ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance ensures that individuals with disabilities can access digital content on your website without barriers. Proper structuring, readability, and navigation are key to making content inclusive for ALL the users on your site!

In this guide, we’ll cover essential best practices for making webpages ADA-compliant (and have a BIG checklist at the end to sum it all up and make it easier to implement!). Let’s jump in!

Making Webpage Content and Elements ADA-Compliant

Making Webpage Design and Navigation is ADA-Compliant

Use Text and Fonts that are Accessible

Ensure font and letter spacing are easy to read and text color is in contrast with surrounding elements and background. Allow font size to be increased for visibility without disrupting the flow of the webpage.

Maintain Proper Color Contrast

Webpages must meet WCAG 2.0 AA contrast standards. All text on your website must have color contrast ratio between the foreground text and its background to ensure readability for users, especially those with visual impairments. This requirement applies to regular text as well as text that is part of an image. For normal-sized text, ensure the contrast ratio is at least 4½:1. For larger text (18pt or larger, or 14pt bold), a contrast ratio of 3:1 is acceptable.

Ensure Navigation is ADA Compliant

  • Add a “Skip to Main Content” link to help screen reader users bypass repetitive elements.
  • Ensure navigation menus have ARIA roles and labels for screen readers.
  • Set the language of the site by using <html lang=”en”> to help screen readers pronounce words correctly.
  • Ensure pop-ups are clearly labeled (include ARIA labels) and can be dismissed with the keyboard.

Making Sure Webpage Media is ADA-Compliant

Start Your ADA Compliance Today!

By making your webpages accessible, you ensure that all users, regardless of ability, can interact with your content. Start today by reviewing your existing content and making necessary adjustments. Small changes can make a huge impact!

ADA- Compliance Checklist

General

  • Font sizes and letter spacing are readable
  • Foreground and backgrounds should have sufficient contrast
  • Tables and carousels should be labeled and tagged correctly
  • Provide skip navigation links to allow users using screen readers to get to important content easily
  • No empty links or heading tags

Media

  • Objects and embedded text should be tagged for assistive technology
  • Background images behaving as standard images should be tagged and described
  • Non-functional icons/spacers should be excluded from assistive technology
  • Images should be tagged with alt-text that is easy to understand and descriptive, with no text directly on the images

  • Videos and audio files should have closed captions and/or transcripts available
  • Avoid strobing/flashing imagery and have stop buttons on scrolling/blinking affects
  • Avoid auto players
  • Image map areas should be described for assistive technology
  • Tracker images should be excluded from assistive technology

Forms

  • Form fields should be properly labeled, not have duplicate IDs, and required fields should be tagged for assistive technology
  • Error messages (and success messages) should be clear and have instructions on how to resolve errors
  • All forms have associated submission buttons
  • Search form should be tagged as such for assistive technology

Titles

  • Every page should only contain one h1 tag
  • Titles should have a consistent hierarchy and cannot be empty
  • Titles built as text tags should be labeled

Buttons and Links

  • Links that open in new tabs/windows should be tagged for assistive technology and cannot be empty
  • Make sure buttons and links have descriptive and logical names – use accessible naming conventions and ARIA labels for all website buttons

Navigation

  • Menus/dropdowns should be tagged for assistive technology
  • Interactive elements should be navigable using the keyword and keyboard focus should have a noticeable outline
  • Page language should be identifiable
  • Pop-ups should be tagged for assistive technology
  • Every page should include hidden links that allow skipping blocks

Documents

  • The HEAD element should include a title element with page title
  • The HTML element should include “lang” attribute
  • Meta viewport allows display scaling of at least 200%
  • Pages should include bookmarks if the PDF is longer than 9 pages

Need a Little Help with ADA-Compliance?

We have you covered! We specialize in website design and can ensure your website is up to ADA standards!

Reach out to us today!

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