Your website is the digital front door to your organization.
Marketing activities including advertising, social, email, and events all point back to your website so everyone can learn more.
Here’s the problem: not everyone can use websites to their fullest. A variety of people with disabilities may have difficulty reading content on the site or need to avoid it entirely for their safety.
Accessible websites are usable for people with disabilities such as visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive impairments. By making your website accessible, people with these disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the website and its content. This includes individuals who use assistive technologies such as screen readers.
Making sure that your website meets industry standards for accessibility ensures that your brand message gets further out, that your company is perceived as welcoming, and that if questioned, your website is compliant with regulatory requirements as public accommodations.
There are several good reasons for making your site accessible:
Mitigate legal and compliance risk: In 2021, the number of web-related accessibility lawsuits in the U.S. saw a 320% increase over the past eight years; the average settlement costs around $30,000.
Optimize your website’s impact: Make your website accessible to 15% of the global population who are an underserved and loyal group of consumers with an estimated $8Trillion USD in spending power.
Serve more visitors Updating your site helps you reduce bounce rates and maximizes your site’s reach with enhanced search visibility.
It’s the right thing to do: The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion social movement is growing exponentially. Accessibility is a human right, and brands that prioritize it send a clear, positive message that they care about all members of their communities.
Receive tax incentives: There is up to a $5,000 tax credit available to some qualified small business owners that invest in accessibility.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), websites are considered ‘public places of accommodation’ just like retail stores or government buildings. That is why making your website accessible is crucial for meeting ADA legal requirements.
It’s important to note that the ADA does not specify the criteria for a compliant website, yet today’s industry standard is to adhere to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG). WCAG is a technical guidebook explaining how websites should look and operate for people with disabilities. So, by following the WCAG guidelines, you are making your website ADA-compliant.
Violators of the ADA can be fined up to $150,000, which rarely happens. However, there has been a surge in suits regarding accessibility filed in state courts. In 2023, more than 4,600 actions demand letters were filed by a spate of attorneys with varying motivations. Very few go to trial, but the settlements can be shockingly high – some as much as $50,000.
While the legal requirement is a key driver for making websites accessible, many other benefits come with becoming accessible.
Increased visits: Semrush analyzed 847 domain which implemented accessible technology and found:
Increase SERP rankings: Google recognizes improvements in site features and accessibility and seems to be prioritizing accessible sites over those without accommodations.
Expand your addressable market: Recent research suggests that 15% of the global population has a disability, representing more than $8 trillion USD in spending power. Read the Valuable 500 research press release here.
Value-driven brands consider web accessibility an essential part of their culture. To be in line with legislation and maintain a brand reputation, you should do something about web accessibility. Once you implement an accessibility solution, you will have an accessibility statement, and that says a lot about your brand.
Younger generations expect inclusion and attention to things that matter to them. A 2017 Cone Communications survey “found that 94% of Gen Zers and 87% of millennials believe that companies should address urgent social and environmental issues.” A study by Forrester found that 37% of value-driven companies experience 10% or more growth, compared to 32% of all companies.
Even if yours isn’t a B2C business, environmental and social responsibility can position your company as an employer of choice.
At Lionfish, we’ve developed a way to take three important steps:
If we built or are managing your website, chances are that updates will take two hours or less. Combined with an annual license fee for the software, the entire process is a small investment for a substantial value.
Let’s scan your site! Send us an email and we’ll scan your site and give you an idea of how compliant your site is now – and what it will take to make it accessible.
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