Do I Have An ADA Compliant Website?

Your website is the front door of your practice. It’s where new patients go to learn more about you, read testimonials, and compare your services to your competitors. Current patients may visit your website to schedule an appointment, complete any pre-visit survey, and pay their bills. Your business website is a valuable asset for marketing your practice and building a trusted reputation in your market.

It’s a big mistake to neglect such a valuable tool. Websites are organic and must be maintained from year to year. That means keeping information current, such as changes in services and updated staff bios. It also means occasionally refreshing the look and feel to keep up with design and accessibility trends.

Increasingly, website accessibility has become a question of concern. Practice owners should be aware of ADA compliance guidelines as they relate to websites and mitigate the risk of any legal implications.

What does the ADA say about websites?

The ADA does not explicitly address online compliance. But there’s room for interpretation which gets a little confusing.

Title III of the ADA does require that every owner, lessor, or operator of a “place of public accommodation” (which includes professional offices of healthcare providers) provide equal access to users who meet ADA standards for disability. However, the question remains whether online websites fall into the category for “place of public accommodation.”

Thus, courts faced with Title III lawsuits are left to make their own interpretation. Some rule for disability protection online, while others rule against.

In the end, without a clear overarching federal rule in place, it’s difficult to make a definitive statement about whether or not a website is governed by ADA accessibility rules.

Is ADA compliance mandatory for my website?

The short answer is no. The federal law is still unclear how ADA rules will apply to any particular website. But this doesn’t mean you’re completely off the hook.

Many states have adopted their own accessibility laws, and an increasing number of related lawsuits are filed each year. According to one law firm, the number of website accessibility lawsuits ballooned over 177% from 2017 to 2018, most notably in New York and Florida.

Despite the uptick in lawsuits filed, it’s important to note that Congress passed the ADA Education and Reform Act in February of 2018, which made it harder for disabled Americans to sue businesses for discrimination. The motivation for this bill was in part to cut down on “frivolous” lawsuits targeting small business owners.

Yet regardless of the minimized risk of litigation, most doctors will still find it advisable to take reasonable steps towards ADA compliance.

What steps can I take towards ADA compliance?

There is no official set of rules to follow, but the Department of Justice suggests following the WCAG 2.0 Level AA guidelines for website accessibility. WCAG standards have been the guiding accessibility principle in the European Union and other countries since 1999.

Here are some best practices included in these guidelines:

1. Image alt tags. This is text that describes the image or what the image represents. Image alt tags are used by screen readers for the visually impaired. They’re also read by search engines, like Google, and can help your website rank higher on the page.
2. Text transcripts for audio and video. Audio transcripts and video captions make this type of media accessible to the hearing impaired.
3. Responsive layouts. Today, over 50% of all web browsing is done on mobile phones. Therefore, all websites today are designed to be responsive to the size of the screen. Elements of your site should rearrange to provide an optimal viewing experience across a wide range of devices. If your site is older than 10 years, you will certainly want to check the responsiveness of your site by viewing it on a phone or tablet.
4. Links that make sense by themselves. In other words, the user knows where they will go without additional context. This means eliminating links that just say “Click here” or “More”.
5. Headings are used appropriately. Your website should utilize web writing best practices. This means keeping the content conversational, with easy to scan headings and short blocks of text.
6. Color contrast and text resizing. Each page should be optimized for high readability.

How accessible is my website today?

If you’re curious how well your site meets the WCAG 2.0 Level AA guidelines, you can conduct a free audit using Chrome’s WAVE Web Accessibility Tool. This tool is a great way to see where there are opportunities to improve.

Should I improve my website accessibility?

Well…it depends. Each practice is unique and a decision to invest in updating the accessibility of your website should be made in context with the financial health and other considerations of the business.

But in most cases, accessibility should be a consideration to regular website updates and continuous improvement. Striving to meet the guidelines set forth by the WCAG accessibility standards is the best option for most practices.

Improving website accessibility today will get you ahead of the regulatory curve and help you avoid a potential lawsuit in the future. You can also consider it as a worthy investment in the marketing and brand of your business.

Last but not least, staying up-to-date on web accessibility best practices is just the right thing to do for the patients you aim to serve.