As businesses become more digitized, it’s essential to understand how ADA requirements affect your online presence and B2B marketing strategy. This means providing equal access to those who need accommodations when navigating your website or business.

Also known as the Americans with Disabilities Act, the ADA is a civil rights law that protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination in all areas of life, including employment and places of public accommodation.

This means businesses must comply with the law to ensure their products and services are accessible to people with disabilities.

For all businesses this presents unique challenges to complying with the ADA, which includes your website.

A non-ADA compliant website could result in massive fines. So, as we’re about to show you, failure to comply with the ADA could be quite costly.

Further, ADA compliance is mandatory for EVERY business website, and most ADA website lawsuits are filed against businesses rather than government entities.

Who Needs To Comply With ADA Requirements?

Various entities are required to comply with ADA requirements, including businesses that provide goods and services to the public. Companies must ensure their products and services are accessible to people with disabilities. This includes having appropriate signage, providing accessible seating, incorporating a wheelchair ramp into buildings or entrances, implementing alternative communication methods, and more.

Here is a list of businesses, government services, and service providers that must comply with ADA requirements.

Business owners

Employers

Public accommodations

Hotels and restaurants

Retail stores

Government agencies and institutions

Healthcare providers

Transportation companies

Website operators and app developers

Education providers

When Is ADA Legally Enforced?

The next step for businesses is to know when ADA guidelines are legally enforced. The Department of Justice has the power to implement Title III of the ADA, which focuses on providing accessibility for people with disabilities in places of public accommodation.

This means that businesses must ensure their products and services comply with rules regarding reasonable accommodations, such as providing accessible seating or ramps, offering alternative communication methods, and more.

Businesses can also be fined if they fail to provide these accommodations or if they don’t properly communicate about their compliance with the law.

Building an ADA-compliant Business, Website and Marketing Strategy

Now that you know why and when ADA requirements must be met, how do you go about creating an ADA-compliant business, website and B2B marketing strategy? Here are some pointers.

Design a Website Accessibility Plan

ADA-compliant websites should be easily navigable, readable, and understandable by everyone including the visual or hearing impaired.

The first thing to do when designing a website is to create a sitemap that maps out its content and overall structure. This ensures that every public element of your website is planned and accessible to everyone.

At a minimum, your website should have the following elements:

Descriptive headings

Appropriate contrast ratio

Alt tags on images

Keyboard shortcuts

These features allow all of your clients to fully access your site.

You Should Also Utilize Assistive Technology

Assistive technology on your website and in your physical location helps people with disabilities navigate your space better. You should incorporate audio descriptions in videos or add voice recognition technology to your website that allows people with vision impairments to interact with it.

For example, in your DR content strategy, you can create audio versions of your articles that are easily accessible to visitors who are visually impaired.

Create an Inclusive Content Marketing Strategy

An ADA-compliant marketing strategy helps you target a wider audience of varying ability levels. Use an inclusive tone of voice and imagery for all your branding and marketing collateral.

Ensure that your ads have the following elements to make them accessible for the hearing impaired:

Captions

Transcripts

Audio options

Direct response marketing isn’t just about capturing the attention of your target audience –– it’s also about creating an inclusive experience that emotionally resonates with them… and is accessible to everyone!

Sanctions and Penalties

As we mentioned earlier, failure to comply with ADA requirements can lead to lawsuits and hefty fines. The DOJ may impose sanctions such as civil penalties and injunctive relief, meaning your business must take corrective measures or face a potential lawsuit.

For the first violation, businesses may be fined up to $75,000. For subsequent offenses, the fines can increase to as much as $150,000.

It’s important to note that negligence is not an excuse for non-compliance, so businesses should ensure they take all necessary steps toward creating an accessible environment.

ADA-compliant Websites With Virtua Brands

Ensuring that your business’ website is ADA-compliant is no easy feat. It requires thorough planning and consideration of the needs of people with disabilities. At Virtua Brands, we have become experts in creating accessible websites, and digital marketing strategies designed to not only make life easier for everyone, but to boost sales!

Schedule a consultation with us and we’ll help assure your website is ADA-compliant.