In the current climate of playing catch-up for accessibility, many SMBs are finding themselves a little lost as to what it means to be compliant. Articles are popping up everywhere addressing big compliance issues for ADA, WCAG, Section 508 and more. With many small businesses feeling like “sitting ducks for lawsuits because their websites aren’t ADA compliant“, many are searching for answers when it comes to meeting the needs for all.
There are resources available to find out how accessible you are and what you can do to improve. Here are a few places to go for help with your web site:
This is a very informative site that breaks down some of the basics for us. They also have a great list of resources to reference and a helpful blog list.
Most importantly: “The Department of Justice (DOJ) published the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards for Accessible Design in September 2010. These standards state that all electronic and information technology must be accessible to people with disabilities. The ADA differs from Section 508 regulations, which are an amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and apply to all information technology, including computer hardware, software and documentation.”
This is really cool! You can enter your url and it will score you on accessibility issues. You can run a quick test and set up to run continuous tests and download reports that break down the issues.
This is a great resource for background information like breaking down some confusing dilemmas here: “Many states have adopted their own accessibility laws, and the volume of accessibility-related lawsuits filed against websites has ballooned in recent years. Plaintiffs have been more successful in these suits than ever before. With no clearly defined regulations to follow, it is probably not worth it for most companies to gamble that a court will rule in their favor.”
They also have services to help you find out if your site is compliant and will help you get there.
Don’t you want to be able to reach all of your audience? Don’t you want to be as inclusive as possible and encourage equal access for all? We sure do and we’re doing the research to do the best we can. We hope these resources help you get started or up your accessibility game too.
While you are at, be sure your PDFs are also section 508 compliant automatically with DocOrigin’s PDF/UA. To learn more about how we can help you with your PDF accessibility needs, click here or contact us today.