The ADA Compliance Standard for Websites (and When to Hire an Accessibility Consultant)
The ADA compliance standard for websites is WCAG 2.1 AA.
By conforming to WCAG 2.1 AA, your website is internationally considered to be accessible and compliant with the ADA. People I have helped with conforming their websites, were always daunted by the complexity of WCAG 2.1. So if you lack the specialized knowledge of WCAG, I strongly recommend you hire an accessibility consultant to assist you.
Here is some further information about WCAG 2.1 and about hiring assistance.
WCAG 2.1 AA
The WCAG is internationally recognized as the standard for web content accessibility.
The main principles in WCAG are:
- Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive. To ensure content is accessible to people who are blind and/or deaf.
- Operable: User interface components and navigation must be operable. Make sure all features are accessible by keyboard, not just by mouse.
- Understandable: Information and the operation of the user interface must be understandable.
- Robust content must be robust enough to be reliably interpreted by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.
Interpreting these principles requires the specialized knowledge of a trained accessibility consultant.
Hiring an accessibility consultant
If you lack specialized accessibility knowledge, you need assistance.
When I first started with digital accessibility, I was trained for six months full-time to be able to confidently perform an WCAG audit. People generally underestimate what is required to understand and apply the WCAG. The result is that websites are not really compliant and risk legal complaints.
Make sure your website is compliant to prevent legal issues.
