Accessibility basics
What is web accessibility?
Web accessibility is about removing barriers from web pages so people can actually use them. Accessibility improvements on web pages improve the internet experience for everyone by making sites easier to read & understand. Improvements can also give you an SEO boost as they make the website easier to understand for machines (like Google bots).
Have you ever tried to use a non-responsive page on your smartphone? It’s so unpleasant the vast majority of people just leave the page. That’s what happens when people encounter barriers to using a website, they leave.
How do sites become inaccessible?
A basic HTML page that uses semantic coding is accessible. Pages become inaccessible in three main ways:
- Design choices: choices are made that may be appealing to some, but end up causing problems for others. Like yellow text on a white background. Some people may like this. Unfortunately, it’s completely unreadable outside in the sunlight (I’ve tried and I have perfect vision, it’s really not readable).
- Poorly entered content: there are a lot of ways you can poorly code a page, and that includes how content is entered. Inline CSS, incorrect use of headings, and many other practices are used because most people just don’t know better.
- Adding features: we want to add more to pages, whether that’s eCommerce or calendars, that’s a whole lot of code being added to a site. If that code isn’t checked, it can introduce a lot of problems.
Lost revenue & unhappy customers
People are pretty simple. When people have a bad experience, they not only don’t want to experience it again, they want to tell all of their friends what a bad experience it was. Get burned by a hot pan? You learn not to touch hot pans, and you warn others away from hot pans.
If you experience a bad website experience? Same thing. You avoid that site and tell others to avoid it. For the millions of Americans with disabilities, bad website experiences are unfortunately a daily event. And there are a lot of websites they avoid in the future.
A lot of companies have found that accessible websites have much higher customer satisfaction and sales. In fact, many accessibility improvements have made it easier for people without disabilities to use the websites.
So, if you want more revenue & happy customers, accessibility needs to be a priority. Unless of course, you want to be like Dominos and say that blind people don’t need pizza.
WCAG: The standards used
WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. These are standards maintained by W3C. W3C maintains the standards for HTML, CSS, and many more things that power the internet and communication.
Standards have versions, for example, HTML 4 vs. HTML 5. For WCAG, the versions commonly referenced are 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2. The current version of WCAG is 2.2. Versions 2.0 and 2.1 are the most commonly referenced in specific laws.
These standards itemize specific criteria that a web page must pass. These criteria are grouped into three levels. Levels A, AA, and AAA. Level A is considered basic criteria, level AA is the standard level, and level AAA is the most extensive.
All laws require level AA. Level AA includes both criteria listed under level A and those listed under AA. For WCAG 2.0 level AA, 38 criteria are required. For WCAG 2.1 level AA, 50 criteria are required. For WCAG 2.2 level AA, 55 criteria are required.
When talking about a specific webpage, the page can have issues found, no issues found, or the criteria does not apply. For example, a criterion about video captions does not apply to a page with no videos. It would be marked as “issues found” if captions were present but inaccurate. And it would be marked as “no issues found” if the captions were present and accurate. It’s commonly referred to as passing the criteria if marked as “no issues found” or “does not apply”.
VPATs & ACRs
A VPAT is a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template. The VPAT specifically refers to the blank template. Once the template has been filled in, it’s then called an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR). But you’ll find many people saying VPAT for both the blank template and the completed report.
If you are looking for plugins and themes to make the websites you build accessible, you should ask the authors for an ACR, or completed VPAT. When I ask people for them, I frequently phrase it “Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR created from a VPAT)”.
When reviewing an ACR for a plugin or a theme, there may be some features that are not fully conformant with WCAG. It might be that features are only conformant in a specific configuration, and I need to keep that configuration in mind when setting it up. Or it may be that there is a specific module or element that I need to avoid using.
For example, Gravity Forms specifically notes that their date picker element is not accessible. So I avoid using the date picker and instead use their single line text input field with the date requirement on it.
The US laws that apply
The US has two main laws that apply, Sections 504 & 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (referred to as just Section 508), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The ADA applies to most websites in the US. It has Title II which applies to state & local government. And it has Title III which applies to businesses that serve the public and nonprofit organizations.
ADA Lawsuits
A commonly asked question is, why are so many firms filing ADA lawsuits? The answer is usually for profit.
