and promise instant compliance. They do not fix the underlying code, they can interfere with the assistive technology people already use, and businesses using them have still been sued. Real accessibility comes from accessible design, code and content.
A practical checklist to get started
- Navigate your entire site using only the Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter and Space keys. Can you reach and use everything? Can you always see where you are?
- Check text contrast with a free contrast checker. Body text needs a ratio of at least 4.5:1.
- Make sure every meaningful image has descriptive alt text and decorative images have empty alt text.
- Confirm every form field has a visible label.
- Use one
h1per page and headings in a logical order. - Add captions to videos.
- Publish an accessibility statement with a way for people to report problems.
How Durango Website can help
Every website we build is designed and tested to WCAG 2.2 AA. For existing sites, our ADA website accessibility service includes a manual and automated audit, a prioritized report, and hands-on fixes. Contact us for a free consultation.