The Low-Down on Website Accessibility Requirements (Interview)

Requirements and best-practices related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) may have a significant impact on your business. 

Many business owners, especially those with an online presence, are unaware of changes in law and therefore many websites are not in compliance with current guidelines. Businesses across all industries have already been affected, particularly in the form of federal lawsuits claiming that disabled individuals are unable to properly access certain websites or web-based services - from large national supermarket chains to individual real estate agents. In this interview, we speak to Intellectual Property and Business attorney, Christopher DiSchino and Parker Lake, an Internet Marketer and Account Manager at OptFirst, to shed some light on how failure to address website accessibility issues could impact your business.

Okay, so what is ADA and WCAG?

Christopher DiSchino: ADA stands for the Americans with Disabilities Act which was passed in the United States as a way to prevent discrimination against individuals with disabilities. The ADA, which is still in effect in the U.S. today, requires that businesses and organizations make their facilities and services accessible to those members of the public who have certain specified disabilities. In 1990, Senators and Congressman would not have guessed that the then barely-existent Internet would literally become a key part of every business, the way it is today. In recent years, courts have been left to the task to decide whether, when and how the ADA applies to members of the public accessing websites.

Parker Lake: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) set the bar for strategies, standards and resources to make websites accessible to people with disabilities. WCAG guidelines are developed by an international organization called W3C.

So the ADA is about brick-and-mortar and the WCAG specifically deals with websites?

Christopher: WCAG is definitely a website-only set of guidelines - the key word being guidelines. It is not binding law but has been used as a standard which websites have been scrutinized by the courts. The ADA certainly deals mostly with standards for accessible design for brick-and-mortar businesses but also has specific requirements for websites. Parts of the ADA also deal with website accessibility for businesses which are considered “public accommodations”, such as restaurants, supermarkets, hotels and movie theaters. For example, hotels with online booking engines have very specific guidelines which they must follow. These relate not only to displaying their own standards for applicable design, but how disabled individuals can book accessible hotel rooms online.

For other businesses it’s a legal grey area then? How enforceable is the ADA for other businesses’ websites and apps?

Christopher: The law is certainly still evolving with regard to how the ADA and WCAG are being enforced against websites and mobile applications. That said, we are advising all of our clients to err on the side of caution and make sure their websites are both ADA and WCAG compliant. As a firm, we are working hand-in-hand with many of our clients’ web developers to ensure that those standards are met. Because this is still such a grey area, we are seeing more and more lawsuits being filed in federal courts around the country. Our hope is that once businesses become more informed of these laws and guidelines, the amount of suits will start to lessen.

... hotels with online booking engines have very specific guidelines which they must follow.

So if ADA compliance isn’t mandatory for all websites, and the chances of being fined are slim then - what’s the incentive for businesses on a budget?

Parker: From the web developer and marketer perspective, improving website and mobile app access is a win, win, win for business and all businesses should do it. First, it’s a win for businesses because they will have more potential users including those who may have vision impairment due to partial blindness or age. It’s a win for website users with disabilities because they will have access to more services and products. Plus it’s a win for businesses again because the legal costs and fines associated with not being complaint can be hefty...

How hefty are we talking?

Parker: Last year, courts ordered Winn-Dixie to modify their website which may cost as much as $250,000 by their own reckoning! More likely estimates are that it might cost something closer to $37,000 though. Either way, the cost of bringing the site into compliance would be a small portion of the $9 million they spent on what the court concluded was a non-compliant website.

Wow … that is a lot of money considering the budget of most small businesses. What should a smaller business or start-up do to avoid that cost?

Parker: Smaller businesses would spend less than 1/10 of that cost depending on the issues. The Winn Dixie example is extreme because of the size and scope of the company and its website. The best way to avoid the cost though is to have an ADA compliant website in the first place. I would recommend sending the requirements outlined by the W3C to your webmaster when she makes your next website upgrade. However … those requirements are very hard to decipher if you are not a lawyer and an experienced developer.

Christopher: It’s definitely a situation where having experts on hand ahead of time is going to save you more money in the long term. Having your team perform routine audits as also a big cost-saver as well.

What sort of credentials or experience should businesses be looking for in their ADA advisers?

Christopher: Companies should have a technology-friendly business law firm on retainer and preferably one licensed to work in their state. Although the ADA is a Federal issue, state and local ordinances derived from it can trigger suits in regional courts. Local law firms are also able to connect businesses to an experienced web agency who has worked with ADA compliance websites before. Anything to add to that Parker?

Parker: Yes, Chris! ADA experience is key. I would only add that web agencies who have worked for large universities, political subdivisions or large charities and international religious organizations usually have enough experience with ADA compliance. These types of agencies would have already gone through the learning curve and so would be more knowledgeable and proactive.

Christopher DiSchino is the founding partner of Miami business law firm DiSchino & Schamy. With a knack for the creative and an entrepreneurial attitude, Christopher specializes in corporate and intellectual property law. His diverse experience allows him to create value by using resourceful techniques to minimize unnecessary costs and risks. www.dsmiami.com

Parker Lake maximizes revenue streams for the companies in the portfolio of Calipso Business Development. He likes coffee, yerba mate and salt water and loves his family. Reach out to him directly: bit.ly/Calipso-bizdev - or stay tuned for future updates on how he and the Calipso team grow money on trees for their clients.