26% of adults in the United States live with a disability. To prohibit business websites from discriminating against this demographic, accessibility standards under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) are put in place. However only 3% of websites have complied with this policy. Unsurprisingly, accessibility lawsuits are reaching all-time highs.
There are numerous factors that prevent businesses from fully adopting digital accessibility. Fortunately, there are also solutions to help you address them.
1. Adopting a Technology-First Approach
Consulting with experts to adopt ADA accessibility isn’t cheap. To scale the problem, you must embrace a technology-first approach. Allows your company to tap into the power of technology while still drawing upon human expertise.
You can depend on automation to solve and improve accessibility errors while monitoring issues in real-time and enhancing the user experience. Additionally, this will allow human resource to focus on more complex problems that require creativity and judgment.
2. Complexity of the Internet
There are over 1.98 billion websites on the internet, with thousands more launched each day. These websites are churning out content within seconds. This fast-paced nature is a big challenge for businesses, who need to monitor changes in accessibility policies.
It’s important to note, however, that even ADA accessible websites are not immune from accessibility errors. Despite having tools to fix these errors, developers sometimes need time to update the system as soon as a new policy or code is released. The certainty of errors requires you to stay on top of changes. This not only takes a lot of time and resources, but it can also be expensive.
3. Providing Businesses with Clear-Cut Legal Guidance
According to the ADA, businesses open to the public must provide accommodations for people with disabilities. That is, this demographic must be able to access products and services that are available to everyone else. However, the ADA doesn’t provide technical standards for digital accessibility. Instead, the courts have taken it upon themselves to review the requirements case-by-case.
This year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released its web accessibility guide. This reiterates that businesses must make their websites accessible to people with disabilities. The DOJ further plans to require state and local governments to do likewise with their programs and services.
The Website and Software Applications Accessibility Act requires the DOJ to provide accessibility standards across different technologies. To enforce new regulations on new technologies, lawmakers, developers, and the disability community must come together for periodic reviews and recommendations.
It’s important to know and understand legal directives on web accessibility standards to address policies and manage potential risks. This protects the rights of people with disabilities, helping make the internet more universally accessible.
Make Your Website ADA Compliant
ADA accessibility is the main concern for many businesses. Knowing the issues surrounding the policy and will help you compliant and avoid risks. ADA Web Accessibility provides solutions that help you comply with ADA standards and make your website accessible to all potential customers.
