Accessibility

Website accessibility is a must. Peabody will ensure your website is accessible to users of all types, reaching more people, and avoiding costly litigation.

What Is Website Accessibility?

Did you know your website is considered a place of public accommodation? Because of this ruling from the Department of Justice, websites should now comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title III.

Website Accessibility

The practice of removing barriers throughout a website that would hinder a disabled person’s ability to navigate and access the site’s content.

According to ADA.gov,

ADA Title III “prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in the activities of places of public accommodations and requires newly constructed or altered places of public accommodation—as well as commercial facilities—to comply with the ADA Standards.”

Another web accessibility standard, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), is a set of recommendations to make websites more accessible to all users. According to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the guidelines of WCAG will…

“make content more accessible to a wider range of people with disabilities, including accommodations for blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, limited movement, speech disabilities, photosensitivity, and combinations of these, and some accommodation for learning disabilities and cognitive limitations; but will not address every user need for people with these disabilities. These guidelines address the accessibility of web content on desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. Following these guidelines will also often make Web content more usable to users in general.”

One Fifth of Web Users Have a Disability

About 20% of the world’s population (1/5th) has some form of disability that hinders their experience when using websites. Having an accessible website allows these users to experience your website and your business like everyone else. Organizations shouldn’t implement accessibility solely because it’s legally required; they should do it because it’s the human thing to do.

Examples of web accessibility:

  • High contrast ratio
  • Fully keyboard compatible
  • Screen reader friendly
  • Ability to adjust font sizes
  • Alt text for all images
  • Option to disable animations

How To Get Started With Website Accessibility

We follow our internal website accessibility guidelines for each website we built for our clients, but standards are constantly updating. Because we have partnered with accessiBe, we highly recommend each client implement the accessiBe widget on their new website. With Peabody Communications and accessiBe, you can be confident your website will be compliant with the latest WCAG and ADA standards.

Let us help you ensure your website is accessible to all audiences while mitigating your risk of litigation. Talk to Peabody