ADA Compliance Lawsuits are on the Rise.

If you are currently using a FREE widget from an ADA compliance provider like Userway, your company can still be at risk of a lawsuit. Now more than ever is a good time to upgrade your account to mitigate risk, avoid a non-compliance lawsuit and provide a better experience for your customers with disabilities.

All Paid Userway Plans Include:

• Full suite of 100+ AI-powered accessibility functions
• WCAG 2.1 AA, ADA, Section 508 compliance
• Real-time accessibility monitoring & reports
• Legal Support Program
• 10-day free trial

What is ADA Compliance?

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights law that protects people with disabilities from discrimination. While websites and other digital content online are still not explicitly mentioned in the ADA, regulations and court orders show that the ADA does apply to web content.

Simply put, being ADA compliant means you have made your website accessible for everyone, regardless of their ability. Not complying means individuals with a disability such as a visual impairment can’t access your website as intended–leaving you vulnerable to potential lawsuits.

With the right tools, the steps required to get compliant are easy whereas the consequences of being inaccessible are harsh.

“Inaccessible PDFs are a potential target for legal claims. Using the Pro widget, UserWay identified several inaccessible PDFs that could be severe barriers to our customer’s site accessibility and compliance. Userway provides low-cost remediation tools to fix problems like this quickly – I highly recommend upgrading to a Pro account to take advantage of these great scanning tools.”

De Ivett CEO, 5D Spectrum

If you own a website in the United States, there are some crucial reasons why you should get compliant as soon as possible.  

Why Should you Upgrade Your ADA Service?

The most important reason is that it’s the right thing to do. Many people throughout the world have a disability, visual or neuromotor, which may make them unable to use your website without the accommodation of it being built for a screen reader.

Modern life is centered around the internet. If you can’t access the internet then studying, applying for a job, opening a bank account, or visiting a doctor may be impossible for someone with a disability.

Here are the facts when it comes to disability:

• 1 in 5 Americans have a disability.
• 80 million Europeans have a disability.
• Globally, more people are disabled than the number of people who live in China.

Digital accessibility is a potential lifeline for disabled people all around the globe. It’s not morally right, and it’s not good business to have an inaccessible website especially when you consider that: 

• 71% of customers with digital accessibility issues will leave a website if it isn’t accessible. 
• 82% of customers will pay more money, even for the exact same item, on a competitor’s website if that website is more accessible.
• In 2021, it was estimated that e-commerce retailers lost $828m because they were not compliant with the ADA. 
• Having an accessible website also has the potential to improve your website’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ranking. 

Being ADA compliant means doing the right thing, while also improving your business through better clickthrough and more engagement on your site. 

Avoid a Non-compliance Lawsuit

Not being ADA compliant is also a financial risk in the legal sense. Under US law, inaccessible website owners can be sued. If you’re sued and lose the case, you may be forced to pay potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages and legal fees.

• The volume of ADA prosecutions has risen massively since 2010. In 2018, 2,200 lawsuits were filed in federal courts. By 2020, there were almost ten website-related ADA lawsuits filed per day. 
• 77.6% of all accessibility lawsuits were online retailers in 2020. 
• 21% of lawsuits are against companies that received web accessibility lawsuits in the past. 

It’s not just small businesses that are at risk either. Huge corporations and household names like Domino’s Pizza, Edx, American Express, and Carnival’s Cruise have been sued and forced to pay hefty settlements. In 2020, US companies spent $6.625 billion on ADA settlements. Companies such as McDonald’s and Kmart have also settled cases outside of court.  

Luckily, the steps you need to take to get compliant are easy. UserWay’s AI-Powered Accessibility Solution takes all the hard work out of getting ADA compliant. UserWay is the #1 web accessibility solution for WCAG & ADA compliance, trusted by some of the biggest brands online.

In just a few clicks, your website can be on the fast road to accessibility. It’s time to showcase your commitment to inclusion and help everyone view your website as intended, regardless of their ability. 

One-in-five users require web accessibility to use your site. Roll out the welcome mat and protect their civil rights. Upgrade your Userway today.