With the advent of the World Wide Web, more and more businesses are taking their presence online. And if you get it right, a great website can broaden your business’ reach, access new markets and boost your interaction with your clients.
For your website to serve its intended purpose, however, it must meet certain legal requirements. One of these is ADA compliance. But what exactly does this mean?
Understanding ADA compliance
The Americans with Disabilities Act’s Standard for Accessible Design requires all electronic information and technology (such as your website) must be friendly to users with disabilities. In other words, any website that is open to the public must meet certain accessibility standards. Non-compliance with the regulation can lead to the tune of $50,000 to $150,000.
Making your webpages reader friendly
ADA does not expressly outline a set of regulations for websites. Rather, it simply states accessibility rules that you must adhere to while creating your business’ website. So how do you make your webpages reader-compatible?
Here are two practical steps that you can take to ensure that your webpages are reader-friendly and, thus, ADA-compliant:
Ensuring anchor text clarity – If you want a reader to take a specific, you’ll certainly include a CTA button with the wording “Click Here.” But this can be ambiguous. How about making it more specific with wording like “Request A Demo” on the CTA button? This way, your visitor will know exactly where the link will lead them to.
Streamlining your page content – You don’t have to clutter your web pages with more content than you need to. By keeping things as simple and straightforward as possible, you can ensure that your readers are able to navigate your pages more efficiently.
Protecting your business from penalties
Making your website user-friendly is not only good for your brand. It can also save you from costly penalties. Learning how ADA regulations work can help you take appropriate steps to ensure that your webpages are both ADA-compliant and user-friendly.