The Internet has dramatically changed the way we shop, communicate, get information, and do business. We need to be mindful of how all people receive the information from a website - including those with disabilities. Accessibility is a very important piece of a website's overall design. It is part of the process that should be considered when planning a website from the beginning because having to go back and make changes on certain web elements can cost a lot of time and money. So, have accessibility in mind from the beginning.
While this doesn't apply to everyone, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires state and local government entities to "provide qualified individuals with disabilities equal access to their programs, services, or activities unless doing so would fundamentally alter the nature of their programs, services, or activities or would impose an undue burden."* And, since many government websites now offer valuable information through website interfaces, accessibility is required by law. Again this won't affect all websites, but it's just a good practice to ensure your entire audience can enjoy your content.
The American Disability Association has listed several common problems with website accessibility. Here are three major ones to keep in mind as you plan your site.
There are many other things you can do to ensure your audience is getting the most out of your website and lots of tools that can be used to detect when certain parts of your website are out of compliance. At InGen, our developers use several different tools and plugins to check the accessibility level of color choices and continuous audits of our compliance level. We ensure that any website we design and build is WCAG/ADA compliant through various reports.
If you have a website that you want to ensure is accessible for all persons in your audience, contact us today.
*"Dept. of Justice Guidelines on Government Website Compliance with ADA." The Public Record, vol. 48, no. 43, Desert Publication, Inc. and Sharon Apfelbaum, June 2021, p. 8.
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