How Do I Achieve ADA Compliance on Drupal?

Drupal is regarded as an inclusive community, ensuring that people with disabilities can access online and digital assets.

ADA lawsuits are rapidly increasing. In 2020, 10,982 ADA Title III lawsuits were filed against various businesses across the United States.

No one is immune from the law – even big names in different industries face these lawsuits.

No matter what platform you use to build and maintain your website, you must make it ADA compliant. It will not only help you avoid lawsuits but conduct your business responsibly too.

In this post, we are discussing everything you need to know about ADA compliance and how it can be applied on Drupal.

Understanding WCAG and ADA

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which all accessibility standards are based on, applies to both web pages and web applications, including native and hybrid apps. These guidelines provide detailed instructions on how website and app owners can make their platforms accessible to users with varying disabilities, ensuring they are not discriminated against in day-to-day life.

WCAG forms part of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). This initiative was created to ensure that disabled users don’t encounter any barriers when browsing websites and engaging with mobile apps, which are now an essential part of our lives.

According to Title 3 of the ADA, businesses are required to make modifications in order to accommodate people with disabilities. Despite the fact that websites weren’t originally named in the ADA, recently, courts have ruled that they should be included.

About Drupal

Before we discuss how to make your Drupal website accessible, let’s get to know the platform.

Drupal is content management software that can be used to build websites and apps. It’s also open-source software, which means everyone can inspect, modify, and enhance it.

Due to its reputation, many renowned firms and government organizations use Drupal to build their sites.

Overall, Drupal is a well-known brand and is used by many developers and businesses.

Accessibility at Drupal

In this section, we’ll discuss Drupal’s stance on accessibility.

Durpal is committed to ensuring that all features of the platform adhere to WCAG 2.0 and ATAG 2.0 guidelines.

Drupal takes accessibility seriously and has created several guides on it, including their Accessibility handbook and theme guide. The site even offers accessible modules that website owners can download for their websites.

Drupal Modules

Drupal modules consist of code that extends Drupal’s functionality. You’re able to turn the functionality on by installing the module, and you can turn it off by uninstalling the module.

However, the more modules you install, the more time it takes to build and load pages on your site. It’s also important to uninstall modules you don’t need.

Is Drupal ADA Compliant?

Drupal incorporates accessibility tools in its core code, beginning with Drupal 7.

From Module 7, the code has various accessibility advancements, ensuring that your Drupal website complies with WCAG 2.0. Additionally, the organization has committed to making its older version ADA compliant.

Thus, when you build a website using Drupal, it meets ADA and WCAG guidelines.

However, keep in mind that you may compromise your website’s compliance when you upload customized content, including additional modules, images, and even proper color contrast.

It’s essential to keep up with accessibility standards to reduce your risk of ADA compliance lawsuits.

How to Know If Your Drupal Website Is ADA Compliant?

You can check your Drupal site’s accessibility by doing the following:

1) Know which modules to use on your website.

Drupal modules are accessible starting from Module 7. These have various accessibility changes in them that can greatly help with website accessibility.

Some of the changes in Module 7 include improvements in Forms API and screen reader compatibility.

2) Perform an accessibility audit on your website.

An accessibility audit enables you to analyze how accessible your digital products and services are. Conducting regular website audits also helps you plan how to deal with accessibility issues.

You can do this through Accessibility Checker, a free website auditing service.

With an ADA-compliant Drupal website, you can make your digital assets completely accessible to people with disabilities. It also helps you reduce your risk of being sued and you can promote your brand as inclusive.

How to Make Your Drupal Website ADA Compliant?

Say you’ve performed the website audit and you’ve picked up on a few accessibility issues. If that’s the case, you must make your Drupal website ADA compliant.

Here’s how:

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Conclusion

If you use module 7 on your Drupal site, you’re already one step closer to being ADA compliant.

There are also other ways to ensure ADA compliance and accessibility, like regular website audits and following the latest ADA checklist.

Don’t forget to check your website for compliance issues regularly, especially after you modify a website.

Lastly, using a third-party ADA compliance service can make it even easier to be ADA compliant.

You can kickstart your accessibility journey by auditing your Drupal site on Accessibility Checker

Liked this article? Find more insightful resources below:

• Best ADA Compliance Software To Help You Get Started With Website Accessibility
• Best Examples of ADA Compliant Websites
• ADA Compliance Checklist 2021