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Is your website ADA Compliant?
The international standards in digital accessibility for business websites are set by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) and is known as WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). Section 508 compliance is the requirement for government agencies, non-profits and federal contractors within the United States.
Here are 5 ways to make your website ADA Compliant:
- Your Website Must Be Keyboard-Friendly
This is one the most important first steps to ADA compliance. In layperson's terms, a website needs to work without the use of a mouse. Many assistive technologies depend on keyboard-only navigation. Your website must be built in a manner to use the site’s major features via a keyboard and nothing else. All pages, links and content must be accessible.
Using the Tab key on a keyboard is the most popular way to navigate. This will allow users to move between areas on a page that can have a keyboard focus. Your design goal should be to ensure that all web content and navigation can be accessed using Tab. - Easy Accessibility to Your Content
Although keyboard-friendly navigation is a priority, you should also make sure that all content on the page is actually accessible. This typically is not a challenge; it can become an issue with dynamic page content.
Dynamic content is content that can change without reloading the page. This becomes a challenge when the site doesn’t inform assistive tools of the change. As an example, screen readers may only “read” the site as it's presented on the initial load. Best practice is to make users aware when content shifts or they will miss the new content. - Add Alt Text to All Images
Alt text is a staple of accessible web design. The primary purpose of Alt Tags is to describe images to visitors who are unable to see them. This would include screen readers and browsers that block images and also includes users who are vision-impaired or unable to visually identify an image. - Select Your Colors Carefully
Color blindness is more of a spectrum challenge since different people perceive color(s) in different ways. Pun intended, it is not a "Black-and-white" issue. It's important to make certain the colors you select on your site contrast well and allow users to distinguish between various sections on the page.
The biggest hurdle to overcome is ensuring text stands out against a background. The ADA recommends you set a dark color against a light one, making sure that they don’t bleed into each other. - Create A Clear Content Hierarchy with Headers/Subheads
Another key to make your site accessible is having a clear content hierarchy, or structuring the content by using headers carefully. This will make content much easier for users to consume and improves flow.
In addition, clear headers/subheads better assist screen readers to interpret your pages. In-page navigation becomes much easier when this happens. It is recommended to only use one H1 per page (typically a page title). This can be followed by subheads (H2, H3, H4) and always be used in order.
The Walker Group Digital Marketing Team can help you get your website compliant and then certify it when it meets accessibility guidelines. Reach out to us today for a complimentary consultation by emailing webservices@thewalkergroup.com.
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