Accessibility advocate Gus Alexiou wrote an article for Forbes entitled ‘Website Accessibility Lawsuits Rising Exponentially In 2023 According To Latest Data’. Published in 2023, this article remains relevant: providing some insight into why website accessibility lawsuits are becoming more frequent in the US. These lawsuits have affected large companies such as Target and Domino’s – but Alexiou notes that smaller organisations should also be aware of this trend.
It would be wholly incorrect to assume that website ADA lawsuits are principally filed against large companies. Although, high profile lawsuits against the likes of Target and Domino’s Pizza have historically captured the attention of the wider public. In 2023, 77% of lawsuits are being filed against organisations with under $25 million in revenue.
First, let’s take a look at the legal grounding. These cases have been based on violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which is a civil rights law prohibiting discrimination based on disability. Level Access writes:
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that places of public accommodation are accessible to people with disabilities. And the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as many courts, have interpreted “public accommodations” to include websites – not just physical spaces.
Take care when using AI
According to a 2023 UsableNET report, problems arise when accessibility is left to AI. Alexiou writes:
With the emergence of ChatGPT at the end of last year promising to make 2023 the year of AI and automation, one of the most noteworthy findings of UsableNET’s report relates to the use of accessibility widgets and overlays. These are third-party programs that can be added to websites to automatically scan and attempt to fix identified accessibility errors.
Since the use of AI has continued to rise in 2024, this remains relevant. The UsableNet report indicates that hundreds of claims are filed against companies using accessibility widgets every year. Alexiou writes:
With the hype and buzz around AI showing no signs of abating, it is reasonable to expect that such lawsuits will continue to rise through to next year as owners of digital products buy into the pervasive, but technically inaccurate supposition, that more and more digital workflow processes, including accessibility remediation, can be 100% automated.
The ecommerce industry is most heavily impacted
Although all website owners should be mindful of accessibility, Alexiou notes that it is currently the ecommerce industry that is the most affected.
Website accessibility company accessiBe corroborates this, writing:
It is worth noting that the eCommerce industry is most-heavily impacted by ADA compliance lawsuits. Typically featuring more complex elements, eCommerce websites very often suffer from significant accessibility and compliance issues. 84% of web accessibility lawsuits filed in New York, Florida, and California in the first half of 2023 were against online store owners. To avoid joining this statistic, it is vital to ensure your eCommerce website is ADA-compliant (if you own one).
It’s not just US companies that could be affected
Since these lawsuits are taking place in the US, one might think that it’s only US-based companies that need to be concerned. However, companies in the UK also need to consider ADA compliance when it comes to websites.
News From Wales reported:
For UK companies, if you digitally sell even 1 unit in the United States, you are liable to the full extent of the law. However, e-commerce is not the only UK sector at risk. If you’re a service business that receives digital bookings such as a hotel, and your service is bookable from the US via your website, you face the same risk.
Paired with the European guidelines on web accessibility, there is much to take into account.
Hire a professional website design and development firm with accessibility experience
There are several things you can check yourself – see the list below – but there’s no substitute for recruiting a reputable website design and development company.
Novagram has designed and developed accessible websites for clients including the BBC and the British Government. We also have a great deal of experience working with companies both large and small in the US and our rates are highly competitive compared with creative agencies in the US. Contact us today to discuss your requirements.
How can you ensure your website is ADA compliant?
If you want to avoid a lawsuit, you may want to consider checking that your website is compliant. accessiBe outlines some the most common violations to avoid:
1. Lack of descriptive alt text for meaningful images
Alternative text – or alt text – is a short description of an image displayed on a web page that helps people with low vision understand the content and context of the image.
If an image lacks alt text, people with disabilities who rely on screen reader technology have no way of understanding it.
When uploading images to popular CMSs like WordPress or Shopify, adding alt text can be easily done – it’s getting the alt text right that will require some careful consideration.
However, simply adding alt text to an image won’t achieve the desired effect if it doesn’t properly describe the image in question. Whatever appears within an image must be conveyed accurately, in text, for those relying on screen readers to understand it.
It’s important to note that alt text should only be added to images that, if removed, would result in a website visitor losing out on vital content. Images that are displayed only for decorative purposes should be hidden from assistive technologies.
2. Poor colour contrast between text and backgrounds
The colour contrast between the text and its background should be high enough for people with colour blindness or low vision to be able to read the text.
Even without considering accessibility, colours are vitally important when it comes to website design. With accessibility in mind, it’s even more important to get the colours right: making the content easy to read for all website visitors.
3. Featuring non-responsive UI
Many websites are designed in a way that is incompatible with mobile phones.
Website visitors should be able to magnify text, zoom up to 400%, and access a website on an iPhone 5 without loss of content or functionality.
At Novagram, we ensure that the sites we build for our clients work well across all browsers and devices. Getting this right involves rigorous testing, and attention to detail.
4. Not offering keyboard navigation
All website content must be accessible with a keyboard, and all interactive content must work with a keyboard.
This is another case where testing is important. It is recommended that user-testing includes a diverse range of people, in order to ensure that a site is as accessible as possible.
5. Not offering captions for videos
Captions make it possible for those with partial or complete hearing loss to access video content.
Many websites feature video content, but not all of this content is accessible. Videos without captions fall short of accessibility requirements. This is another instance where relying solely on AI or auto-generated captions is unwise: it’s important to ensure that all videos are properly captioned.
Next steps
While these are some of the most common violations, this is not a fully comprehensive list. Ensuring that your site is compliant will require a full accessibility audit. While it may feel overwhelming to address this issue, it’s definitely an important one, and there are experts available to help you. At Novagram, we have experience creating accessible websites for clients – if you’d like us to do the same for you, get in touch.
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