Website accessibility has quickly become one of the most controversial issues in the legal and technological fields. Many businesses try to save money by omitting the necessary technologies that allow people with various disabilities to view and interact with their websites.
Today, it is a known industry practice, that businesses should comply with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) standards, and meet the 508 compliance testing requirements, that enable everyone equal access to their content.
While companies strive to increase their profitability, they sometimes forget to fulfil their moral and social obligations to ensure everyone has equal access to the content they’re creating.
One of the essential features to ensure equal website accessibility is implementing a website screen reader; a vital source of gaining access to the information for people with impairments. Weve constructed a list of the five reasons you should make sure that your business website is accessible to all and meets the ADA compliance requirements.
Gain a New Audience
Did you know that 1 in 4 U.S. adults has a disability? Those disabilities aspects such as cognitive, hearing, vision, and mobility impairments make the simple task of visiting a website much more difficult.
Not adapting your website to the ADA compliance standards may result in your business losing out on nearly 25% of the potential audience. That’s a considerable loss of the potential revenue due to the fact that some people cannot access the products or services you’re providing.
Therefore, you should ensure that your website is appropriately adapted to all sorts of disabilities, ensuring that all disabled users gain equal access to your content. Implementing some tools can increase website accessibility, but it is better to do a professional audit to ensure that your website ticks all the necessary boxes and doesn’t exclude any part of the market audience from fully interacting with its features.
Discrimination
As we mentioned before, 1 in 4 Americans has some kind of disability. Excluding them from gaining fair access to information solely based on their condition may not only cause your business a bad reputation but possibly result in some legal complications.
In recent years, lawsuits have become much more prominent when websites don’t grant equal access to their features. In 2018 alone, the number of such cases, based on companies not meeting the ADA compliance standards, exceeded 2250, nearly tripled in its number from the previous year.
Those lawsuits are not only a lousy PR look for your business, possibly shifting any other company or public persona wanting to be connotated with your products or services, but they’re also costly. It’s much better to invest some money to ensure your website is ADA compliant now, rather than dealing with the lawsuit later.
Brand Image
With massive competition on the market, it is vital to ensure a good brand image nowadays. Adapting to the given ADA requirements is a great way to create a positive impression. You’ve undoubtedly heard of how important the world of the mouth is, and making your website inclusive to all, is an excellent way of achieving that.
In addition to that, many businesses and public personalities tend to keep away from companies that do not have a positive brand image, as they fear it may hurt their business. Therefore, ensuring your business showcases a fair, ethical reputation is key to keeping a consistent, quality standing.
Social obligations
As a business, you should ensure that you’re showcasing an excellent example to others, and you’re leading the way for others to follow. A brand’s commitments to providing digital access to all customers show that they care about them.
What’s even more important is that the brand ensures that they upkeep the social obligations and a moral code that will show others how they should behave, causing a domino effect of more and more businesses providing accessibility to all.
Site Rankings
Websites that are ADA compliant and have features such as a website screen reader are ranked better on search engines and may expand sales by opening new markets. That’s one of the perks of meeting the social and moral standards, increased sales! Even though a business shouldn’t view site rankings as a reason not to cause discrimination, it is a helpful way to motivate those who still haven’t made the switch.
Search engines scan websites and place the ones that comply with the ADA standards at the top of their search lists, exposing the accessible websites to a broader target audience.
Conclusion
It is critical to ensure that your website meets the ADA compliance standards and doesn’t discriminate against anyone by not providing the proper resources for all to have equal access to your business website’s content.
As a business, you should ensure that a compliant website’s essential features are met on your site to allow everyone to have fair access. After all, you wouldnt like to feel discriminated yourself, would you?
And if that doesnt convince you to make a little investment and provide your website with a screen reader, there are always business benefits that come with it. Websites accessible to everyone tend to rank higher and can improve a companys brand image.