Online accessibility has been a hot topic over the last few years. Website owners making more and more aspects of their business websites more accessible has led to more sales and a better experience for those who might be facing some type of disability.
Why is ADA Compliance Important?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was put in place back in 1990 and has been updated a few times over the years. The latest update came in September of 2020 with the addition of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1).
Web Accessibility Guidelines
The WCAG 2.1 guidelines are not law, but they are becoming more and more important as website accessibility becomes more of a focus. Many companies are starting to take these guidelines into consideration when they are designing and building their websites.
Getting a Tax Cut for Being Compliant
What many business owners don’t know is that they can receive a credit from the IRS on their taxes if they operate an ADA compliant website. This credit can be a percentage of the cost it required to enhance the website for accessibility. In many cases, website owners with a compliant website can receive a credit of $2,000 or more.
For many small businesses just starting out, $2,000 could go a long way.
How to Make a Website ADA Compliant
Knowing that you can earn a tax credit for your business by being ADA compliant should be very attractive for business owners.
If you are looking to make your website ADA compliant, there are a few things that you need to do.
First, you need to assess your website to see where it currently stands in terms of accessibility. There are a few different ways that you can do this.
Accessibility Plugins
You can install an accessibility plugin, which will scan your website and give you a report of any areas that need to be fixed in order for your website to be compliant.
Your plugin options may differ depending on the website platform you use.
Hire a Website Consultant
You can also hire a website consultant to come in and perform an accessibility audit. This will usually involve them manually testing your website to see where it falls short and then providing you with a report of their findings.
Once you have an idea of what needs to be fixed, you can start making changes to your website.
Fix the Issues
The next step is to actually go in and fix the issues that were found during the assessment. This may involve adding alt text to images, making sure your website can be navigated using only a keyboard, or adding closed captioning to videos.
It is important to note that there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to making a website accessible. The changes that you need to make will depend on the specific issues that were found during the assessment.
Conclusion
Making your website ADA compliant is important if you want to ensure that everyone has equal access to your site. Not only is it the right thing to do, but you can also earn a tax credit for your business by being compliant.
