ADA Compliance for Websites:
The Definitive Guide (2023)

What is the ADA?

The ADA is a landmark civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability.

Think of the ADA as making discrimination against the disabled illegal, much like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it illegal to discriminate against other protected classes, like racial and religious minorities. 

The ADA consists of three parts (or in legal language, three “titles”). Title I prohibits discrimination in the workplace. Title II prohibits discrimination by government. Title III prohibits discrimination by private businesses. Here, we are dealing with Title III. 

Who must comply with Title III the ADA?

Title III only applies to “places of public accommodation” and clearly defines covered business as follows (see 42 U.S.C. § 12181(7)): 

(A) an inn, hotel, motel, or other place of lodging, except for an establishment located within a building that contains not more than five rooms for rent or hire and that is actually occupied by the proprietor of such establishment as the residence of such proprietor;

(B) a restaurant, bar, or other establishment serving food or drink;

(C) a motion picture house, theater, concert hall, stadium, or other place of exhibition or entertainment;

(D) an auditorium, convention center, lecture hall, or other place of public gathering;

(E) a bakery, grocery store, clothing store, hardware store, shopping center, or other sales or rental establishment;

(F) a laundromat, dry-cleaner, bank, barber shop, beauty shop, travel service, shoe repair service, funeral parlor, gas station, office of an accountant or lawyer, pharmacy, insurance office, professional office of a health care provider, hospital, or other service establishment;

(G) a terminal, depot, or other station used for specified public transportation;

(H) a museum, library, gallery, or other place of public display or collection;

(I) a park, zoo, amusement park, or other place of recreation;

(J) a nursery, elementary, secondary, undergraduate, or postgraduate private school, or other place of education;

(K) a day care center, senior citizen center, homeless shelter, food bank, adoption agency, or other social service center establishment; and

(L) a gymnasium, health spa, bowling alley, golf course, or other place of exercise or recreation. 

But what about websites? 

Does the law consider websites to be places of public accommodation?

What’s the DOJ’s Stance on the Matter?

The United States Department of Justice—the DOJ—is an executive agency of the United States government led by the Attorney General, which is tasked with enforcing federal law and administering justice in the United States.

The DOJ authored the regulations that implement the ADA, and so its interpretations of the law are given great weight. 

Is there a Precedent?

ADA website compliance cases continue to roll in daily, but let’s look at some well-known examples.  

In Robles v. Domino’s Pizza Inc., the pizza delivery giant was found to be subject to Title III on their website and mobile applications.

Other companies like Netflix, Amazon, and even superstar Beyonce have all spent untold amounts of money on legal fees to deal with digital accessibility lawsuits. 

Digital vs. Physical Space

The “places of public accommodation” listed within the ADA itself are, at first glance, physical places: Theaters, museums, restaurants, etc.

Congress required the DOJ to issue regulations explaining what business owners must do to comply with the ADA. The DOJ issued the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (the “ADAAG”), which explains how to comply. 

When a restaurant or theater or other physical business is designed or modified, the architect or contractor builds parking spaces, ramps, bathrooms, counterspace, and other building elements that follow the ADAAG, and therefore comply with the ADA. For example:

ADAAG compliant ramp: 

And an accessible bathroom:

But the internet is different.

A person who needs a wheelchair can often use the internet just like an able-bodied person does.

Also, the ADA was passed in 1990, and the first ADAAG was written in 1991, before the Internet and websites. Even though the ADAAG was updated in 2010, no website regulations were included.

Who do we need to make our website accessible for?

Think about how you interact with the internet.

Eyes

You use your eyes for viewing the screen. People who have visual impairments need assistance accessing your website. These include:

1. People who are color blind
2. People who are totally blind
3. People who have other visual impairments
4. Tunnel vision
5. Central loss vision
6. Low vision

Hands

You use your fingers to type. People with physical impairments need assistance accessing your website. These include people who are differently-abled and use different devices to type.

All of these disabilities should be considered to create an inclusive online experience, but by far, the issue that results in almost all ADA lawsuits, is accessibility for the blind and visually impaired. 

This includes not only perceiving the screen, but also functionality of shopping cart and payment pages. 

What is the WCAG?

The WCAG is a series of guidelines that provide information about web accessibility. 

The guidelines (reaching a staggering 80+ page count) give site owners clear instructions toward making their website accessible to people with disabilities.

Technically, it’s not a legal requirement to follow the WCAG guidelines, but they heavily influence ADA litigation and are often considered to be de facto compliant with ADA standards. 

A WCAG & ADA Title III Checklist

2. Add text alternatives to your site

Visually impaired users use screen readers to better understand the content on a site. For screen readers to work on your site, adding text alternatives to non-text elements is important.

This is because images and other media help tell a story on your site. 

For example, some images might explain places and things, display your product, or contribute to your website content’s overall contextualization and understanding. 

Adding alt tags to your images and text transcripts to video files makes those elements easier to understand. 

Clearly labeling your forms and any input fields works hand-in-hand with screen readers. 

For example, the alternative text for the above image should say something along these lines: A woman holding a blue bag with bird and flower patches served as ornaments. The bag is on sale, 30% discount.

Get a Free Website Scan & See Where Your Business Stands

Learn where your business is vulnerable and what you will need to change to meet ADA Title III regulations. 

If it turns out that your website has accessibility issues, the good news is now you know about them! Our checker also tells you exactly how to fix each problem.

Frequently Asked Questions