Every website must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. A website that does not comply with the ADA can be subject to lawsuits and claims, along with other equally unpleasant legal complications.
Clarifying how actual text differs from images of text regarding ADA web accessibility and speaking with a ADA defense lawyer will allow you to protect your website.
Is Actual Text Different From Images Of Text?
Actual text is very different from images of text. And, images of text are very different from actual text.
Just as an example, if you have a piece of actual text on your website, then your users can do the following:
Select the text with their mouse.
Copy the text.
Paste the text elsewhere.
Copy a term and search for it later.
Translate a selected term.
Copy the selected text in order to highlight it.
Print the selected text.
On the other hand, if you have an image of text on your website, then your users can only:
Search for the image.
Select the image.
Save the image.
Print the image.
Cast the image to another device.
All of the above is nice. However, there is one major problem: if a user wants to read the text within an image but cannot actually see the text within the image, they cannot do so.
The reason for the above is that screen readers cannot read the text within an image.
Should You Put Images Of Text On Your Website?
The answer to the question outlined above is “Yes,” with one very important caveat.
If you have images of your text on your website, then these must be accompanied by actual text. And this actual text must contain the text found within your images of text.
A failure to include actual text that accompanies images of text will make your website ADA inaccessible.
Why Is It Important To Use Actual Text On Your Website?
You can use images of text. As mentioned earlier, the actual text is considerably better for ADA web accessibility.
Outside of ADA web accessibility, though, actual text offers a number of other advantages:
If you would like your website to rise through Google’s ranks so that it gets closer and closer to the home page, it is of the utmost importance that you rely on text.
By relying on images of text, Google cannot index your website and, in doing so, they cannot catalog the keywords that you rely on, making it difficult for your website to appear.
Actual text can be adjusted and resized and adjusted, making it considerably easier for those who are disabled and those who are not to see and understand the text your website is hosting.
Even if an image with text looks clear to you, that is no guarantee it is clear to others; actual text can be adjusted, which is a virtual guarantee that everyone will be able to see/understand it.
If you ever need to adjust the text you offer, you may have difficulty doing so with images that contain text; actual text can, in most cases, be adjusted with ease.
You can use images of text, but it is almost always wise to use actual text.
Speak With A New York ADA Web Accessibility Lawyer Today
If you have received an ADA web accessibility claim/lawsuit, you need legal help. Speak with a >New York ADA web accessibility lawyer at The Samuel Law Firm today, and we will help you.
