Accessibility Website Design & Audits
Did you know?
in 2022…
The number of federal digital accessibility cases filed.
%
E-Commerce: The percentage of websites that were cited for digital accessibility lawsuits.
The number of websites that were cited for digital accessibility lawsuits that were banking or financial.
The number of businesses using an accessibility widget that were sued and had cases filed against them.
The upper end of the average settlement in federal accessibility suits.
(The average settlement is $20-30,000)
We’ve mentioned before that Shawna builds all our clients’ sites with basic accessibility standards in mind. If your site doesn’t meet current standards as established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) or stand up to the rigors of Section 508 testing, then it won’t pass our quality controls.
We build your site on a rock solid foundation that includes appropriate alt text, textual contrast, screen reader friendly keyboard navigation, etc.
We make sure that our sites follow the ONLY legal guidelines available for digital accessibility.
These guidelines apply to Federal agencies ONLY under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 508.
WAIT… what about ADA???
The Americans with Disabilities Act covers public facing businesses and requires that businesses must “provide people with disabilities an equal opportunity to access the good or services that they offer.”
So why are businesses being sued based on ADA standards for their websites if it’s for a physical location? The lawsuit against Dominos has set the precedent. The customer had a barrier of access on the website and mobile app that prevented them from accessing the physical goods and services offered – like their yummy pizza.
Since there are no legal standards or guidelines, this opened the door for “ambulance chasers” – plaintiff focused law offices – to seek out businesses that were inaccessible.
As of March 2023, there are still no federal guidelines for public businesses that offer services on their website.
This is an issue in our opinion, which is why we have jumped in feet first to offer solutions to our small and medium sized business friends.
Design to Meet Everyone's Needs
With accessible design as a foundation of our design process, your website is designed for YOUR needs as a business as well as most users/customers of your site.
*Why most? Because the reality is that no matter how hard we try, no solution will ever by 100% effective for 100% of the population. So we strive to be as accessible as possible for the most number of people as possible.
Image optimization
We take the pictures you send us and not only optimize the size for your website to maintain optimal speed and performance, but we make sure each one has appropriate alt text and assists users with disabilities so they can appreciate and understand the full scope of you and your business.
Responsive Design
More than 50% of all users access the internet with their mobile device. Ensuring a good mobile experience with link, button, and content placement makes the user experience positive for all.
Training
Once your site is done, if you want to tackle the updates yourself, not a problem! We provide training with links to relevent How-To’s and personalized videos so you can tackle it with confidence, including what you need to do to remain compliant.
If you’re READY to get this party started,
click the button that says “WORK WITH US”.
It will take you to our intake form so we can get some basic information from you.
Critical Errors Identified
The first thing we look at during an accessibility audit is what or how many critical errors are on your site. Critical errors are any accessibility error that prevents a user from completing a process.
Serious, Moderate, & Minor Errors
These are errors that affect optimal usability but not the overall functionality or usability of the site by the user. Serious and moderate are “warnings” and minor errors provide “tips” for best practice guidelines.
Real-World Usability Evaluation
Our accessibility partner, Rob, goes through the site and ensures that it is accessible with a variety of screen reader programs. He tests the overall usability and experience of your site.
Report
Once your audit is complete, we provide a report detailing the errors or deficiencies found so you can begin remedying the errors.
Not comfortable performing the updates yourself?
We would be honored to do them for you. For those who use our accessibility review services, we provide a $100 credit towards your accessibility remediation and updates. Updates are billed hourly. Have a budget that you need to work within? We can set up a schedule of what updates from critical to minor and space them out over time to allow you to include us in your monthly budget.
Book your quick review or audit today and get the results by the end of the day you reserve!
What is an “Accessibility Quick Review”?
A quick review is where Shawna looks at a single page on your website, completes a checklist of the items that page passes or fails, provides the top three recommendations for how to improve accessibility on that page and the rest of your site.
The date you reserve on the calendar is the day that you will receive your report. Shawna needs at least three (3) day notice prior to your desired due date.
Should you choose to have a more in depth audit done, the $50 fee for the quick review will be applied to the more in depth review.
What is an “Accessibility Review”?
A regular review is where Shawna looks three main pages on your website; usually the home page, the contact us page, and the services page. She then completes a checklist of the items that page passes or fails, provides the top three recommendations for how to improve accessibility on those pages and the rest of your site.
Our accessibility partner, Rob Stemple, goes through your site with various screen reader software and determines how usable your site actually is in its current state. His “customer journey” and usability recommendations are added to the report.
A video explanation of the deficienciesand recommendationes is included in addition to the written report.
The date you reserve on the calendar is the day that you will receive your report. Shawna needs at least five (5) day notice prior to your desired due date.
If you had a quick review done, that $50 is applied to this review. The $100 to reserve your accessibility review is a deposit. Prior to sending your report, Shawna will send you an invoice for the remainder due. A regular accessibility review is $300.
PROCESS:
⇒ Select your appointment type – “Accessibility Quick Review” or “Accessibility Review”.
⇒ Pick your desired deadline/due date.
⇒ Select the time.
⇒ Enter the required information – your name, the email you want the report to go to, and the page you want reviewed.
⇒ Submit payment.
Book Your Accessibility Review Below!
Are you ready to have us do a complete site audit?
Are you ready to take the next step to improve the user experience on your website? Digital accessibility is a requirement for some, but beneficial for all!
Our digital accessibility services not only increases the usability of your site, but it’s also your insurance policy helping prevent the “ambulance chasers” of the interwebs from taking advantage of small businesses like yours.
We believe that you should have amazing service at a price that allows for continued growth and success for us both.
If you have questions concerning services provided please contact Shawna at info@sbarnesdesigns.com