About ADA Compliance
What is ADA Compliance?
ADA Compliance, Accessibility Compliance or even A11y for shorthand (11 stands for the number of letters in the word “accessibility”) are all variations of the same concept: complying with federal laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act that require buildings, public transportation and even electronic media to be accessible to all persons regardless of any disability.
Having an accessible digital experience means that all of your documents, tools, and electronic technology are created in a way that all users can utilize your content without barriers to entry—allowing users with auditory, cognitive, physical, speech, and visual disabilities to be able to access your information and share your message.
Determining the criteria for what needs to be compliant when it comes to electronic media and communications falls into two main buckets: 508 Standards for the public sector and WCAG 2.1 for the private sector. While these two standards are similar and their areas of overlap have continued to increase through each iteration, it’s important to understand the differences and when to apply them.
Why Accessibility Compliance Matters
It’s the right thing to do for your company and your customers.
Creating an accessible online experience doesn’t only serve people classically labeled as disabled. It also benefits users without disabilities such as people using mobile devices who cannot use sound, users who have a temporary issue like a broken arm, older individuals, and people with slow internet connections.
Imagine not being able to access a building because there is no door or that you needed to get to the second floor, but there were no stairs. People with accessibility issues face similar issues each day.
Imagine you forgot to pay your electric bill, but when you log in to the utility company’s website to pay the balance, the site won’t allow you to enter your credit card/bank information, and when you call their customer service line, it’s disconnected. That’s what a non-compliant website feels like to disabled users.
You could also be subjected to litigation for not being compliant. The risk is real and costs can be devastating to a small business owner.
The first step is finding the resolve to bring your website or app into compliance. The second step is to begin educating yourself on what you need to do, download our E-Guide for more information.
About Us
DiscoverA11y (pronounced “discover ally” as in your accessibility compliance ally) provides a full suite of accessibility compliance services. We offer not only a comprehensive testing and audit options, but we also offer remediation support, backed by a 100% in-house, all US-based team of certified testers, designers and web developers.
DiscoverA11y is wholly owned by DiscoverTec, a web development agency founded in 1994 and based in Jacksonville, FL.
Make a Commitment Today
Get started on your path to accessibility compliance or even if you’ve started down the path but need some additional support, our team of experts is ready to help you.