The short answer is yes, your website is considered a public accommodation by some. Therefore, it is required to meet some standards of ADA compliance.

ADA lawsuits concerning web accessibility have increased 177% since 2018 as more and more businesses land in civil court. However, the question remains and is debated, “do all websites have to be ADA compliant?”

The answer is not legally clear, but the issue should not be ignored as civil courts are not ignoring it. ADA laws were written in 1990 and did not concern websites. For emphasis, email did not exist until 1994.

Imagine you are visually impaired or hard of hearing and can’t use a website to book a doctor appointment or apply to a university. It’s important to note, ADA compliance is not just for those with permanent disabilities. For example, someone who has had surgery, rendering them temporarily disabled throughout recovery, must also be reasonably accommodated.

1) Color contrast for backgrounds, buttons, links, and text.
2) Documents (PDFs, for example).
3) Forms.
4) Navigation or menu items.
5) Create alt tags for all images, videos, and audio files.
6) Create text transcripts for video and audio content.
7) Identify the site’s language in the header code.
8) Offer alternatives and suggestions when users encounter input errors.
9) Create a consistent, organized layout that supports screen readers.

We use online tools and our experience in web development to determine your level of compliance. Contact NerdBrand at hello@nerdbrandagency.com for an ADA audit.

We will check for:

1) Web accessibility: WCAG 2.1 guidelines, which are used for ADA and 508 compliance.
2) On-page SEO: Improve coverage by Google and other search engines. 
3) Spelling and grammar: Ensure quality content in every language your site serves.
4) Brand and legal compliance: Use custom rules to help consistency across your websites.