What 'ADA compliant' actually means for a website
The ADA itself doesn't publish a web checklist, and no vendor can hand you a legally binding 'certified compliant' stamp. What courts and plaintiffs' attorneys point to is WCAG 2.1 Level AA — the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. That's the bar we design and build to.
Most accessibility demand letters target the same recurring failures: images without alt text, forms without labels, poor color contrast, and content you can't reach or operate with a keyboard. An accessibility-first redesign fixes those at the source instead of papering over them.
- WCAG 2.1 AA is the practical target — success criteria for perceivable, operable, understandable, robust content
- Semantic HTML and correct heading structure so screen readers can parse the page
- Color contrast checked against the 4.5:1 (normal text) and 3:1 (large text) thresholds
- Full keyboard operability with visible focus states — no mouse-only traps
- Labeled, error-tolerant forms that announce mistakes to assistive tech
- Alt text, captions, and reduced-motion handling for media
Why we don't rely on accessibility overlay widgets
Overlay and 'accessibility widget' scripts promise instant compliance, but they don't fix the underlying code, and a growing number of demand letters name sites that use them. They can even interfere with the assistive technology a user already has installed.
We remediate the actual markup and design, then verify with keyboard-only navigation and screen readers. Accessibility lives in your codebase, not in a third-party button in the corner.
- Remediation at the HTML/CSS/JS level, not a script layered on top
- Testing with real assistive tech (screen reader + keyboard) alongside automated scanners
- Automated tools catch roughly a third of issues — the rest require manual review
- An accessibility statement page documenting your conformance target and contact path
- Reusable, accessible component patterns so new pages stay compliant
More on website redesigns
Frequently asked questions
Can you guarantee I won't get sued over accessibility?
No one honestly can, and you should be skeptical of anyone who promises it. What we can do is bring your site to WCAG 2.1 AA, document your conformance effort, and remove the specific issues those complaints are built on — which is the strongest realistic position to be in. Book a free consultation and we'll review your current site's exposure.
Do I need a full redesign, or can you fix my existing site?
It depends on how the site was built. Sites with clean, modern code can often be remediated in place. Older or heavily plugin-dependent sites sometimes cost more to patch repeatedly than to rebuild correctly. We'll audit yours and tell you honestly which path is cheaper for you.
Does an accessibility widget make my site compliant?
No. Overlay widgets don't change your underlying code, don't reliably fix WCAG failures, and are themselves a frequent target of demand letters. Real compliance comes from accessible markup and design, which is what we build.