What is ADA Compliance?

In September 2010, The Department of Justice (DOJ) set the ADA Compliance standards in Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which requires businesses and nonprofit services to make all digital media and information technologies accessible to people with disabilities.

Blind elderly woman holding walking stick.

How we can help you

Although ADA applies only to businesses with 15 or more employees, smaller businesses can greatly benefit from their website meeting the ADA standards set by the Government. If your website meets the ADA standards, it will be accessible to 57 million disabled Americans, and all of them are potential clients your business is ignoring by not meeting the standards.

We use the same accessibility guidelines outlined under Section 508 of the Workforce Rehabilitation Act of 1973 when building websites. These are also the same guidelines that Government agencies and Government contractors must follow. Even though Section 508 and ADA are not the same thing, following Section 508's guidelines, it helps make your website most accessible.

The checklist we follow was published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and includes, but not limited to:

  • Every image, video file, audio file, plug-in, etc. has an alt tag
  • Complex graphics are accompanied by detailed text descriptions
  • The alt descriptions describe the purpose of the objects
  • If an image is also used as a link, make sure the alt tag describes the graphic and the link destination
  • Decorative graphics with no other function have empty alt descriptions
  • Add captions to videos
  • Add audio descriptions
  • Create a link to the video rather than just embedding it into web pages
  • Data tables have the column and row headers appropriately identified (using the <th> tag)
  • Table cells are associated with the appropriate headers
  • A link is provided to a disability-accessible page where the plug-in can be downloaded
  • All Java applets, scripts and plug-ins (including Acrobat PDF files and PowerPoint files, etc.) and the content within them are accessible to assistive technologies, or else an alternative means of accessing equivalent content is provided
  • Label elements are used for text input form controls
  • When text is not available, the title attribute us used
  • Include any special instructions within field labels
  • Make sure that form fields are in a logical tab order
  • Include a ‘Skip Navigation' button to help those using text readers

We Want to Help

Call us today at 727-619-WEST and our experts will gladly walk you through our easy step-by-step process to a more effective web presence that produces results.