PD/GO Digital Marketing Shares Tools to Ensure Business Websites are Accessible and ADA-Compliant

As a business owner you are you providing a user-friendly website to current customers, clients or patients, or potential new customers who have disabilities such as blindness, low vision and hearing loss. For instance, someone who is blind can access your web-based content using a device called a screen reader. For them to be able to ‘see’ your content the website page must be set up in such a way that it is fully accessible to those using screen readers. Some modifications to the web content, as well as the HTML code, make the content accessible to individuals using screen readers.

According to the ADA, poorly designed websites can create unnecessary barriers for people with disabilities, just as poorly designed buildings prevent some people with disabilities from entering. Access problems often occur because website designers mistakenly assume that everyone sees and accesses a webpage in the same way. This mistaken assumption can frustrate users. Accessible website design recognizes these differences and does not require users to see, hear or use a standard mouse to access the information and services provided. Website accessibility ensures that people with disabilities are able to navigate the Internet using a variety of assistive technologies. For example, some people with low vision or color blindness may be able to simply adjust color schemes, contrast settings and font sizes, while others may need screen readers, speech recognition or text-enlargement software. Those with a hearing impairment may need closed captioning for videos, while others may need to interact with a website without a mouse or touch screen.