Is your site ADA compliant?
The things we make reveal something about who we are! Get your site audited to see if it is ADA Compliant
We have audited over 1,000 websites. It only takes 2 days for your results. What are you waiting on? Click the above button, did I mention the audit is free.
WHAT IS WEB ACCESSIBILITY?
What is web accessibility? Web accessibility is a set of rules, behaviors, code standards, and design guidelines that were created by the W3C and are called the WCAG 2.1.
The WCAG 2.1 is a massive 1,000-page guidebook that encapsulates a range of disabilities that go from hindering internet use to making internet use impossible without adjustments. This spectrum actually comprises 20-25% of the general population depending on if we’re going with the CDC or WHO.
MITIGATE LITIGATION RISK
Mitigate Litigation Risk: In 2021 alone, an estimated 300,000 website owners (roughly 1% of small businesses) received Demand Letters for failing to have accessible websites.
The average settlement was around $30,000. Making your website more accessible helps you to manage this significant litigation and reputational risk.
IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO
It’s the right thing to do: The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion social movement is growing exponentially. Inclusivity is a civil rights issue, and brands that prioritize it send a clear positive message that they see and care about all members of their communities.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
You can create a competitive advantage by making your website accessible and reaching out to a huge, underserved, and extremely loyal group of potential clients. Accessibility also plays a role in reducing your bounce rates and making sure that everyone can access your site’s content.
Why is Accessibility Important?
On March 18th, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an opinion on ADA Compliance related to websites. While it’s not the first time that ADA Compliance for websites has been discussed, we think this is the first time an official stance has been voiced about ADA Compliance for business websites. You can find and read the article here.
Since the DOJ has officially taken the stance that business websites should meet specific accessibility standards, Bergey Creative Group believes that the number of lawsuits related to non-compliance will continue the rise.
What industries are most impacted?
The need to have an accessible website should be your top priority today. The main factor driving this need has been the increase in web accessibility lawsuits.
In what legal experts have called a litigation tsunami, it’s mostly small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that have been hit with thousands of lawsuits and demand letters relating to website accessibility over the past 2 years. This increase in cases has triggered an alarm for SMBs and even prompted the National Retail Federation to issue a warning to businesses urging them to start taking web accessibility seriously.
Who benefits from a website being ADA Compliant?
Everybody benefits. In recent years there has been an exponential increase in demand for web accessibility. This is a result of a greater understanding that business owners and people with disabilities have so much to mutually gain from website accessibility.
The number of ADA compliance lawsuits has increased dramatically in recent years. How dramatic, you ask? There has been a 200% increase, year over year, with reports of 10’s thousands of demand letters and lawsuits, targeting businesses of all sizes.