Under the ADA, the business defending itself must pay for its own lawyers, regardless of if the the business wins or loses. If the business loses, then the business pays for the plaintiff’s lawyers as well.
This is one of the main complaints about the ADA. It is unfair to businesses, as they must always pay to defend themselves. Whereas, law firms who file hundreds of suits never have to pay for the defendant’s lawyers, so they only risk not being paid for some of their time.
Some lawyers will pursue structured negotiation. This means the plaintiff wants to improve the accessibility of a website. The plaintiff & their lawyers will work with the defendant to produce a website experience that is accessible. Unfortunately, this is the least common type of legal action, even though it produces the best results for both the business & business patrons.
ADA Title II
The US Department of Justice has issued rules for state & local government websites that require WCAG 2.1 level AA by April 2026 or April 2027. Currently, it’s unknown how the Dept will handle complaints about these sites. However, based on previous issues if the Dept does not reprimand websites itself, then private lawsuits will abound to fill the gap.
ADA Title II also affects the websites of private businesses, educational institutions, and non-profits when they receive government money.
State & local government
All parts of state & local government fall under ADA Title II. Everything from the park department to police and libraries.
Private businesses
Many private businesses provide public services. For example, a convenience store that sells state lottery tickets. The store fulfills a public function. Similarly, a private transportation company may be contracted to provide bus services for public schools.
Educational institutions
Public education is part of ADA Title II. That means K-12 and higher education. It can also mean private and non-profit schools as they frequently receive public money.
Medical providers
Many medical providers accept publicly funded payments. Any provider who accepts HHS (Health and Human Services) money needs to comply with WCAG 2.1 level AA. I’ve already seen medical websites told to complete a VPAT for WCAG 2.1 level AA.
Non-profits
If non-profits receive grant money or perform services on behalf of state or local government, then they are subject to Title II. For example, a non-profit has a grant to provide education on new state laws.
April 2026 or April 2027?
When the entity serves a population greater than 50,000 people they have until April 2026. Otherwise, they have until April 2027. There are special entities that also have until April 2027. For example, the city of Baltimore has a population of over a half million. So the school district for the city of Baltimore has until April 2026.
Colorado state & local governments
Colorado HB 21-1110 establishes that any state or local government website is accessible as of July 1, 2024. Additionally, it includes a fine of $3,500 payable to each plaintiff for each violation. The bill does not list specific standards. Instead, the bill references the chief information officer in the Office of Information Technology establishing and maintaining standards for web accessibility. As of September 2024, Colorado’s technology accessibility rules list WCAG 2.1 level AA. Based on the wording, this is expected to be periodically updated with updated versions of WCAG.
Colorado’s website also includes a vendor checklist of questions for state agencies to ask vendors.
ADA Title III
The US Department of Justice has not issued specific rules for Title III, however, every lawsuit the Dept has handled has resulted in WCAG 2.1 level AA as the required accessibility for the website. The suits also required periodic testing of the site to be done, and required that no overlays be used.
eCommerce websites
The most commonly sued websites in the US are eCommerce. These comprise about 80% of websites sued each year.
California
California is a hot spot for ADA lawsuits specifically because it has the Unruh law. This allows for plaintiffs to receive compensation for judgments in their favor. It’s the only state with such a law. Due to the nature of the Unruh law, many complaints in California may start as an inquiry letter rather than going directly to a lawsuit. This is usually less expensive for the business defendant.
New York
New York produces the largest number of ADA lawsuits. There are firms in New York that give lists of websites to people who are legally blind. Those people do a basic quick test of each site to determine if it’s ok or a good candidate for a lawsuit. They discard the ok sites. They go through the good candidates for a lawsuit and write up the issues. Those are then sued.
New York courts have repeatedly ruled that if the website offers goods or services to people in New York, then that business can be sued in New York. So people all over the US are sued in New York courts. Some of these lawsuits actually care about getting a settlement to make the site more accessible, some are just out for a payday.
Section 508
Sections 504 & 508 of the Rehabilitation Act require that federal websites comply with a slightly modified version of WCAG 2.0 level AA. They also require that websites made by certain recipients of federal money also comply.
Federal websites
Unfortunately, the federal government is not great at complying with its own rules. Many federal websites still have numerous accessibility barriers.
Federal contractors
Companies that provide services on behalf of the Federal government, or receive certain government monies must also follow Section 508.
