The Assistive Technologies Your Website Must Be Compatible With
Every assistive technology serves the same basic function: to assist those who are disabled or elderly in going about their day-to-day tasks with flexibility and ease.
Just as an example, those who are blind often rely on braille terminals and screen readers; a braille terminal converts text into braille, and a screen reader reads out text.
A failure to make your website compatible with assistive technologies will not only put you at risk of an ADA web accessibility lawsuit, but it will also prevent those with disabilities from accessing your website/ your business.
Given this fact, when designing your website, there are two things you must remember: your website must meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, and it must be compatible with assistive technologies.
Regarding the first item, these Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are as follows:
-Your website must be perceivable.
-Your website must be operable.
-Your website must be understandable.
-Your website must be robust.
A failure to make your website perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust will put you at risk of an ADA web accessibility lawsuit and prevent those with disabilities from accessing your website.
Outside of that, your website must be compatible with assistive technologies, such as the following:
-Speech recognition software.
-Screen readers.
-Braille terminals.
-Keyboard overlays.
-Screen magnification tools.
If your website is incompatible with these tools, then those with certain disabilities cannot access your website, which, again, puts you at risk of an ADA web accessibility lawsuit.
The Consequences Of An ADA Inaccessible Website
A website that is ADA inaccessible can create several consequences. Some of the most notable of these consequences are as follows:
-You may be forced to pay a settlement.
-You must make the necessary adjustments to your website.
-You may suffer from a damaged business reputation.
Regarding the first item on this list, it is a virtual guarantee that you will need to pay some money if you are found guilty of an ADA web accessibility violation.
Even if you are found guilty and forced to pay a settlement, you will still need to make the necessary adjustments to your website so that it can be ADA-accessible.
If you are found guilty of an ADA web accessibility violation, your business may suffer from a damaged reputation due to the business’ website being inaccessible to those with disabilities.
