Are You Compliant Online?
Are You Compliant Online?
You’ve spent time carefully making sure your funeral home is accessible to those with disabilities, but what about your website? Not only is website accessibility the considerate and right thing to do, it’s also the law.
The Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, protects people with disabilities from discrimination, and websites are included under Title 3. Many countries around the world have similar accessibility laws, as do some states or provinces. This means that funeral homes can face fines and lawsuits if their website is not accessible to most people with disabilities. Not only are you legally responsible for accessibility, but many of your visitors will struggle to use your website without appropriate accessibility accommodation, including many baby boomers with developing impairments.
But the ADA should not just be seen as something you have to do or else you’ll get in trouble – there's benefits for you and your families. The most important benefit is making your website inclusive to all families to use in one of the most stressful times of their life. It sets you apart from your competitors that don’t offer these services. Plus, you might be eligible for tax credits to recoup some of the money spent on accessibility solutions.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
For your website to comply with the ADA, the best practice is to check if it meets the level AA standards of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (or WCAG). The 3 levels of the WCAG (A, AA, AAA) state that some, almost all, or all users can access your website. Good practice is to meet Level AA or above with respect to ADA compliance.
From eliminating flashing content for people with ADHD or epilepsy to including captions for those with hearing impairments, these rules allow most people with disabilities the same experience as those without. To meet Level AA standards, your website must follow every point from Level A and AA.
| Level A | Level AA |
|---|---|
| All images and other non-text elements include alt text | Video and audio content have text captions |
| Videos have text captions | Color contrast ratio is at a level for visually impaired users |
| No strobing and flashing lights | Contrast ratio for page backgrounds and text is at least 4.5 to 1 |
| Videos and audio have a transcript or audio description | Underlined text leads to a link |
| Links on media players view content | Text can be resized clearly to 200% |
| Bold and Italics HTML tags are replaced with ‘strong’ and ‘em’ (emphasized) tags | Website doesn’t use images where text has the same effect |
| No empty links or heading tags | Not useful links are removed |
| Titles describe the content effectively | Language is identifiable in code even with language changes |
| The presentation should have more than just color and convey information clearly | Users receive suggestions on how to solve input errors on forms |
| Audio does not use auto-play and can be stopped by the user | Each page is accessible in multiple ways |
| Time limits provide users notifications on how much time is left | Menus and buttons are used consistently regardless of the page the user is on |
| Headings and titles are readable and in order (H1, H2, H3) | Keyboard focus is visible and clear |
| Users can navigate using a keyboard | |
| Automatic scrolling and blinking content are stoppable | |
| There is a link to skip navigation | |
| Proper labeling and logical naming are on links and buttons | |
| Language used on page is identifiable in code | |
| Bad form input notifies users of issue | |
| There are no major validation errors on the website | |
| Elements in focus remain unchanged on website content | |
| Forms are labeled properly and have legends |
[WEBINAR]
Everything You Need to Know About ADA Compliance Online.
Is Your Firm at Risk?
WCAG Levels A and AA Checklist
How to check if you’re compliant
There are 2 ways you can determine your ADA compliance: Manually or with ADA compliance software.
Manually: To determine your website’s ADA compliance yourself, use checklists (such as the one above) to evaluate each page. These include changes to design, content, and coding. You may need to hire someone to help you check and fix any coding issues.
ADA compliance software: If you’re not tech-savvy, ADA compliance software is the best way to check your website’s compliance. This software uses artificial intelligence (AI) to comb your website for any ADA violations that may exist. They also offer tools to increase your website’s accessibility.
Tribute Accessibility
Ready to see if your site is accessible or make the required changes? Check out Tribute Accessibility powered by UserWay. Tribute Technology delivers this innovative product through its network of Premier Partners including leading providers such as FrontRunner Professional, MKJ Marketing, SRS Computing, Funeral Tech, CFS, and others. Tribute Accessibility offers software to check ADA compliance, along with tools that boost your website’s accessibility. UserWay offers special discounts on accessibility solutions to customers of Tribute Technology and our Premier Partners. Strengthen your website’s ADA compliance today. Click here to learn more.
