Editorial · July 5, 2018
Website Accessibility: ADA Basics for Small Business
Website accessibility means building web pages that people with disabilities can use as easily as anyone else. It covers people who are blind, who have low vision, who are deaf, or who cannot use a mouse. It also helps older visitors, people on small phones and anyone in bright sunlight. For a small business, a few plain habits fix most of the problems.
What website accessibility means
An accessible site works for people who use different tools. A blind visitor may use a screen reader, which reads the page out loud. A visitor with a hand tremor may use only a keyboard. A deaf visitor needs captions on video. A visitor with low vision may zoom in or need strong color contrast.
If your page works for all of these people, it is easier for everyone. The best known set of rules is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, called WCAG. The World Wide Web Consortium, or W3C, writes them. Its stated aim is to make web content usable by a wider range of people with disabilities, and it notes that the same steps often make content easier for all users.
Sources: W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Abstract, Recommendation of 5 June 2018.
What the ADA says about websites
The Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, is a civil rights law. Its Title III rules cover businesses that are open to the public and commercial facilities. The Department of Justice publishes those rules in 28 CFR Part 36.
The Justice Department has also written web guidance, but it is aimed at state and local governments. It says those bodies must give people with disabilities equal access to programs and services. It calls accessible website features one way to meet that duty. It also says a phone line is a weaker substitute, because it will not match a website for hours and range of options.
That guidance does not set a rule for private business sites. So treat it as a sign of how regulators think, not as a checklist for your shop. If you worry about your own legal duties, ask a lawyer who knows disability law.
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, "Accessibility of State and Local Government Websites to People with Disabilities" (ada.gov); ADA Title III Regulations, 28 CFR Part 36, ADA.gov.
WCAG 2.1 arrived in June
The W3C published WCAG 2.1 as a final Recommendation on June 5, 2018. It builds on WCAG 2.0, which came out in December 2008. The new version is meant to work with the old one. Pages that meet 2.1 also meet 2.0.
The new criteria add help for people with low vision, for people with learning and cognitive limits, and for users on phones and tablets. Examples include Reflow, so that text fits a narrow screen without sideways scrolling, and Non-text Contrast, which covers buttons and form borders. Text Spacing is another new item. It means a page should still work if a user widens the space between lines and letters.
WCAG has three levels: A, AA and AAA. Many site owners aim for AA as a sensible target. You do not have to read all of it. The five fixes below are a good start.
Sources: W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Recommendation of 5 June 2018; W3C, WCAG 2.0, Recommendation of 11 December 2008.
Five simple fixes
1. Add text to images. Every meaningful image needs a short text description, called alt text. A screen reader reads it aloud. WCAG calls this Success Criterion 1.1.1, Non-text Content. Decorative images can have empty alt text so that they are skipped.
2. Check color contrast. WCAG level AA asks for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5 to 1 between text and its background. Large text needs at least 3 to 1. Light gray text on white often fails. Free contrast checkers will tell you in seconds.
3. Make it work with a keyboard. Try your site using only the Tab, Enter and arrow keys. You should be able to reach every link, menu and form field. WCAG calls this Success Criterion 2.1.1, Keyboard. You should also always see where you are on the page.
4. Write clear links and labels. A link that says "click here" tells a screen reader user nothing. Use words that say where the link goes, such as "View our price list." Label every form field with plain text too. WCAG has criteria for link purpose and for labels or instructions.
5. Caption your video. WCAG asks for captions on prerecorded video that has sound. Captions help deaf visitors. They also help people watching with the sound off.
Sources: W3C, WCAG 2.1, Success Criteria 1.1.1, 1.2.2, 1.4.3, 2.1.1, 2.4.4, 2.4.7 and 3.3.2.
A simple way to start
Begin with your home page and your contact page. Those are the pages most visitors need. Run through the five fixes above, then test with a keyboard. Ask a friend who uses a screen reader, or try a free screen reader yourself, to hear what your page sounds like.
Write down what you fix and when. Add a short note to your site that tells visitors how to reach you if they have trouble, and give a phone number or email that a real person answers. The Justice Department says a staffed phone line is unlikely to give the same access as an accessible site, but it can still be a useful backup while you fix things.
Make accessibility part of every update. When you add a photo, add its alt text. When you pick colors, check the contrast. When you post a video, add captions. Small steps taken each time are cheaper than a large rebuild later, and they make your site better for every visitor.
Sources: W3C, WCAG 2.1; U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, ada.gov.
Sources
- W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, W3C Recommendation, 5 June 2018: w3.org/TR/2018/REC-WCAG21-20180605/
- W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, W3C Recommendation, 11 December 2008: w3.org/TR/2008/REC-WCAG20-20081211/
- U.S. Department of Justice, "Accessibility of State and Local Government Websites to People with Disabilities": ada.gov/websites2.htm
- ADA Title III Regulations, 28 CFR Part 36: ada.gov/regs2010/titleIII_2010/titleIII_2010_regulations.htm
This article is general information, not legal advice.