About 15% of the world’s population has some form of disability, according to the World Health Organization. That’s a pretty large chunk of people who could potentially benefit from website accessibility features.
And as more and more businesses move to a digital-only format, it becomes increasingly important for those businesses to make sure their websites are accessible to everyone. The US Department of Commerce found that companies can lose around $6.9 billion a year to their competitors with more accessible sites.
So, how many websites are accessible? Only 2.6% of websites are fully accessible to people with disabilities, according to recent statistics on web accessibility.
Let’s analyze deeper to understand the consequences of not having an ADA company’s website and how to make your website ADA compliant.
4 Web Accessibility Statistics That Need Your Attention
- According to recent estimates, companies without accessible sites are losing out on approximately $6.9 billion in revenue.
- 97.4% of the top 1 million websites are not ADA compliant according to WebAim Million Report published by Jared Smith.
- Globally, at least 2.2 billion people have near or distant vision impairment, as reported by WHO.
- Approximately 20 million Americans have visual impairments, accounting for 8 percent of the U.S. population reported by the Health Policy Institute (Georgetown University).
How many websites are accessible?
According to a recent WebAim study, only 42.38 million websites are accessible, accounting for only 2.6% of all websites. This means that 97.40% of websites are not accessible, which is a concerning statistic.
There are numerous reasons why a website may be inaccessible, including the use of outdated technology or the failure to build with accessibility in mind.
However, the most common reason for inaccessible websites is simply that the owner has not made the effort to ensure that their site can be used by everyone.
With so many people relying on the internet for information and communication all over the world, website owners must take responsibility for ensuring that their sites are accessible to all.
By making just a few simple changes, such as adding alt text to images and using clear and concise language, website owners can help to break down the barriers that prevent 2.6% of people from accessing the internet.
ADA Compliant Website Checklist
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990 to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities. The ADA prohibits discrimination in all areas of public life, including education, employment, transportation, and communication. In recent years, the reach of the ADA has been extended to include websites.
Under the ADA, all websites must be accessible to people with disabilities. This means that website owners must take steps to ensure that their sites can be used by individuals with disabilities. failure to do so can result in costly lawsuits.
To avoid this, follow this checklist to make sure your website is ADA-compliant.
1. alt text for all images: All images on your website must have alt text. Alt text is a brief description of an image that is displayed if the image cannot be loaded. It is also read aloud by screen-reading software for people who are blind or have low vision.
2. Video Transcripts: All videos on your website must have transcripts. Transcripts provide a written record of a video’s content. They are important for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and they can also be helpful for people who speak English as a second language or have difficulty understanding spoken English.
3. Descriptive link text: All links on your website must have descriptive link text. Link text is the text that appears between the opening and closing tags of an HTML anchor element.
Descriptive link text describes the destination of a link in a way that is meaningful to users. It is important for people who use screen-reading software, as well as for people who speak English as a second language or have difficulty understanding written English.
4. Sufficient color contrast: The colors you use on your website must have sufficient contrast so that they can be easily distinguished by users with low vision. The W3C has a tool called the Contrast Checker that you can use to check the contrast of your site’s colors.
5. Easy-to-use forms: All forms on your website must be easy to use. This means they should be designed so that users can easily navigate them using only a keyboard (i.e., no mouse required).
The W3C has a tool called the Web Accessibility Initiative – Form Field Labeller that you can use to check the accessibility of your site’s forms.
6.<label> tags for all form fields: All form fields on your website must have <label> tags. A <label> tag associates a form field with a label (i e., describes the purpose of the form field). This is important for people who use screen-reading software, as well as for people who speak English as a second language or have difficulty understanding written English.”
Does A Small Business Website Need To Be Ada Compliant?
Definitely yes. By law, all websites that are accessible by the public must be ADA-compliant. This includes small business websites.
Check out this post for more info.
How Much Does It Cost To Make A Website Ada Compliant?
Depending on the size and complexity of a website, it can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars to make it ADA compliant.
For most websites, the cost is around $1,500. This includes having an accessibility consultant review the website and make recommendations for changes, making those changes, and testing the website to ensure that it meets ADA standards.
There are several free online tools and services that can help you make your website more accessible, but it’s always preferable to talk with an expert who can help you identify all of the places where your website may require modification.
Is WordPress Ada Compliant?
In most cases, yes. WordPress adheres to the WCAG 2.0 accessibility standard, which is a globally recognized benchmark for web accessibility. This implies that persons with impairments who use assistive technology like screen readers and keyboard-only navigation can use WordPress.
