ADA Compliance for Law Firm Websites

The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination at work, at school, and in most areas of public life. As part of compliance, businesses and public services must improve accessibility for people with disabilities and remove physical and communication barriers to service.

Unsurprisingly, there have been rising concerns about how the ADA applies online and what makes a website accessible to people with disabilities. So, here’s a quick overview of what you need to know about the current best practices for ADA compliance on law firm websites.

DOJ: Law Firm Websites Must Be Accessible

Up until recently, there were no laws or rules governing ADA compliance on websites. Nothing in the language of the ADA even mentions the internet and online activities. However, that has started to shift in just the past few years, as the Department of Justice has taken the position that websites for public entities and businesses also must be accessible.

The only problem is that, along with no mention of the internet, there also aren’t any official standards for online accessibility laid out in the ADA. And, while we expect that to change in the future, it doesn't stop accessibility lawsuits now. 

That's why it's so important to attempt to be as close to “full” compliance as possible. It creates a better experience for people with disabilities that visit your website, and it protects you from potential legal action.  

So, how do you do that? The current recommendation is to follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which is developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in an effort to provide a shared, international standard for web accessibility.

But, at this point, it's important to understand that any web company that promises “100% ADA compliance” on websites is offering something that does not exist. 

What You Can Do Now to Improve Accessibility on Law Firm Websites

All that being said, there are steps you can take now to help users with disabilities use your law firm’s website better. For example, many of the following suggestions are fairly simple to implement and will improve your website’s overall usability:  

  1. Use alt tags for images. Alt tags are used in website code to provide a text description of each image on a page. This allows users to get a description of each image file that can be read by screen-reader services or viewed if the element does not render properly. You want your alt tags to be short and simple, but also accurate and descriptive of the image. This not only helps more users understand what is on the page, it helps Google better understand your content, too.
  2. Use consistent, thoughtful code. Screen readers and other assistive devices and services may rely on information in a website’s code to work properly for their users, such as labels that identify non-text elements and information about the language used on the page. While you may not be able to hit every mark for every device or service available, you can go a long way toward providing accessibility by providing consistent, thoughtful backend code for your website.    
  3. Transcribe audio and video content. If you feature videos or audio recordings on your website, it is a good practice to also offer a text transcription of the content. This is something that is helpful for some users with disabilities and may also encourage readers who simply prefer text over video. If your law firm’s videos are on YouTube, you may consider taking the additional step of adding closed captioning
  4. Choose contrasting colors. The color palette you choose for your website can have a big impact on users with impaired vision. To increase the readability of your content, buttons, and menus, go for a high-contrast color scheme that is easy to read and clearly delineates foreground, background, and buttons. 
  5. Keep navigation straightforward and consistent. People rely on the menus, buttons, and other navigation elements on your website to get around and find the content they need. You want your navigational elements to be easy to understand, easy to use, and consistent across your website to offer a better and more accessible user experience for all your visitors. 

There’s a lot that can go into it, but ADA compliance mitigation doesn’t have to be difficult. One of the easiest ways to protect your firm from lawsuits and make sure that your website is accessible for your users is to use an accessibility plugin.

After researching and vetting the options, our experts decided to partner with UserWay. The UserWay Accessibility Widget is a cost-effective solution that we can easily add to your website, and we prefer it because:      

  • Over 1 million companies use the Userway Accessibility Widget for addressing ADA compliance mitigation. They have over a 40% market share in ADA compliance tools.
  • Most sites using the UserWay Widget achieve a 95+ % pass rate on the tool most used by lawyers to audit sites, and 90% or better on other more specialized tools.
  • Their clients include Coke, Special Olympics, Disney, Amnesty International, and United Way, among others.
  • UserWay provides $10K legal insurance if a suit is brought against a client, and they have never had to settle a suit or go to court for a case on behalf of a client.
  • A member of the UserWay board is on the WCAG council that defines the standards for ADA compliance.
  • There’s evidence that using solutions like UserWay can improve bounce rates, conversion rates, click-through rates, and other Google-friendly metrics.

Improving your website with accessibility in mind is always a wise move. After all, you lose all the business that can’t access what you have to offer.

Do you have questions about how to make your website more accessible to people with disabilities? Do you need help implementing more accessibility features?

You can request more information about the UserWay Accessibility Widget or schedule a free website design consultation with our award-winning team.

While we can’t promise you a “100% ADA-compliant website,” we can help you implement better accessibility now and create a solid plan for the future.   

Are You Wondering If Your Law Firm Or Medical Practice Website Is Standing Up To The Competition? It's Likely Time For A Website Redesign.

If you're convinced your website is outdated, chances are it is. Help is available, however. Please contact us online or call our office directly at 888.886.0939 to schedule your free website redesign consultation with our experienced marketing team. We have been helping clients throughout the United States and internationally since 1998 and are confident we can help you not only reach, but exceed your goals.

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