Picture how you arrived at this blog; you may have opened an email or were scrolling through social media, then clicked on a link which took you here. Quick and easy right?
Now imagine doing the same navigation but without the ability to see or use a mouse. Would you be able to get to this blog the same way? Probably not. But millions of people with visual and motor impairments need to navigate websites each day. This is one of the reasons the ADA was developed.
The Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, was created to protect people with disabilities from discrimination and offer them reasonable accessibility. Many countries outside the US, including Canada, have similar laws. The ADA guarantees people with disabilities the same freedoms and opportunities as everyone else. These guarantees include the ability to access services, protection against discrimination in seeking employment, and much more.
Although websites did not exist in 1990 when the ADA was created, they are interpreted to fall under ADA Title 3. This section states that any place of business that serves the public must be accessible to those with disabilities. This used to mean brick-and-mortar locations like hotels, restaurants, and retail stores, but websites have also been placed under this umbrella as they are places that accommodate the public for goods and services.
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As mentioned above, websites fall under ADA, meaning your funeral home’s website must comply with these standards. The easiest way to make sure your website is more compliant with ADA is to follow Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (or WCAG), specifically level AA. This means your website must be accessible to at least most users.
To meet level AA, WCAG offers 4 principles to help you determine whether your website is accessible to almost all users. Your website must be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. Following these 4 Principles will set your website up to be more ADA compliant.
Imagine reading a page and random parts of it are missing, it would be like reading Swiss cheese - holes everywhere. This principle is about making sure that all the information presented is accessible to everyone. For example, if a person with a visual impairment tries to watch a video on your page, are there subtitles or a transcript?
All users should be able to navigate your website with ease. Some people with motor impairments can’t use a mouse and won’t be able to use your menus and links in the typical way of clicking on it, so they rely on features such as keyboard navigation. This also applies to any other tools or features you have on your website, such as a pricing calculator or video content.
Content and controls must be understandable to the user. Accessibility is nothing if those accessing your website cannot understand what they’re using, reading or hearing. Providing instructions for features, like a contact form, helps users form a clear idea of how to use that feature.
Treat all your users the same by providing them with the complete user experience, even if they’re using assistive technologies such as voice readers. Even though the delivery may be different, the information should be the same. Your content should stand the test of time and be compatible with both current and future assistive technologies.
There are 3 ways your business can be affected if you do not comply with the ADA.
For example, retail giant Amazon was hit with a website ADA lawsuit in 2018. The eCommerce platform was sued over the inability to use screen readers on their website, which caused accessibility barriers to users who are visually impaired. The lawsuit resulted in Amazon paying out a settlement.
We at Tribute are pleased to now offer ADA compliance tools through 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 ADA compliance solutions include ADA website audits, accessibility widgets, and more. Contact us to learn how we can help your funeral home’s website become more ADA compliant.
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