Walk into a restaurant in any big city and ask to sit in the smoking section. Chances are, you’ll get a confused look. Even at a Waffle House. But just 20 years ago, drifting clouds of cigarette smoke formed the atmosphere in diners across America. Now it’s unthinkable to see someone light a cigarette over coffee.
It’s the same evolution we’ve witnessed with access to buildings. I remember watching people struggle through doorways either too narrow, too unyielding, or completely unreachable—with entrances placed at the distant peak atop a pyramid of stairs. Now, at every college campus I’ve ever visited the doors either open automatically or with the assistance of a big, easy-to-push button. They’re all wide enough to accommodate every type of person moving through them. And stairs no longer guard the only entrance.
It’s progress. And we didn’t get here by chance. Just clearing the air and holding the door took decades and government intervention. In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed because the Civil Rights Act didn’t go far enough. It didn’t include protections for people with differing levels of physical limitations and that gap meant some people were left out of spaces and conversations they had every right to be in.
The work to change that started with upgrades to government buildings. Ramps, elevators, and restrooms were all fitted to accommodate everyone. Those improvements and the roll-out continued until access to every public space in the private sector was included. Today, we assume that anyone can enter any building.
As with all progress, there’s more work to be done. In July, the government amended the ADA to include websites. On one hand, enforcing inclusive access to websites is something many of us never had to consider. And on the other, we might be asking “what took so long?”
Websites are the center of the public square when it comes to commerce, connection, and government services. And post-pandemic, the internet and digital spaces have demonstrated just how vital websites are to keep society chugging along. It’s where we work, shop, and organize our lives.
But for 26% of the adult US population, there are challenges and roadblocks that can make access impossible. Screen readers are lifelines for many, but if images don’t include alt text, those visitors won’t get that content. And if there’s a video on the page with a voiceover component, the lack of captions would render the audio content pointless for the hearing impaired.
Those are just two examples, but there are navigation, resizing, focus, timing, descriptor text, and other issues that are too many to list here. There are lawyers who will be happy to list them for you if you’re found to be in non-compliance. It seems an entire cottage industry of litigators has risen in the aftermath of this ADA update—and that litigation can be costly.
Recently, Domino’s Pizza was hit with a non-compliance lawsuit, and fought it instead of simply updating the website. They spent money on a misguided court battle and lost. They had to make the updates anyway. It begs the question, why would a business want to cut out 26% of their potential customer base and suffer the bad press? But that’s for Domino’s to answer.
Apart from “don’t be like Domino’s,” here’s what you need to know:
- Having a website that fails compliance doesn’t make you a monster. In fact, the top 1 million websites average of 57 accessibility defects apiece.
- You can’t be expected to know all the issues. That’s what the experts are for. And even the experts are routinely updating best practices to ensure more people have access to the public square.
- It’s a process. None of this gets solved overnight. But being aware these issues exist and making them a priority for your website is the first step in this process.
It can seem overwhelming when you think of your infinitely scrolling stream of web properties. All those photos! All that text! All those buttons! But websites are always growing and evolving. We’re constantly updating them to stay relevant and current. Whether you’re undergoing a site overhaul or just adding a few pages, it’s a good idea to keep accessibility in mind and build for the future. Of course, we’d be happy to help! This is all part of living in a culture that values everyone. Habits change, social expectations adjust, and we all move forward. Sometimes it takes a few people (and some lawsuits) to make the rest of the world aware— but however it happens, I like when the best solutions are the ones that become standard.
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