Online businesses are prioritizing website experience for their users, resulting in a positive impact on conversion rates. The internet has evolved so rapidly and continues to do so, and it’s more than just design and functionality. It’s also about the user experience (UX) of your site, which is integral to its success. So, it’s no wonder online businesses are trying to make their websites more user-friendly; but how? Many businesses today are using web accessibility tools like accessiBe to optimize their ADA friendly website.

What is a Website Accessibility Compliance Tool?

These programs/tools are designed to help businesses ensure their websites meet the requirements of Section 508. The tool verifies that your website meets all of the criteria set forth in the Section 508 standards for website accessibility, which were published by the United States federal government.

What is Section 508?

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act was created to protect web users with disabilities, and it has required all federal agencies to develop new guidelines for electronic and information technology. This includes software applications, websites, video, and audio. It covers a wide range of disabilities, including visual impairment, hearing loss, and physical disabilities.

According to Section 508, a website must be accessible in order for the business to receive federal funding. This means that if your organization does not have an ADA compliant website or mobile app, you will lose out on potential customers and revenue. That’s why it is so important to make sure your site is 100% ADA compliant. Even if the federal government doesn’t fund your website, it’s still important to make it ADA compliant because 1 in 5 people in the U.S. live with a disability.

Why is an ADA Compliant Website Important?

The U.S. Census Bureau states that nearly 56 million people in the United States have some kind of disability, which represents 20% of all Americans with a population of 308 million. This number has increased since the last census in 2010 when it was 19%.

Today’s web users have high expectations of website functionality, and they expect a smooth user experience from any site that they visit. It’s not just web users with disabilities who have these expectations either. These days, everyone expects easy access to information and products on eCommerce sites. In fact, according to one study, 80% of people with disabilities use the internet at least once per week, and they are willing to spend more money on goods and services than the general population.

What Do These Web Accessibility Tools Do?

There are a range of tools that businesses can use to make their websites ADA compliant. All of these programs/tools work in different ways; however, they will all check your website for potential issues. They’ll do this by checking your code and highlighting any potential problems. Most tools can be used to identify common issues like missing ALT text, images that don’t have sufficient alternate text, and automatically generated content. These programs can also check for potential SEO issues as well as automatically generated content (which is a major issue for screen readers and mobile users).