The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides for people with disabilities to have equal access to public places. Most of us are familiar with it in buildings: wheelchair ramps, elevator buttons in braille, and other instances. But recently it has played a more prominent role in access to websites. Due to increased awareness of this issue, it’s something your business may need to address. Shanna Denfeld from The GHT Companies shares what it is like to work with our entire team, and how we help.
What Clients Say
What is an ADA-compliant website?
In the strictest sense, it is a website that meets the standards set by section 508 of the government code on accessibility. One of the primary facets is that all content be available in text format. This means: Read about real results we’ve obtained for our clients, including website redesigns, SEO, PPC, and combinations.
Case Studies
Text
What looks like text on a web page can actually be a graphic. We don’t build our sites that way, for various reasons. The upshot is that all the text on the sites we build is just that: text.
Graphics
Any photos or other graphic items should be accompanied by a description in the code. Again, something we normally do, since it is part of good, standard site-construction practice.
Video
Ideally all videos would include a transcription, although a brief overview may suffice. We do this as part of our SEO campaigns, so we’re well-versed in the techniques.
Documents
PDFs are the most common. Depending on how they’re created, they could be graphic or text. To confirm to ADA requirements, they need to be text. Besides those criteria, many of the rest involve making sites logical, easy to navigate, and in general, user-friendly. All of these items are simply part of good web design, which we have been practicing for years.
Our website portfolio
With over 100 websites to our credits, we’ve designed, built, and managed every kind of site. Here are some samples.
How much does a compliant site cost?
Most of the time, the items mentioned above are all included as part of our normal pricing. When additional work is involved (like transcribing videos or recreating PDF docs), there may be a nominal upcharge.
Video: A quick look
Got 60 seconds? Watch this video to find out what we’re all about, and why we’re uniquely qualified to help you.
What if your site is not in compliance?
We strive to build all websites with as much accessibility as we can reasonably manage. However, true ADA compliance can only be achieved through an outside 3rd party vendor. Unfortunately, it can be prohibitively expensive. If you want that guarantee, we recommend engagement with a 3rd party certified ADA testing compliance agency.
We can put you in touch with agencies that specialize in ensuring that your website is fully ADA compliant. Please ask us if you are interested.
