ADA Compliance Made Easy

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a landmark civil rights law prohibiting discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Previously, the law only applied to physical spaces; however, as the world has become increasingly digital, the law now requires websites and digital content to be accessible to the disability community. If your site isn’t ADA compliant, you could be excluding a significant portion of your audience and risking potential legal action. 

To help you bring your digital content into compliance with the ADA, we’ve compiled a quick reference guide to serve as your go-to resource for ADA website compliance. 

What is ADA Compliance?

ADA compliance means making your website, mobile apps, and digital experiences accessible to people with disabilities. More simply, it’s about ensuring your online content follows the standards included in the ADA. It covers everything from ensuring your site works with screen readers to providing video captions to ensuring users can navigate without a mouse. 

For a deeper dive, check out our full guide: ADA Compliance: What It Is and Why You Should Pay Attention.

Who Needs to Be Compliant?

ADA compliance applies to businesses, nonprofits, and government organizations that offer goods, services, or information to the public. If your organization has a public-facing website, you’re expected to meet ADA accessibility standards to avoid excluding users with disabilities — and to reduce your legal risk. 

The following resources provide a deeper dive into who needs to be ADA compliant:

• Does My Website Have to Be ADA Compliant

• Who is Exempt from ADA Compliance

Man holding a laptop with a larger stylized web browser behind him. The web browser has various pop-ups, including the accessibility symbol, an error message, WCAG, and other notifications.

What Standards Does the ADA Enforce?

While the ADA does require organizations to provide an accessible digital experience, it does not include specific technical standards for how to do it. Instead, the act enforces the accessibility guidelines outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), similar to additional laws like Section 508. WCAG offers a clear set of technical guidelines for making websites, apps, and digital content accessible to individuals with disabilities — covering everything from alt text for images to keyboard navigation and color contrast requirements. Many organizations have successfully used WCAG to create accessible experiences, including major brands like Apple and Walmart. 

Want to dig deeper into WCAG and how it relates to the ADA? Explore these resources:

• WCAG Compliance, Explained

• ADA vs. WCAG vs. Section 508

• WCAG Checklist

• ADA Requirements for Businesses

• 10 Accessible and ADA-Compliant Website Examples

How Do I Know if My Website is ADA Compliant?

To determine whether your website is ADA compliant, you can start by using automated accessibility testing tools to scan it for common issues. These tools are ideal for identifying common issues like missing alt text, low color contrast, or missing form labels.

However, automated scans can only detect common issues; more complex problems can only be identified through manual testing — where real people review your site using assistive technologies. 

Check out these resources to learn more:

• 15 Top Automated Accessibility Testing Tools

• Why People + Automation is the Right Approach to Accessibility Testing

• Why Manual Testing Equals Smarter Automation

• Is My Website ADA Compliant?

How Much Does it Cost to Make Your Digital Content ADA Compliant?

One of the biggest misconceptions about ADA compliance is that it’s expensive and time-consuming. In reality, numerous changes you can make are small and intentional, yet they can have a huge impact on accessibility.

Plus, free tools can simplify the process and help you make these changes without breaking the bank. Check out these free tools to help you get started: Top 20 Free Accessibility Testing Tools for Website Compliance in 2024.

What Happens if You’re Not Compliant?

Failing to meet ADA compliance standards can expose your business to serious legal and financial risks. Individuals with disabilities, advocacy groups, and even the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) can file lawsuits against businesses whose websites or digital content aren’t accessible. ADA website lawsuits are on the rise, and even if a case doesn’t go to court, dealing with a demand letter or settlement can still cost thousands of dollars. Beyond the legal risks, non-compliance can also negatively impact your organization’s reputation, limit your customer base, and create barriers for potential customers. 

Learn more about the risks and what to expect: 

• ADA Compliance Fines: What They Cost and Who’s at Risk

• ADA Website Lawsuits: What You Need to Know

• You’ve Been Sued. Now What?

• ADA Demand Letter: What It Means and What to Do If You Get One

• Understanding ADA Lawsuits and Settlement Amounts

Stylized web browser with a checklist on the right-hand side and a raised gavel over a stack of books on the left-hand side.

What are Common Accessibility Issues that Affect ADA Compliance?

When it comes to ADA compliance, certain accessibility issues show up again and again — and they can create major barriers for users with disabilities while also increasing your legal risk. Some of the most common accessibility issues include:

• Missing alt text for images, making content inaccessible to users relying on screen readers.

• Poor keyboard navigation, which prevents users who can’t use a mouse from moving through your site.

• Low color contrast between text and background, making it hard for users with vision impairments to read content.

• Inaccessible forms and digital documents, such as PDFs or online documents that aren’t structured for screen reader compatibility.

• Poor compatibility with assistive technologies, meaning users who rely solely on screen readers, voice commands, or other tools can’t interact with your content. 

Curious if these issues are on your site? Use AudioEye’s free Web Accessibility Scanner to find out.

How to Get Started with ADA Compliance

Getting started with ADA compliance doesn’t have to be overwhelming. A great first step? Using an ADA Compliance Checklist or a Comprehensive WCAG Checklist to identify common issues and start building a plan for improvements. 

While self-auditing is a good place to begin, true compliance often requires deeper expertise — and a more comprehensive approach. That’s where AudioEye comes in.

Why Choose AudioEye for ADA Compliance?

AudioEye takes a three-pronged approach to accessibility, combining automation and human-assisted AI technology to detect and fix digital accessibility issues. With our comprehensive approach, your path to ADA compliance is fast, easy, and cost-effective. Plus, with AudioEye Assurance, you’ll enjoy a level of protection that’s 400% more effective than automation and consulting-only approaches. 

We start with our free Web Accessibility Scanner, which detects up to 32 WCAG violations—more than any other tool on the market. Our Accessibility Platform then automatically fixes those issues while our team of experts and members of the disability community audit your content for more complex accessibility issues. 

And if your site’s accessibility is challenged legally, AudioEye will stand by you through the whole process — from determining the claim's validity to helping you make accessibility fixes. Just look at the Babylon Marine case, where we helped our client successfully disprove a legal claim for lack of accessibility.

Ready to get started on your path to ADA compliance? Use our free Web Accessibility Checker to see just how accessible your site is. Or schedule a demo to see AudioEye in action.