As a web agency, your role goes beyond just designing visually stunning websites – you’re also responsible for ensuring sites are accessible. For web accessibility, understanding the difference between “compliance” and “conformance” is essential to keeping your agency out of legal hot water.
Not all clients have web accessibility compliance requirements, but an ever growing number do. Even if they do not have to comply with a specific set of standards, they will benefit from accessibility. In fact, there are many benefits of accessibility for clients to make their websites and documents accessible. Here is a great article on the business case for web accessibility.
Protect yourself and your clients by knowing what compliance vs conformance entails. We have an Accessibility Consult– an hour long session that can get you started on a specific website.
What is Accessibility Compliance?
Accessibility compliance is an obligation for an entire business or organization. It is compliance with a specific law, and laws have many parts which reach beyond websites. For example, even online accessibility is not limited to websites. It also includes social media, newsletters, and email correspondence.
Offline, there are many components including hiring practices and in office requirements. Your agency generally has nothing to do with a business’s offline practices.
As an agency, much of this is completely outside of your purview. Therefore, you can not and should not refer to compliance with laws. If a client wants to discuss their entire business complying with an entire law, they should speak to a knowledgeable attorney. Note that since web accessibility is a very new area of the law with constantly evolving laws, unless an attorney specializes in it, most attorneys have little to no knowledge of web accessibility.
What is Accessibility Conformance?
Conformance is a specific part of an organization’s online presence with a specific standard. So a website can conform to WCAG. A social media post can conform to WCAG. These are items that are within your ability to measure.
If a client is concerned about their website, you can discuss doing a gap assessment to measure the current conformance of their website. You can do your own audit of recent social media posts and how those conform to WCAG. These are things you can and should discuss with your clients.
Here’s why prioritizing conformance is a smart move for your agency:
- Better User Experience: Accessible websites offer a smoother experience for all users, which leads to higher engagement.
- Broader Reach: Accessible sites connect your clients with a larger audience, including users with disabilities (1 billion people worldwide live with disabilities).
- Improved SEO: Features that improve accessibility, like alt text for images or clear navigation, can also enhance SEO performance. Better SEO leads to higher search engine rankings, driving more organic traffic, which can directly increase your clients’ sales—and in turn, your agency’s success and revenue.
- Lower Legal Risks: By following accessibility guidelines, you can reduce the risk of facing legal challenges. Always work with your attorney to ensure your contracts include web accessibility compliance language. Ensuring compliance with accessibility laws can protect clients from costly lawsuits, which have been on the rise. Read more about the rise in web accessibility lawsuits.
- Creating Long-Term Client Relationships: Offering accessibility services as part of your standard packages not only adds value but also positions your agency as a trusted partner who helps clients avoid significant financial and reputational damage. Clients who invest in accessibility are often committed to long-term improvements. This can lead to repeat business, as they may require ongoing audits, updates, and optimizations to maintain compliance and conformance as guidelines evolve. This builds recurring revenue streams for your agency.
- Commitment to Inclusion: Supporting inclusivity reflects well on your agency and shows you value inclusion of all types and levels of disability.
Levels of WCAG Conformance
WCAG has three levels of conformance: A, AA, and AAA. Understanding these levels will help your agency set realistic goals for accessibility:
Level A: The minimum level, it is insufficient for laws.
Level AA: The standard level referred to whenever a law specifically mentions WCAG conformance. This includes all Level A requirements plus additional measures to improve accessibility.
Level AAA: The highest level, which is more demanding. While great to aim for, it’s not always feasible for every project.
How to advance your accessibility
- Educate Your Team: Make sure everyone in your agency knows the importance of accessibility and how to apply best practices. We recommend this course on web accessibility.
- Run Accessibility Audits: Regularly check your projects against WCAG to spot any gaps.
- Bake Accessibility Into Your Workflow: Make accessibility a core part of your design and development process, rather than an afterthought.
- Stay Current with Regulations: Keep up with changes in accessibility laws and guidelines to ensure ongoing compliance. Accessibility monitoring is important because accessibility is a journey; not a destination.
- Showcase Your Expertise: Highlight your accessibility efforts in your marketing to attract clients who care about inclusive design. EasyA11yGuide can help you tackle web accessibility without breaking the bank. Check out our agency page for more information.
Conclusion
Knowing the difference between compliance and conformance for web agencies is critical for delivering top-tier digital experiences.
Prioritizing accessibility isn’t just about ticking boxes—it’s about making the web a better place for all. Let’s work together to lead the way in building a more inclusive digital world. Contact us for more information.