No matter the purpose of your website, it must abide by the Americans with Disabilities Act. A failure to do so will greatly increase your risk of an ADA web accessibility lawsuit and, in turn, the consequences that arise from this.
Going over the importance of assistive technologies in making your website ADA accessible and speaking with an ADA web accessibility lawyer will allow you to obtain the best outcome in an ADA web accessibility case.
What Are Assistive Technologies?
Many of those with disabilities cannot use computers and other related devices in the same manner that an able-bodied person can.
Rather than being unable to use internet devices, those with disabilities can rely on assistive technologies that make it easier for them to access and make use of the internet.
Some of the different assistive technologies that those with disabilities can, and often do, rely upon are as follows:
-Screen magnifiers.
-Speech recognition software.
–Screen readers.
-Adaptive keyboards.
-Braille terminals.
Every single one of the above allows those with disabilities to access and make use of the internet.
Why Are Assistive Technologies Important?
The importance of assistive technologies can be found in the following fact: many of those with certain disabilities would be unable to make use of the internet if they did not have access to certain assistive technologies.
Outside of this particular fact, though, there is another element that must be understood: your website must be compatible with assistive technologies, and if it isn’t, then you are at risk of an ADA web accessibility lawsuit.
Every website must be:
-Perceivable.
-Understandable.
-Operable.
-Robust.
Our concern is the latter item: in order for your website to be robust, it must be compatible with a wide variety of different assistive technologies, and if it isn’t, then you are in violation of the guidelines outlined above.
A failure to satisfy the ADA’s web accessibility guidelines means that you can receive an ADA web accessibility lawsuit and, if found guilty of an ADA violation, be forced to pay a large sum of money.
How Can You Develop A Website That Is Compatible With Assistive Technologies?
To develop a website that is compatible with assistive technologies, you must:
-Rely on text-based documents.
-Make use of solid, reliable HTML code.
-Rely on standard HTML tags.
Outside of the above, you must also:
-Go through the WCAG Reference Guide.
-Make sure your website satisfies each point within the WCAG Reference Guide.
-Try out as many assistive technologies as you can.
-Focus on accessibility and, in turn, clarity.
If you go through the above, then your website will be considered ADA-accessible. And, if your website is ADA accessible, then if you receive an ADA web accessibility lawsuit, you will not be found guilty of an ADA violation.
