If you’re a US-based business or you sell online to that specific targeted audience, there is something that you need ot take care of – the ADA Compliance Act or “The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)”.
If left unchecked, plaintiff attorneys can use this act to target your online business. Today, several brands are getting lawsuits for not meeting the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) requirements and not being compliant with that specific audience.
Not sure, what ADA or WCAG is? Let’s give you an idea of it and begin with what ADA is and how to make your online store pass the test for the WCAG success criteria.
What is the ADA Compliance Law?
Passed in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights law for Americans to prevent discrimination against disabled persons. This law accounts for hundreds of thousands of people and the number is still growing. The ADA compliance law was introduced to improve the lives of disabled people.
It majorly focuses on five main areas.
The five key parts of the ADA
- Title I, employment such as equal opportunity and reasonable accommodations
- Title II, state and local government services such as public education or transport areas
- Title III, public accommodations such as stores, theatres, banks, malls, restaurants, etc.
- Title IV, telecommunication areas
- Title V, diverse provisions
How ADA is linked to eCommerce?
You may be asking yourself, “How does my store fit into this?”. Let us help you understand.
Let’s focus on the Title III, Public Accommodations.
This is the part that requires businesses to make “reasonable changes” to their website, practices, and policies to serve those with disabilities.
Your Shopify store has to use and follow all the ADA requirement guidelines. To help ease the process, try using a Shopify ADA Compliance App to speed up your web accessibility process and provide a smoother web experience for all people.
Before the commercial use of the Internet in 1990, when the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was implemented, the term “publication accommodations” only applied to physical locations such as brick-and-mortar businesses.
However, there has been a lot of discussion in recent years about whether Title III should also recognize online accommodations. After all, digital content is a type of ‘public accommodation’ and people with disabilities should also have equal access to these apps, websites, and online stores.
Court decisions have generally ruled that Title III of the ADA likewise protects a public entity’s website, and in the case of online-only businesses, this has also been widely acknowledged.
Businesses today realize that anyone in the digital audience can access their products and services. says Michele Landis, Accessible360’s co-founder (A360).
This provision is frequently invoked in demand letters and lawsuits regarding online retail since the majority of judges agree that websites are liable under Title III and other state civil rights legislation.
So, why is it so important to make your online store accessible for all?
Social responsibility of ADA compliance
In terms of morality, very few problems are raised. It is the correct course of action. By granting people with disabilities fair access to your brand’s online material, you are essentially contributing to the improvement of millions of people’s lives. Additionally, you’ll be influencing even more individuals because there is a greater than ever reliance on your brand’s internet shopping channel.
Financial benefits of making your online store ADA-compliant
But there are also significant financial advantages; it’s not just a moral issue. It is estimated that people with disabilities have $544 billion in spending power. Making your store accessible allows you to reach a larger range of prospective clients, including an aged, loyal customer base that is more susceptible to impairments. Furthermore, as we all know, a large increase in visitors to your store can result in a multitude of other positive outcomes, such as increased sales and awareness—you get the idea. For your brand, why wouldn’t you want that?
Here are some additional benefits of using an ADA compliance app on your eCommerce store
1. Potential growth in the business
Studies show that compared to 8% of persons without disabilities, 23% of people with disabilities never use the Internet. Therefore, creating and designing apps that adhere to accessibility guidelines will support future income generation and market expansion.
2. Accurate search results – Improving SEO
Web apps that are designed following AA standards ought to offer great user experiences and rich information. This will not only make it easier and faster to find, but it will also naturally enhance your SEO.
3. Better User Experience (Improves usability for all types of visitors)
All users of the application will benefit from our eCommerce stores having higher accessibility standards. It is that easy to make eCommerce online applications more user-friendly by adhering to accessibility guidelines.
4. Writing higher-quality code
eCommerce stores that are built with web accessibility features typically have better code and more features as they’re created with accessibility standards as a key concern and are more beneficial to the developer and client.
From the very beginning of the project, accessibility should be discussed. Every element or component should be required to implement accessibility from the beginning of development; that way, developers will know what to include and how to construct it.
If this procedure is not followed, there will be extra work to do later in the lifetime, which will affect timelines and raise costs.
Sounds like a headache? Here’s your takeaway
Making your store accessible doesn’t have to be a headache, so don’t let it be. Your worst-case scenario is you have an existing online store built before the change in regulations. The good scenario is, your online store is not doomed. Adjustments can be made anytime to tackle the regulation changes increase your online store’s usability and get you closer to ADA compliance. Consider using an ADA compliance app such as AccessiBe to help you with your web accessibility features and setup.
