How You Should Avoid Costly Wcag & 508 Accessibility Penalties

October 1, 2022 Joshua Ramirez

Making a website accessible to everyone is important. If a visually impaired user can’t differentiate between an emerald green and a sage green shirt, they would definitely switch to another website.

Apart from the risk of losing customers, having an accessible website is also important because of the rising number of lawsuits. The retail industry is massively dealing with the aftermath of the US law of accessibility. The government protects the civil rights of the disabled population. Those who violate the law have to face costly penalties. Last year, 73% of the digital accessibility penalties were faced by the retail sector.

Therefore, it is a good practice to understand VPAT and WCAG compliance standards and reduce the risk of getting on the list of businesses that are paying hefty penalties.

Table of Contents

What Is The WCAG Compliance Standard?

Chapter 5, Title II of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) mandates website accessibility. It is a legal liability for every business to make its content accessible to disabled users.

Business owners are expected to develop an accessible website and the standards that act as a roadmap are WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). The standard has Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA.

These levels are used to test your website against the standards of perceivability, operability, and understandability. To put it simply, it means that a website should be readable and accessible to those who can’t see, hear or have cognitive limitations.

What Does It Mean To Get A VPAT Assessment?

VPAT security is a measure to self-evaluate the accessibility standards of your website. It makes your website compliant with Section 508.

Section 508 mandates digital accessibility for organizations that are connected with federal agencies. Still, it is a good practice to have a VPAT scoring as the template also assesses a website against WCAG levels which are linked with ADA and that is a law.

VPAT Vs WCAG

VPAT is used for Section 508 and WCAG helps you develop a proactive approach against ADA violations. VPAT Vs WCAG Both are equally important and must be considered by every business, regardless of their scope of operation.

What Happens When You Don’t Have WCAG And VPAT Tests?

The number of audit specialists and evaluation tools is increasing daybyday. Almost every business with a digital presence has recognized the importance of having a legally compliant website.

When you upgrade your products or update your website, it is important to revise the VPAT report and audit your website against the WCAG standards. It is the best practice to avoid costly penalties.

Having a legally compliant website saves you from ADA penalties. If you think these audits are overhyped then you must check the records of the increasing number of lawsuits. Even the biggest names like Amazon, Nike and Dominos faced penalties for violating ADA guidelines.
WCAG compliance makes your website SEO friendly. No matter how useful or innovative your products are, if the website is not ADA compliant, you would never be able to get the desired search rankings. Google loves WCAG compliant websites and it will boost your ranks.
Having screen readers and assistive technology makes you a preferred brand. If you don’t pay attention to the accessibility requirements, you would lose a large segment of the target audience because almost 26% of the US population is disabled and probably searching for an accessible alternative to your website.

How To Attain Accessibility?

To make a website SEO friendly, immune to ADA violation and most preferred in the industry, you need to conduct thorough accessibility audits.

Visit the link given below to talk to an expert on digital accessibility. They can test every element of your website with utmost dedication and suggest remedies to make it ADA compliant Read more