WHY DOES MY WEBSITE NEED TO BE ACCESSIBLE?
- It is a legal requirement
- It is courteous and inclusive
- It makes good business sense.
Approximately 25% of all North Americans have some form of disability. 50% of them use the internet daily. Some of them are your customers.
Accessibility is the law and is the right thing to do. Getting into compliance and a proactive stance is especially prudent, when you consider the penalties and dangers of having an inaccessible website, up to and including lawsuits, where serial litigants are suing thousands of businesses every day.
If your website is meant to be engaged by your customers and your potential customers, it is essential to ensure that it is accessible, or you risk missing out on that segment of business and potential revenue.
WHY CDP COMMUNICATIONS?
At CDP Communications, we make sure your website meets requirements for web accessibility. To ensure compliance according to the ADA, AODA and Section 508, and other global legislation and regulations we feature:
- Experts with 12+ years of experience protecting businesses from Accessibility Lawsuits
- Personalized and hands-on Service right down to the very last details
- We are not satisfied unless the client’s expectations are exceeded
- CDP has a long history of digital excellence – we’ve been solving digital problems since 1984!
WHY DO YOU NEED A MANUAL AUDIT?
- A software scan won’t determine a sufficient degree of content accessibility. In fact, such programs only run at about 30% accuracy.
- Manual audits check for various requirements in accordance with the highest conformance standards, including color contrast, screen reader compatibility readability, alternative text, keyboard access, links and menus, adequate prompting, and labeling.
- Accessibility involves a wide range of disabilities, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological. All the factors that websites must be accessible to.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How do the current laws relate to websites and digital content?
Some of the existing laws here in North America were ratified into law FAR before the digital revolution occurred. In fact, the laws were not created with digital accessibility in mind at all. However, numerous rulings, updates, and expansions to existing laws have made clear that the laws apply to websites and not just the physical, tangible world. At its bottom line, existing accessibility laws (ADA, AODA, Section 508, and more) use language that showcases each act’s reach and flexibility, as well as exactly what makes your website fall under it. With the evolution of our notion of public spaces developing to include the internet at large, the law regulates web accessibility. Still, because many websites are created without a clear understanding of the act, many are not actually compliant and are at risk.
Can I be sued for not having an accessible website?
There are different approaches depending on the severity of your problem. If you have already been served with a lawsuit, don’t worry, we will help you get through this. That starts with an initial consultation where we explain everything in a way that you can understand. We’ll provide a step-by-step action plan and discuss some of the alternatives that you will have. Then we can recommend the services that we provide that will help you in fighting your lawsuit.
For those of you who are being proactive, bravo! Improving the accessibility of your website will not only help you minimize your exposure for a lawsuit, but also improve sales by reaching more potential customers. Approximately 25% of North Americans has some sort of disability – many of them might want to be your customers. We can talk about strategies for cost effective barrier removal and when and how to implement your plan. Our objective is to give you all the tools needed to make sound business decisions on accessibility.
How do you ensure accessibility?
The initial consultation is on us. Give us a call and we can explain some of the ins and outs of accessibility access. We know that it is a confusing subject, and we will do our best to answer your questions. After we hear about the details of your accessibility challenge, we can then suggest a custom package that is tailored to your needs and budget. We have a wide range of services that we can draw from to make it just right for you.
We can then put a time and cost estimate together for you. This doesn’t cost you anything either. We are anxious to solve your problem, so the proposal will arrive by email within a day or two of our initial consultation. Then let’s talk again. This is a
collaborative effort and good communication is essential to our approach in solving your problem. So, what are you waiting for? We look forward to becoming your go-to accessibility expert.
Why is web accessibility important?
Approximately 25% of the North American population has a disability. That’s a staggering figure that is only going to grow as our population grows older. Besides that, in these tough economic times, why would any business want to exclude potential customers? These customers with disabilities have great purchasing power as the affluent baby boomer generation approaches retirement age. The disabled community also spreads the word on disabled friendly businesses. They can be vocal advocates for your business… instead of detractors.
What are the universally accepted Web Content Accessibility Guidelines?
Our job as your disability access consultant is not only to make you aware of the non-compliant items but also to advise you on cost effective ways to correct the problem. Our experts use their extensive accessibility background and deep category experience and knowledge to recommend the most economical solutions.
What are the WCAG 2.1 Layers of Guidance?
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is developed through the W3C process in cooperation with individuals and organizations around the world, with the goal of providing a single shared standard for web content accessibility that meets the needs of individuals, organizations, and governments internationally.
The WCAG standards have 12-13 guidelines. These guidelines are organized under four principles: perceivable, operable, understandable & robust.
For each guideline, there are testable success criteria. The success criteria are at three levels: A, AA & AAA.
The success criteria are what determine “conformance” to WCAG. That is, to meet WCAG, the content needs to meet the success criteria.
What are some best practices to make a website accessible to people with disabilities?
When websites and web tools are properly designed and coded, people with disabilities can use them. However, currently many sites and tools are developed with accessibility barriers that make them difficult or impossible for some people to use.
Making the web accessible benefits individuals, businesses, and society. International web standards define what is needed for accessibility.
The best way to get a website accessible, is to have an expert conduct a manual audit, reviewing each page for every accessibility requirement and then having an experienced developer implement the corrections cited in the report. Let our experts guide you through this process.