ADA Website Compliance: What Small Businesses Need to Know

ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance for a website generally means the site is usable by people with disabilities — readable by screen readers, navigable without a mouse, with sufficient color contrast and properly labeled images.

Courts have increasingly treated websites as "places of public accommodation" subject to ADA requirements, meaning this is a genuine, growing legal consideration, not just a nice-to-have.

Businesses have faced real lawsuits over inaccessible websites, making this a legitimate legal exposure worth addressing proactively rather than reactively.

Beyond the legal angle, an accessible website simply serves more potential customers — people using screen readers or other assistive technology are customers too, and an inaccessible site actively excludes them.

Common issues include images without descriptive alt text, insufficient color contrast, and forms or navigation that don't work properly with a keyboard alone (without a mouse).

Free automated accessibility checking tools can catch many common issues, though a genuinely thorough review typically requires some manual testing as well.

Appcly builds sites with accessibility in mind from the start and can review existing sites for common issues.

Book a free consultation to check your current site.