“The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.”

Tim Berners-Lee

If you learned that your website was down, you’d rush to fix it – staying up all night if necessary. Because it’s critically important for your customers to be able to visit, explore, and learn about your business and products.

Well, your website IS down for a huge portion of the population. 

For the millions of people with disabilities such as visual or hearing impairment, color blindness — even ADHD or dyslexia — the typical website is challenging, if not impossible, to perceive, understand, or operate.

These people include business owners and executives who have money to spend — if they can access the information about the products and solutions they’re looking for. 

I know. I’ve struggled with physical and digital disabilities for years. And inaccessibility is something I deal with on a daily basis.

Trouble is, most businesses aren’t even aware that website accessibility is an issue. And that lack of awareness is putting them at risk.

Website Accessibility Is Required by Law

Titles III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits businesses from discriminating against people with disabilities — in both their physical buildings and on their websites. The same applies to governments and universities via Title II of the ADA.

And W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is the setting standard for websites accessibility. They’ve identified four principles for website accessibility. The content on your pages must be:

• Perceivable
• Operable 
• Understandable 
• Robust

… Even for people with disabilities.

Lawsuits Are on the Rise

The law firm Seyfarth has tracked ADA Title III lawsuits every year since 2013. In the eight years between 2013 and 2021, they saw a 320% increase in accessibility cases.

In 2021, more than 11,000 businesses were taken to court for violating accessibility requirements.

These are not frivolous lawsuits. Without equal access to websites, these individuals are missing out on opportunities. And the businesses running those websites are being held responsible in the same way they’d be held responsible for not providing a ramp to the door.

Bottom Line, You Need To Be Compliant

Website accessibility isn’t an option. Your website needs to be perceivable, operable, and understandable to all people.

You need to stop turning away people who want to access the information on your website, use your tools and resources, and spend their hard-earned money with you.

You need to do the right thing by serving a largely ignored segment of society: people with disabilities.

Today, many businesses are ignoring website accessibility requirements. Many simply aren’t aware of these requirements, but others put it off because they believe it’s a complicated, technical fix. 

First, ignorance won’t protect you in court. You have flexibility in how you comply, but you must ensure that the programs, services, and goods you provide — including those provided online — are accessible to people with disabilities.

And second, you can easily get started with an overlay tool like AccessXL.

This is step 1, and it can help you improve ADA and WCAG 2.0 compliance by the end of the week — allowing visitors to change the appearance of your website so they can perceive it in the way that fits their needs best. 

Step 2 is to ensure you’re making your website fully understandable and operable. And we can help you do that through training, audits, and website optimization services. 

The Smart ADA Solution

AccessXL is the smart website widget that allows visitors to adjust your website’s appearance to suit their unique needs. It’s a simple, code-free solution that demonstrates your desire to make your website fully accessible.

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Once AccessXL has been set up, a blue button will appear on all your web pages, just like the blue circle on the right side of this page.

Click it now to see how many options there are to adjust the page’s appearance and the user’s ability to operate the page.

Accessibility features at the click of a button 

Users can select a “mode” to turn on a collection of accessibility features. Or they can hand-select the features that improve their experience.

The ADA settings in AccessXL are compatible with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and Section 508 Standards of the federal government.

It’s also fast and easy.

• No need to rebuild your website
• Same-day integration
• A-level compliance

The ultimate goal: To make the web fully accessible to all people.

People with disabilities often go unnoticed. Until we experience the limitations of a disability ourselves, we’re often unaware of their needs. But millions of potential visitors could be struggling to enjoy the full value of your website.

• 2.2 million people have a vision impairment that requires a screen magnifier for the internet.
• 466 million people worldwide have a hearing disability.
• 19.9 million adults in the US (8.2%) have difficulty lifting or grasping, which makes it difficult to use a mouse or keyboard.
• 8.1 million people (3.3% of the population) have some sort of vision impairment (including color blindness). These people might rely on a screen magnifier or reader, or need higher contrast pages that suit color blindness.
• 2 in 5 adults aged 65 years and older have a disability.
• 75% of Americans with disabilities report using the internet on a daily basis.

AccessXL gives you a quick and easy way to support their needs while you develop your organization’s accessibility standards and optimize new and existing content.

Can You Afford NOT to Be ADA Compliant?

The discretionary income for working-age people with disabilities is $21 billion, according to a 2018 report from the American Institutes for Research.

Yet only about 3% of the world’s top one million websites offer full accessibility.

Website accessibility provides equal opportunity to all of your visitors. And it’s such a simple way to be socially responsible while unlocking an untapped market for your business.

It’s also also a requirement.

The ADA is committed to enforcing website accessibility for all people. They’ve filed cases against the City and County of Denver, CO; Jacksonville, FL; Durham, NC; Rite Aid Corporation; H&R Block; Peapod; and Domino’s, among others.

Website Accessibility: It’s the Right Thing to Do

As I mentioned above, if your website were down, you’d scramble to fix it so your customers could access your valuable information.

But for people with disabilities, your website is already down. Isn’t it time you gave them full access as well?

AccessXL can help you expand your reach, raise your revenue, and connect with an underserved segment of the population. From our perspective, it’s a no brainer. If you’ve already started making your content accessible, it’s another layer that enhances your website. If you’re just getting started, it’s a great first step.

Don’t put yourself at risk…

Improve Your Website Accessibility

Got questions? Schedule a short informational call with one of our experts.