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The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal law that ensures people with disabilities have access to public places and accommodations. The ADA was enacted in 1990, so you might be wondering how this affects your eCommerce site. It’s important to note that the ADA applies not just to physical spaces, but also digital ones – including websites! This blog post will discuss what makes a website ADA compliant and what you can do if your site isn’t yet compliant.
How Does The ADA Affect eCommerce Sites?
The ADA applies to all public places, which includes websites that are open to the general public. This means that if your website is not accessible to people with disabilities, you could be in violation of the law.
There are three main requirements for a website to be ADA compliant:
- Be navigable by keyboard only (no mouse).
- Have accessible text and images.
- Be compatible with assistive technology.
Why Does Being ADA Compliant Matter?
There are a number of reasons why it’s important to make your website ADA compliant. First and foremost, it’s the law! But beyond that, making your site accessible is just the right thing to do. It’s estimated that around 26% of the population has some form of disability, and 71% of website visitors with disabilities will leave a website that is not accessible. By making your site accessible you’re opening it up to a large potential customer base.
What Are The Legal Ramifications Of Not Being Compliant?
If you’re not compliant with the ADA, you could face legal ramifications. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is responsible for enforcing the ADA, and they have been known to take action against non-compliant businesses. In recent years, there has been a growing trend of lawsuits filed by people who have been unable to access websites. This can result in monetary losses for your company or bankruptcy. Federal law allows fines of up to $75,000 for the first violation and $150,000 for additional ADA violations.
What Can I Do If My Site Isn’t ADA Compliant?
If your site isn’t yet compliant with the ADA, there are a few things you can do to improve accessibility. First, consult an accessibility consultant to help you identify and fix any issues. EYStudios is one such agency that can work with you to make your site accessible. We can assist you with updating your design to be ADA compliant while also partnering with third parties to ensure you stay that way. Accessibe.com is one such partner that can help your site maintain web accessibility for your customers.
Other Reasons To Have A More Accessible Website
In addition to complying with the ADA, there are some other reasons why you might want to consider making your website more accessible. For instance, Google ranks sites higher if they’re disability-friendly. Making your site accessible is also good for SEO purposes, and it can help with your bounce rate and customer satisfaction. Search engines use alt text and other alternative information to crawl your website for information regarding ranking and categorization. The more information you provide, the better your SEO rankings are going to become.
How Can I Make My Site More ADA Compliant?
Making sure your website is accessible to people with disabilities doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive! Simply follow these steps:
- Identify and fix any technical issues — if it’s not working with a keyboard, it’s not accessible to people with disabilities.
- Make sure your content is clear and easy to read — many assistive technologies use the default font size of 12px for reading material. If your site doesn’t have a lot of white space or has very small text, this can be difficult to navigate. It might also help to add a “text size” option to your website.
- Make sure your videos have closed captions — many people with hearing disabilities rely on closed captions to understand video content. You can add closed captions to your videos using a service like YouTube’s Captioning feature.
- Make sure all your photos and graphics have alt text — alt text is a short description of an image that is read aloud to people who can’t see the image. This is a great way to provide additional information about your photos and graphics.
- Test your site with different assistive technologies — there are many different types of assistive technologies, so it’s important to test your site with as many as possible. This will help you identify any areas that need improvement.
- Evaluate colors for ADA compliance – some people with disabilities are sensitive to certain colors, so it’s important to use a color palette that is accessible to everyone. Bright colors on top of other bright colors can be hard to read for people with certain color blindness.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to ADA compliance, there’s no room for complacency. If your site isn’t yet compliant, take the necessary steps to make it accessible. Not only is it the law, but it’s also the right thing to do! For more information on making your website ADA compliant, contact us at EYStudios. We can help you make your site accessible to everyone, regardless of disability.