Will my pawnshop get sued if my website is not compliant?
Worried you’re going to get sued over your website? Feeling intimidated and clueless about website compliance? You’re not alone. Over 70% of websites have concerns when it comes to compliance.
Fact is, when it comes to ADA website compliance, there are no clear rules. That doesn’t let businesses off the hook, though; they still must provide an accessible website that accommodates users with disabilities.
“As far as websites go, there is no federally codified direction on how to make websites comply,” said David Engelhardt, a New York City-based small business attorney. “We only know that the ADA does apply to websites based on cases such as [Gil v. Winn-Dixie].”
What’s the best way to build an ADA-compliant website if there isn’t a clear definition of what that means? There are a few actions you can take to set you on the right path toward ADA compliance, or at least help you demonstrate that your business has made a good-faith effort toward accommodation.
This article from Business News Daily takes a look at the issue from all sides and offers resources and guidance to help business owners feel informed.
What’s Compliance All About?
The internet is designed to be a place where anyone can access information with just a few clicks. However, some sites are simply not designed with every person in mind, which results in a poor user experience.
Think about it, to make web content accessible, users who are visually impaired or have other limitations might control their web browsing using their voice, a screen reader, or other programs. If your website isn’t easily navigated by that assistive technology, you could be accused of non-compliance which can come with stiff penalties.
Fortunately, there’s plenty of reliable information available from trusted sources to help you navigate it all.
It boils down to this: All businesses and organizations must be aware of how accessible they are making their online experience for others. This means that every single user should have a similar experience regardless of their location, access device, software system, language, or personal abilities.
A great article from Single Grain breaks down four ways to ensure your website is compliant. Because your obligation to offer a compliant web experience includes all sorts of things that will need to be addressed as you share content in the future, it’s not as simple as installing a piece of software and then forgetting about it.
I scanned my website and it failed. Now what?
Although ADA compliance tests are helpful, it’s important to remember that automated testing has its limitations. It is widely accepted within the accessibility industry that automated testing only captures 25 – 30% of issues. Even a test that looks for multiple kinds of barriers at once is typically not exhaustive. It may also give false positives and false negatives. Plus, there are many additional areas of a website to check that require human judgment – an automated test won’t be applicable for these areas.
It’s also important to remember that a company that makes money from the sales of a particular website testing tool is going to promote it over other options. That’s why we’ve included the links to trusted resources so that you can make an informed choice in combination with insight from your website developer, attorney, or other experts in the field, so that you can access independent experts or firms that have listed the evaluation tools they consider to be useful or have written positive reviews, without something to gain from endorsing particular products.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) maintains a list of Web Accessibility Evaluations Tools. It includes almost 100 different kinds of website audit tools and is often a good place to start. The tools are searchable by type of tool, accessibility guidelines it tests against, etc.
What’s the bottom line on legal accessibility for my pawnshop website?
Focusing only on the possible threat of a lawsuit is a fear-based approach that misses the point.
While compliance is obviously based on following the law, the spirit of that law is based on helping your pawnshop connect with a broader community of stakeholders and ensuring they have the same access to your content as everyone else, despite their situation. Which is just good business.
There are four major principles and categories for accessible content design, known as POUR:
- Perceivable: are the components of your website visible and operable to every user (larger print, symbols, etc.)
- Operable: does your site have navigation that is compatible with accessibility tools such as keyboard alternatives and input modalities?
- Understandable: the content and design should be understandable to every user including clear directions for each page.
- Robust: robust content has all of the features to maximize compatibility with all types of assistive devices including screen readers, braille displays, and alternative navigation systems.
While the ADA doesn’t offer set guidelines for website compliance, many organizations follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). This is not a legal requirement, rather a reference point for organizations that are looking to improve their digital accessibility. You’ll find them here: https://www.wuhcag.com/web-content-accessibility-guidelines/.
Making your website accessible to individuals with varying physical capabilities not only helps you avoid lawsuits, it also broadens your scope and helps you maintain a strong reputation as a welcome and accommodating business.
It’s the right thing to do.
REFERENCES:
- ADA.GOV: https://www.ada.gov/
- SINGLE GRAIN: https://www.singlegrain.com/user-experience/website-accessibility/?utm_source=drip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Weekly+SG+Digest%3A+Huge+SEO+Opportunity+%F0%9F%98%AE
- BUSINESS NEWS DAILY: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/10900-ada-website-requirements.html
- NFIB: https://www.nfib.com/content/legal-blog/legal/small-businesses-beware-ada-website-compliance/ and their helpful Tip Sheet: https://assets.nfib.com/nfibcom/ADA-Website-Compliance-Response-Sheet-Web.pdf
- WCAG Guidelines: https://www.wuhcag.com/web-content-accessibility-guidelines/
