This question has been at top of mind after one of my web design clients received a law suit last week because their Shopify website was not ADA compliant. ⁠
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This means that your website text, images, navigation, and any tools on the site need to be accessible for those with disabilities. ⁠
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Unfortunately there are a lot of grey areas here. Right now it is left up to the courts to decide on each case if the current ADA regulations should apply to your website. ⁠
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After working with my client to find the answers, I discovered that there has been a huge rise in lawsuits for websites that don’t meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, which are considered the current best practices.⁠ Including the websites of Beyoncé and Dominos Pizza.
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Also all web building platforms (Shopify, WordPress, Showit, Squarespace to name a few) have made sure to include in their fine print that making a website ADA compliant is up to the owner of the website. Even though I have seen no mention of this in the 10+ years of working in web design.⁠
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I am all for making websites accessible to all. But going after businesses especially small businesses with lawsuits before being given the opportunity to fix your website and not even having any knowledge about how to be ADA compliant, does not sit right with me. ⁠Know I am here to support you. ⁠

From the perspective of a web designer, it is very challenging to design a web site with web accessibility that is fully ADA compliant. The rules are constantly changing and new updates are always being made. It would be a very costly endeavor for any business owner to undergo and countless hours not to mention the fact that the compliancy is always changing.

Automated web accessibility accessiBe, is the solution I have been sharing with clients. This automated software provides an accessibility adjustment interface that disabled users can use to adjust the website according to their disabilities and preferences.

This means your design remains in tack, they keep up to date with all the ADA Compliant changes and keep you and website fully protected from lawsuits.

I am not an affiliate of accessiBe, it is simply the best solution I have found to give us all peace of mind and pave the way forward for having ADA Compliant websites.