Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
The WCAG criteria aim to make web content more accessible to a wider audience of people with disabilities. All success criteria are important access issues for people with disabilities. They address things beyond the usability problems that might be faced by all users. There are three levels of WCAG compliance:
- A - Minimum level – without addressing these items, barriers exist that cannot be overcome by assistive technology. This level affects the broadest group with the most benefits and is essential.
- AA - More accessible – With the minimum level of support, some barriers will still exist which impact certain groups of users. The criteria at this level establish a level of accessibility which should work with most assistive technology on desktop and mobile devices. Addressing Level AA criteria may impact the look of a page or affect site logic to a greater extent.
- AAA – Even more accessible– Some Level AAA criteria cannot be applied everywhere, so level AAA is generally not required. That being said, even meeting level AAA does not make web pages accessible to everyone.
The criteria are cumulative—to conform to Level AA, you must first conform to A. To conform to Level AAA, you just first conform to A and AA.
Learn more about the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
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The ADA prohibits any private businesses that provide goods or services to the public, referred to as “public accommodations,” from discriminating against those with disabilities. Federal courts have ruled that the ADA includes websites in the definition of public accommodation. As such, websites must offer auxiliary aids and services to low-vision, hearing-impaired, and physically disabled persons, in the same way a business facility must offer wheelchair ramps, braille signage, and sign language interpreters, among other forms of assistance.
All websites must be properly coded for use by electronic screen readers that read aloud to sight-impaired users the visual elements of a webpage. Additionally, all live and pre-recorded audio content must have synchronous captioning for hearing-impaired users.
Websites must accommodate hundreds of keyboard combinations, such as Ctrl + P to print, that people with disabilities depend on to navigate the Internet.
Litigation continues to increase substantially. All business and governmental entities are potential targets for lawsuits and demand letters. Recent actions by the Department of Justice targeting businesses with inaccessible websites will likely create a dramatic increase of litigation risk.
Big box retailer Target Corp. was ordered to pay $6 million – plus $3.7 million more in legal costs – to settle a landmark class action suit brought by the National Federation of the Blind. Other recent defendants in these cases have included McDonald’s, Carnival Cruise Lines, Netflix, Harvard University, Foot Locker, and the National Basketball Association (NBA). Along with these large companies, thousands of small businesses have been subject to ADA website litigation.
Defendants in ADA lawsuits typically pay plaintiff's legal fees, their own legal fees for defending the litigation, and potential additional costs. In all, the average cost can range from tens of thousands of dollars, to above six figures. There are also high intangible costs, such as added stress, time and human capital, as well as reputational damage. Furthermore, if the remediation is incomplete, copycat suits and serial filers can follow, meaning double or triple the outlay. It's vital to implement a long-term strategy for ensuring your website is accessible and legally compliant.