ADA compliance testing involves performing tests on your website to ensure that it meets the guidelines set out in the Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Web Design.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards for Accessible Design requires that all electronic information and technology on your website to be accessible to those with disabilities.
Testing your website for ADA compliance helps you to identify any website improvements or changes that you need to make to meet the standards.
How do you know if you need ADA compliance testing?
ADA compliance affects almost all businesses and websites. Companies and organizations that have to meet ADA standards include:
- Private employers with 15 or more employees
- State and local government agencies, and
- Businesses that operate for the public’s benefit
If your website is not ADA compliant, you could face enforcement actions and heavy fines.
An ADA compliant website means everyone can access and use your website. This way you can also help more customers discover and purchase the products and services while increasing your revenue.
How to test your website for ADA compliance?
Free ADA Compliance testing tools
There are many free tools you can use to test your website for ADA compliance:
WAVE: When you enter the URL of your website, WAVE will audit your website for a variety of ADA guidelines, including:
- Color contrast
- Text size
- Alt text
The tool will provide you with a report containing the accessibility errors found on your website.
Manual audit
You can also conduct a manual audit of your website to test for ADA compliance. During a manual audit, you will test the accessibility of your website using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
WCAG focusses on the four core guiding principles:
Perceivable: Your website should be easy for every user to understand the text, images, videos, and other content to get the information they need.
Operable: Each user should have the ability to navigate your website and use its features with ease.
Understandable: Your website and content should be easy to follow and have instructions that is easy for all users to understand.
Robust: Your website will need to be compatible with assistive programs, like screen readers, and all website browsers.
Hire an experienced ADA compliance company
An experienced company can help you to audit and assess the non-compliant pages and content.
How to achieve ADA compliance by following WCAG 2.0 Level AA guidelines?
You must ensure your website and web content are accessible. It may seem like a lot of time and effort, but don’t panic. Here a few guidelines to keep in mind to ensure your site is accessible.
Captions and audio descriptions: Ensure all live videos on your website have captions and all pre-recorded media have audio descriptions.
Images: All images must have descriptive alternate text which convey the context of the images.
Contrast ratio: Ensure to maintain a text contrast ratio of 4:5:1.
Heading levels: Use proper heading tags and logical hierarchy to ensure the content is easy to follow.
Link text and buttons: Use descriptive link text to make it easier to navigate for users with screen readers. Make sure call-to-action buttons have unambiguous labels.
Accessible digital content: File formats like PDFs, Word, etc., must be uploaded in an accessible format on your website.
Forms: Online forms must have an accurate form field label, flow logically, and be accessible by keyboard.
Keyboard navigation: Make sure your website is navigable by keyboard-only to allow people with cognitive and motor disabilities to tab through the elements.
Need help with ADA website compliance?
Achieving ADA website compliance can seem daunting, especially if it involves a complete overhaul of your website and web content. It is a crucial requirement that you cannot afford to ignore.
Our team of experienced digital accessibility professionals can help you create and maintain websites and content accessible to all.
Contact us at 1 (800) 769-9715 or email us at engage@codemantra.com to learn more about ADA compliance for websites and web content.
Final Thoughts
If you are a business owner, having an ADA compliant website will help you to not only grow your business but also help you to serve all visitors to your website equally.
