WHAT MARKETERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

Web Accessibility & the Americans with

Disabilities Act

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The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is the

most robust accessibility legislation in the United

States. However, since it was enacted in 1990, it

does not explicitly address web accessibility.

While the Department of Justice has given an

advance notice that it will revisit the ADA in 2018

and will provide more clarity on how it applies

to the Internet, it is currently up to lawyers and

judges to determine how the ADA applies to web

accessibility.

What does this mean for marketers? Winter is coming. All websites with ecommerce capability will likely need to abide by a certain set of accessibility guidelines under the revised ADA.

If you are new to ADA compliance or would like to

plan ahead to understand how it applies to web

accessibility, read this guide to learn more.

— Pixlee

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What is the Americans with Disabilities Act?

What is Web Accessibility?

Why Make the Web Accessible?

How To Make Your Website Accessible

The Future of the ADA and Web Accessibility

ADA Lawsuits on Web Accessibility

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2

3

4

5

6

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title III: Public Accommodations Must

Be Accessible

Perceivable

Operable

Understandable

Robust

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Signed in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

limits discriminatory practices towards individuals with

disabilities and consists of five sections that cover different

aspects of an individual’s life.

Title III of the American with Disabilities Act is the section

that can be best applied to private businesses and web

accessibility.

What is the Americans with Disabilities Act?

EmploymentPublic EntitiesPublic AccommodationsTelecommunicationsMiscellaneous Provisions

Title ITitle IITitle IIITitle IVTitle V

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Title III: Public Accommodations Must Be Accessible

CRITERIA OF A ‘PLACE OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION’

Must be operated by a private entity

Must have operations affected by commerce

Must fall within the 12 Categories of Public Accommodation

Title III of the ADA states that all places of public accommodation— such as retail stores, hotels, and restaurants—must offer the full and equal enjoyment of its goods, services, facilities, and more.

In its current form, the ADA was assumed to apply only to physical structures or ‘brick-and-mortar’ locations. However, with the rise of the Internet and ecommerce, Title III of the ADA is now open to interpretation when it comes to web accessibility.

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Web accessibility ensures that all people, including

people with disabilities, can perceive, understand,

navigate, interact, and contribute to the Web. It

encompasses disabilities including visual, auditory,

physical, speech, and more.

What is Web Accessibility?

LEVELS OF CONFORMANCEwith Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act

WEB ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES

Understandable

Robust

Perceivable

Operable

A

Lowest

AA

Middle

AAA

Highest

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Americans use websites for ecommerce,

social media, entertainment, and online

education.

Access to the web, is recognized as a basic human right

Building for accessibility results in a broader customer base and more sales

Businesses that do not follow accessibility guidelines can be targeted by a lawsuit

Why Make the Web Accessible?

*Personal Services refers to a hair salon chain. // Source

TOTAL NUMBER OF WEBSITE LAWSUITS IN FEDERAL COURT

43 Retail

2 Academic1 Dating Services1 Entertainment1 Financial1 Gaming

4 Hospitality

1 Insurance1 Personal Services

3 Restaurant

61 Total Lawsuits

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The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), developed by the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C), provides an international set of guidelines for accessibility. These guidelines, published in December 2008, can be broken down into four categories:

Read the guidelines in full here.

The 4 Categories of Web Accessibility

Websites must be available to the senses either though

the browser of through other assistive technologies.

Users must be able to interact with all controls using either

the mouse, keyboard, or other assistive technologies.

Webpages are clear and limit ambiguity.

A wide range of technologies can access the content.

PERCEIVABLE OPERABLE UNDERSTANDABLE ROBUST

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The Future of the ADA and Web Accessibility

While the current version of the ADA

does not explicitly address web

accessibility, the Department of Justice

plans to revise the ADA’s Title III to

address the accessibility of online

goods and services in 2018.

However, for now, a series of lawsuits

brought against private companies for

inaccessible websites has created a

precedent for how the ADA applies to

the web.

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ADA Lawsuits on Web Accessibility

2006

2015

2010

2010

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND VS. TARGET CORPORATIONCASE: The plaintiffs sued Target maintaining that the Target ecommerce website was not accessible to the blind.

RESULTS: Target settled outside of court. Target made their site fully accessible to blind customers.

EARLL VS. EBAYCASE: The plaintiffs brought a lawsuit against eBay citing that she was barred from selling goods on her website due to eBay’s verification system for sellers (which requires the retrieval of a password from a telephone call.)

RESULTS: The court dismissed the case and Earll continues the appeal process.

ACCESS NOW, INC. VS. PATAGONIACASE: Plaintiffs argued that they were denied full use and equal access of the website with screen reading software.

RESULTS: Case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

CRISTHIAN DIAZ VS. BED, BATH, AND BEYONDCASE: Plaintiff claimed he was unable to browse or choose items to be added to his cart due to the inaccessibility of the website.

RESULTS: Case in progress.

SEE MORE CASES HERE

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SOURCES:https://www.ada.gov/t3hilght.htmhttps://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/

Powered by the belief that customer stories are the most powerful way to articulate the value of a product or service, Pixlee helps brands market and sell with real customer photos and videos.

The company works with more than 150 brands such as Kenneth Cole, Gaiam, Levi Strauss and Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants to develop a more authentic marketing experience and create stronger relationships with their most passionate customers.

If you want to learn more about Pixlee can help you with travel marketing, REQUEST A DEMO today to speak to one of our specialists.

Pixlee’s visual marketing platform curates customer-generated content in real-time, manages permission rights and easily integrates the content directly into multi-channel browsing and shopping experiences.

The company’s approach has proven to impact sales profoundly: Shoppers that engage with Pixlee-managed content on a brand’s website are, on average, 2x more likely to make a purchase.

Pixlee is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York and Toronto.

A B O U T P I X L E E

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