The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has recently updated its guidelines to include website accessibility. These rules apply to state and local governments and businesses that are open to the public. The Department of Justice does not have set regulations on compliance, but states that business and government sites must ensure that all programs, services, and goods that they provide to the public online must also be accessible to people with disabilities. This is even more important today as people are moving towards working from home and ordering goods and services online.
Ways to make your website user-friendly:
Caption your videos.
Make your site navigation available by both mouse and keyboard.
Include text to explain images, illustrations, or charts on your site.
Use good color contrast on your site.
Never use color alone to provide information, for example using red text alone to indicate a form.
Offer a variety of ways to submit forms or credit card information.
Make sure users have enough time to view content.
Do not use videos with strobe lights that can provoke seizures.
Create content that can be accessed by assistive technology.
There are some existing technical standards to guide you to making your website compliant. These include the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the Section 508 Standards, which the federal government uses for its own websites. WCAG is the standard most often used as a guide. Talk to your website designer to ensure your website is user-friendly for people with disabilities. Digital marketing company Vertical Guru offers these services to their clients. For more information: Websites | Vertical Guru | Full-Service Digital Marketing Agency.
There are more than 4.57 billion active internet users. U.S. consumers spend an estimated $517.36 billion online. Studies have shown that 69% of customers with disabilities will immediately leave a site if it does not meet accessibility needs. Moreover, 80% have stated that they are more likely to spend time and money on a site that meets their accessibility needs and is easy to navigate.
Court cases have begun popping up around the country with people suing companies that have sites that are inaccessible. Now is a great time to look over your business site to see if there are improvements you can make to ensure your customers can successfully navigate your page.