Background on the ADA
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the ADA became law in 1990 when President George H.W. Bush signed the bill. The act was quite similar in structure and design to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It is a comprehensive act covering civil rights for individuals with disabilities of any kind, acting as equal employment legislation, along with covering equality in other areas, such as housing and business. The goal was to create a fair environment where people with disabilities could enjoy life and have the same opportunities as non-disabled individuals. The ADA extends protection to anyone who has an impairment, either mental or physical, that limits his or her life in a significant way. The disability must alter the person’s life so that they have substantial limitations of at least one major life activity. It also covers anyone who others may perceive as having a qualifying disability even if they do not. When considering the impact on your business website, some key points of the law to keep in mind include:- Everyone can assess the website and all of its content
- You put accommodations in place to make the website easy for everyone to use
- The site feels welcoming to all users
Relationship to Online Business
In a brick and mortar business, ADA compliance means adding ramps for wheelchair access when a building has stairs or providing braille menus at a restaurant. It’s a little different for online businesses, but Business News Daily explains that you want to create a website that is accessible to people with disabilities. There are a few good reasons for doing so. Having an ADA compliant website helps protect you against lawsuits from consumers who felt discriminated against by your business due to not having accessibility features. It also will protect you against government fines for non-compliance. Most of all, it makes your business more consumer-friendly. You show you care about all your customers and potential customers. It also gives your business a favourable reputation of being aware and addressing the needs of your customers. Some things to consider for your website include:- Visual content and adapting it to visual-impaired users
- Audio content and adapting it for hearing-impaired users
- The layout of buttons and other interactive content and adapting it for users with dexterity issues
How to Make Your Website ADA Compliant
As you begin to think about ADA compliance, you want to keep in mind the audience you will target with your website’s modifications. For web content, the ADA recommends making your website easily accessible by those with vision and hearing issues as well as users who use assistive technology, such as voice navigation. However, you should note that the ADA does not provide specific regulations or guidelines for what you must do to comply. The only reason that it is clear you must make your website compliant is because there have been lawsuits where the courts state that websites have a duty to comply with the ADA. There are some general guidelines that you can follow:- Content allows the use of assistive technology
- Assistive technology on the site is easy to use
- Content is easy to understand when using assistive technology
Ways to Meet Guidelines
There are a variety of ways you can meet these guidelines. Approaches include:- Working behind the scenes in your site’s coding
- Directly offering assistance to the user
- Including overall good practices that will make your site easier for all users