7 days FREE Trial Unlimited pageviews for any plan
Navigating the Murky Waters of ADA Compliance in the Internet Age
Jun 13, 2019
Not only will ADA compliance reduce the risk of litigation, but it’s
also the right thing to do and has the added benefit of expanding a
business’s consumer base.
In recent years, many companies have been swept up in a wave of lawsuits claiming that certain private commercial websites are inaccessible to users with disabilities and thus violate Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For example, blind individuals, who use screen-reader software to access the Internet, have alleged that they are unable to visit certain websites that have not been properly coded to convert visual information to audio translations. Complicating matters is the lack of clear guidance from the government and courts concerning whether websites are considered places of public accommodation under the ADA and, if so, what steps businesses must take to ensure website compliance with the ADA. This has left well-intentioned companies scratching their heads while exposed to the threat of costly litigation.
By Matt Stark | May 21, 2019 | ALM Media Properties
From now on, users can access accessibility functions like Voice Navigation, Color Adjustments, and Image Descriptors, among others. The Fnac website is now more accessible for users with different types of disabilities, including seniors.
Closed captions for videos and audio content enable people with hearing impairments to understand the content. EqualWeb has become the first web accessibility vendor to provide a video and audio closed captions option for people with disabilities as part of its automatic services.
The unique benefit of the function is that it’s entirely automatic. Moreover, as the website owner, you can modify the automatic generic text if you find a mismatch between the video and the text (the AI may miss a few words here and there), using the Captions Editor in your dashboard.
The closed captions function includes a simple on-and-off activation button, a rating vote for feedback purposes, a new transcription window over the video or audio element, and a captions download option. The captions’ font conforms to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 standards for easily accessible fonts.
An accessible design for a website means that the website is designed and developed in a way that makes it usable and understandable for people with disabilities. This includes people with visual, auditory, physical, cognitive, and neurological disabilities.
