Complying with The Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Here's how to make your website ADA compliant

When pondering ADA compliance and making your web content accessible, the best and smartest practice is to follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines or WCAG. WCAG is a set of technical standards that, when applied, make online content accessible for users of all abilities. WCAG standards have 12 to 13 guidelines which suggest a website should be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust:

  • Perceivable = It’s important to present information that can be perceived in different ways, think of a user being able to adjust color contrast or font size, or view captions for videos.
  • Operable = If someone can’t use a mouse, for example, is there a screen keyboard or voice command available?
  • Understandable = Information and instructions are clear and navigation methods are easy to understand and use.
  • Robust = Content must be robust enough so that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of users and types of assistive technologies.

WCAG was developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), with input from individuals and organizations from around the world. Updates to WCAG are reflected in the version number. For example, the first release was WCAG 1.0. Subsequent releases include 2.0, 2.1, and we anticipate 2.2 updates in the next few months.

As the shared global standard, WCAG is consistently referenced as the benchmark for accessibility. Conform with the WCAG standards, and you’re compliant with laws like the ADA, Section 508, AODA, and others.

How well is your site meeting WCAG standards?

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  • WCAG
  • ADA
  • Section 508
  • AODA
  • VPAT

The ADA protects qualified individuals with disabilities, whether temporary or permanent. According to the ADA website, a person with a disability is someone who:

  • has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities,
  • has a history or record of such an impairment (ex. cancer that is in remission), or
  • is perceived by others as having an impairment (ex. a person who has scars from a severe burn).

Who does the ADA protect and what does it cover?

WCAG Conformance

There are three levels of WCAG conformance: A, AA, and AAA:

  • Level A = minimum WCAG conformance has been met, with web page and content satisfying all Level A success criteria (or a conforming alternate version is provided)
  • Level AA = the web page satisfies all WCAG Level A and Level AA Success Criteria (or a Level AA conforming alternate version is provided)
  • Level AAA = the web page satisfies all the Level A, Level AA and Level AAA Success Criteria (or a Level AAA conforming alternate version is provided)

Most web accessibility legislation requires WCAG 2.0 conformance of Level A or Level AA.

Why ADA-Assist Accessibility?

An all-in-one compliance solution combining best-in-class technology, with legal and accessibility expertise and support, as well as certification and training.

Accessibility Policy Statement

Blindness Mode

High & Low Saturation

Dyslexia Friendly

Letter spacing

Stop Animations

Highlight Hover & Focus

Visually Impaired Mode

Epilepsy safe mode

Highlight Titles & Titles

Text alignment

High Contrast

Text to Speech

Keyboard Navigation

Reading Mask

Content Scaling

Cognitive Disability Mode

Text Magnifier & Sizing

Contrast

Colour

Virtual Keyboards

Hide Images

Mute Sounds

Readability Font

ADHD Friendly Mode

Text, Title & Background

Line Weight

Monochrome

Reading Guide

Big Cursor