While it is undeniable that having a fully operational and user-friendly website is indispensable, it's hardly the last word on UX. Web accessibility is often seen as a minor issue by the majority while for the disabled it is a very critical one. When you are not considering accessibility, it means that a large part of your audience will not be able to access your content. It also means that you open the door to legal problems. In this blog post, we talk about why website owners may be slapped with lawsuits brought about by private or government agencies when accessibility is overlooked.

The legal environment

The legal framework for website accessibility is defined largely by laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and generally-accepted standard worldwide accessibility requirements like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Yet, these are not just guidelines; they are statutory requirements, with heavy penalties for non-compliance in some countries.

Here's a summary of key requirements from each:

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):

1. Non-Discrimination: The ADA makes it illegal for companies to discriminate against people with disabilities, in the participation of public life. This means that access to goods, services, and communication (like websites/apps) by those who have disabilities should be as easy as possible.
2. Equal Access: Websites should be made to a point where people with disabilities can access websites, comprehend their content, and interact with them easily.
3. Effective Communication: This involves the provision of an alternative verbal version of the documents with audio/visual inclusion. For example, text alternatives for an image, subtitles for video, and transcriptions of audio content.
4. Reasonable Accommodations: This includes supplementing the webpage with accessibility features like keyboard navigation, creating formats that screen readers understand, and parsing out the applicable fields in forms for individuals with limited mobility.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG):

1. Perceivable: All users, irrespective of their visual abilities, should be able to perceive the content (e.g. g. For example, captioning of non-text content, contrasting of colors in a way that allows reading for persons with vision disorders, and providing alternative ways to consume multi-media content. )
2. Operable: All websites must be user friendly, including those with reduced mobility (e.g. providing keyboard accessibility, ensuring that all interactive elements can be used with a keyboard, avoiding content that may cause seizures or other adverse reactions).
3. Understandable: Websites can be more understandable by using simple and child-friendly language, structuring content in a coherent manner, and providing instructions and navigation tips to users.
4. ‍Robust: Websites should be built with strong and capable functionality, as well as be compatible with a variety of assistive technologies and user agents (e.g. using semantic HTML markup, providing metadata and labels for interactive elements, ensuring compatibility with screen readers, magnification software, and other assistive technologies).

WCAG levels

WCAG 2.0 guidelines are categorized into three levels of compliance in order to meet the needs of different groups and different situations: A (lowest), AA (mid range), and AAA (highest).

Source: https://medium.com/front-end-weekly/accessibility-a11y-b4c6afcb5f

Level A (25 criteria)

The success criteria at Level A are designed to be the easiest to meet, without much impact on the website design or structure. An example at Level A would be that you aren’t allowed to identify something by color alone, as in “Press the green button to proceed”.  

Level AA (25+13 criteria)

Level AA requires a bit more commitment. Continuing with the theme of color, you have to ensure that all the text meets color contrast requirements. The requirement differs somewhat based on the size of the text, but it is pretty strict.

Level AAA (25+13+23 criteria)

At Level AAA the requirement is taken further with an even more strict color contrast requirement for text. Essentially you can only use very dark colors on a very light background and vice versa. Almost all colored text fails.

If your website meets Level A, a reasonable amount of users will be able to use the site. Level AA is the standard that most websites should aim to meet to ensure legal compliance and accessibility for the majority of users.

Risks of Non-Compliance

As stated in the recent Web Accessibility Annual Report released in 2024, 95,9% of U. S-based websites are inaccessible to the disabled community.

If your site is not accessible, not only will you fail to convert any users with disabilities, but if any of them decide to get litigious, you could have a lawsuit to deal with. Accessibility lawsuits are now common, and are regularly filed by people with disabilities against those companies whose web sites are not yet accessible, usually on the basis of an ADA violation. In 2021 more than 11,000 plaintiffs filed ADA Title III lawsuits - a 4% increase over 2020 and 320% higher than 2013.

It’s not just large companies facing lawsuits, either.  In 2021 more smaller companies were sued for ADA violations than larger ones. Between January and June 2021, there were about 550 lawsuits filed against companies with over $50 million in revenue, but there were almost twice as many cases against companies with under $50 million in revenue: 1,115 cases.

The actual money damages of a lawsuit or government inspection can be dramatic. Legal fees, settlement costs and potential damage to your reputation can cost you dearly. It is far more cost-effective to deal with accessibility issues first than to deal with the consequences of non-compliance.

In the forthcoming blog post, we'll discuss the steps you should take to avoid costly consequences and make your website accessible to everyone.

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