What agencies need to do
First, you need to understand that web accessibility is required in the US. You should be including it with all new builds and selling accessibility to existing clients. You also need to understand the language used when promising web accessibility.
Second, you need to understand that accessibility is an ongoing process. It is not a set it-and-forget-it. You need to periodically monitor accessibility on websites.
Third, you need to understand that you can learn some basic concepts quickly, but it requires extensive knowledge to build a comprehensive accessibility program at your agency. The Section 508 Trusted Tester certification course takes 100-150 hours to complete for those brand new to accessibility. And it only covers WCAG 2.0 level AA and only testing. It doesn’t cover development or remediation.
Specific team members need training & guides on how to handle their part of web accessibility. The good news is that how-to guides are available.
Much like SEO, Ads, and other website matters, you can outsource a good portion of your accessibility to professionals.
Evaluate the sites you manage
Look at the current sites you manage and divide them into groups. Most small agencies will not have sites in every group.
- Sites that fall under Section 508.
- Sites that fall under ADA Title II.
- Sites for medical providers who accept HHS money.
- Sites that have eCommerce.
- Sites for businesses with revenue over $10M per year.
- The rest of the sites.
The first two groups of sites, it is very straightforward, there are specific rules about what the website must do to comply with regulations.
The eCommerce businesses are at the highest risk for lawsuits, and you should strongly urge them to at least have their sites tested.
As a number of the top websites have already been repeatedly sued, lawyers are moving on to more and more websites to sue. And they frequently look at business income when picking out sites to sue.
To prepare for a conversation with clients, run a quick audit on their site. This allows you to have a high level view of the site and potential issues.
Understand what automation can & can’t do
As a developer, I use automation for quite a few things. There are parts of accessibility testing that automation is fairly good at. There are other parts that automation just can’t test. Unfortunately, most of the serious issues that impact people with disabilities require manual testing.
A lot of people point to a Google Lighthouse test for their score. Unfortunately, Lighthouse is only testing a limited set of criteria. A score of 100 means all of their tests passed, but you now need to do a significant amount of manual testing to ensure you meet all of the required criteria.
Avoid overlay companies
Overlay companies promise magic. For just a few bucks, you’ll install a line of code and magically your site will be better. Their marketing information also says they will help you if you get sued. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
The FTC has fined the company Accessibe for making false claims.
accessWidget did not make all user websites WCAG-compliant and these claims were therefore false, misleading, or unsubstantiated, in violation of the FTC Act.
Overlay companies have also been sued by their customers for failure to do what they promise.
The primary concern revolves around AccessiBe’s claims regarding its products’ efficacy in achieving ADA compliance and meeting WCAG recommendations. The complaint, echoing claims made by disability rights advocates for years, argues that AccessiBe’s widget not only fails to provide the promised compliance but may also impede accessibility by interfering with necessary assistive technologies used by individuals with disabilities. Furthermore, businesses utilizing AccessiBe’s products are allegedly more likely to become targets of accessibility-related lawsuits.
The reality is about 25% of lawsuits are against websites using overlays. Several large lawsuits have cited evidence that the overlay was responsible for causing the accessibility issues. Currently, automation is really bad at some parts of accessibility and I’ve seen many websites broken by these overlays.
In larger lawsuits that have involved a website using an overlay, the resulting agreement or judge’s order was that the website needed to comply with WCAG 2.1 level AA. It also required the site to perform real manual testing regularly, and it was prohibited from using an overlay in the future.
Get a partner involved
If you don’t have an in-house expert in web accessibility, you need to bring a partner in to help your agency get up to speed on things and refine your processes.
Check your contracts
You should have specific language in your contracts regarding accessibility. You should also have general cover-your-ass language in them. States like California & New York regularly come up with new things to sue websites about.
Update your processes
Easy A11y Guide works with agencies to incorporate accessibility into their existing processes and build more accessible sites without breaking the bank.
Train your people
Accessibility is the responsibility of everyone. Your team members need training & guides on processes so they can do their jobs in an accessible manner.
Hire testers
You can only know how well you are doing if you test. Bringing in trained testers to check work is an essential part of any accessibility program. Easy A11y Guide has a network of testers with different abilities who can come in and test work. It’s essential to have people who were not involved in the build process do the testing. This is why large companies have entire QA departments.