The world hasn’t always been kind to disabled people. People have been moving forward while becoming more empathetic and kind in a space with so much competition for the next better thing. Businesses used to discriminate between disabled and ordinary people, but significant steps have been taken to make businesses friendly for disabled people. Business owners now comply with the Americans Disability Act of 1990 (ADA)

This means creating an environment for disabled people to feel safe and regarded. This starts with installing parking spaces and ramps for them to make everything accessible for them. Disabled people have had trouble paving their way through the world. That’s why businesses have been focusing on making everything disable friendly. Many courts have agreed that a law related to websites for businesses should be passed so that blind and visually impaired people can access websites without feeling left out.

What is ADA?

  • ADA is a civil rights law that the government has passed to reduce discrimination relating to disability.
  • The act for disabled people was passed after several laws were passed on discrimination based on sex, religion, and race. The world is evolving slowly, and people are changing their perspectives.
  • ADA has helped disabled people take a step into the world freely. The adaption of wheelchair ramps, restroom facilities, and accessible accommodations has helped disabled people become a regular part of American workplaces.

ADA and websites:

  • ADA has had a highly complex relationship with websites. An ADA complaint checklist has been generated to make the website friendly for disabled people.
  • Various courts around America have ruled commercial websites to be accessible to disabled people while complying with the laws that are generated in that regard. Multiple courts have passed different rulings while some have not given a specified set of rules, others have. These rules must be followed to create a more friendly environment for disabled people.
  • ADA compliance is not mandatory for every website as it is unclear how the ADA specifies rules must be applied to a website. Many states have adopted laws that they can bend according to their needs.
  • The question is how you will be able to tell if the website is compliable if there are no rules. The best thing is to look into the guidelines that are offered by multiple law firms. You can also find these guidelines on the internet to make the website compliable.

Focus:

The WCAG guidelines want business owners to pay attention to multiple areas of focus. The accessibility is drafted into a list that is easy to understand.

  • Perceivable: This means providing audio descriptions for disabled people to understand what content is posted on the website.
  • Operable: Businesses need to ensure that their website is easy to navigate. Disabled person doesn’t have things easy for themselves, but the website should be.
  • Understandable: Getting rid of jargon and formal language will help make the process of coming to the website smoother.
  • Robust: The website should be able to change and adapt according to the needs of the disabled person.

The world is not easy for disabled people. Business owners must ensure that they take all the necessary steps to create a safer environment for disabled people, according to the ADA law.

About the Author

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Mirko Humbert

Mirko Humbert is the editor-in-chief and main author of Designer Daily and Typography Daily. He is also a graphic designer and the founder of WP Expert.