As regulations become more strict with website production and activity, it’s important for your site to be in compliance with all new ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) rules and regulations. These regulations are expected to be finalized by 2018, and companies will be expected to be fully prepared for the regulations handed down. As it stands, the first violation carries a fine of up to $75,000, and subsequent violations register in at $150,000 each.
New tools and programs are being released every day to help keep businesses out of the line of fire of ADA compliance issues. These new tools and apps will comb your website for possible violations such as improper color usage for color blindness and lack of audibility for the hearing impaired.
A-Tester—Evaluera Ltd.
Simply enter your web address in the search box, and the program provides a list of any discrepancies your site may have with compliance.
Accessibility Bookmarklets— University of Illinois & Pixo
This program must be installed, but it is free of charge. The program works as a dashboard, flagging problems and giving simple, immediate solutions.
PA11Y—Springer Nature
This is a great dashboard site to use because this site monitors your website continually for errors, and then lists them in HTML 5 format. This site also has a questions forum and a project presentation page to show others your work. The service costs $21/month for businesses and acts as a host if needed.
Accessibility Tools—Google Accessibility
This Google tool allows the user to add an accessibility audit and sidebar pane in the elements tab to your Chrome Developer Tools.
aXe Chrome Plugin—Deque Systems
This tool allows the user to evaluate the accessibility of all owned websites and apps.
Examinator—Carlos Benavidez
This is an online, automatic evaluation tool that tests techniques and failures from WCAG 2.0, and uses a metric-style system.
Opquast Desktop—Opquast
This tool is a Firefox plugin that has the ability to complete over 450 tests on quality, SEO, access, and performance.
The cost of noncompliance is very expensive. Take the steps to ensure your agency doesn’t fall to these new regulations.