The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has presented a major disruption to the world of eCommerce. The biggest problem? Most merchants don’t even realize that website accessibility is a federally protected right for people with disabilities. Nine times out of ten, there is nothing sinister or intentional happening: people use a popular eCommerce site builder, throw their products on it, and set up shop.
While we love the go-getter attitude, this is problematic and, increasingly, a pretty big legal risk. In 2020 alone, 3,500 ADA website litigation cases went to court, and the number is rising.
Remember, first and foremost, the goal of ADA guidelines is to ensure people with disabilities have fair access to public spaces. While there is huge dispute over whether this includes digital spaces, luck favors the prepared.
This article is going to give you a crash course in ADA guidelines for eCommerce sites, and how merchants can get in line to ensure maximum reach and security.
Want to know one surefire way to keep your business out of court for ADA site violations? Enlist the help of an eCommerce agency. Smart Solutions is a trusted eCommerce agency that provides website design, development, and ongoing maintenance support that ensures you meet all of the relevant criteria.
Bonus: Capture lost revenue. Users with disabilities can and will buy from you, if they can access your website. Only good things result from getting your website up to snuff, and we can help. Contact us to learn more.
Now, the title there is a bit of a misnomer: it’s not like the ADA has a list of thorough guidelines for website compliance. In fact, there are really only two parts of the ADA that people interpret to apply to websites at all:
There is another source that merchants should tap to gain full insight into how to build a compliant website, and it’s the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C & not a Star Trek thing) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).
The essential components of website accessibility are outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Those standards are worth reading through in full, but you can also check out our comprehensive guide on the topic.
Here are some of the elements of your website that must meet accessibility standards:
Perceivable Factors
Adaptable Factors
Distinguishable Factors
Operable Factors
The lists go on, and get into specifics both of how a website functions, how a website looks, and how users of different abilities or disabilities can interact with each and every element. It may feel labor-intensive (and if you didn’t build a website with accessibility in mind, it may be). The good news is, there are resources to both educate and empower you and your team to improve your website.
We’re fans of source material on this topic because frankly there is a lot of misleading information on the internet about website accessibility. The sheer fact that so many people term it “ADA website standards” or similar is a red flag.
Remember, it really is the WAI that writes WCAG, and even these regularly change. To that end, here are some of the recommended resources straight from the source, that can help inform your team:
That info alone is going to take you some time to work through. Before you hit the panic button, know this: WCAG guidelines build on each other. So, the WCAG 2.2 guidelines include all of WCAG 2.1, plus some extra. This means that the real workload is getting your website into compliance. Keeping it there will require ongoing monitoring, but shouldn’t usually mean full-scale development or design changes.
Smart Solutions is a team on deck, with a huge passion for website accessibility. We specialize in supporting eCommerce website owners, and we know what’s at stake if you are operating a website out of compliance. In partnership with accessibility industry leaders at Accessible 360, we can provide website audits and implement the changes your website needs to pass muster. Don’t wait to make this happen: Contact us to get started.
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