ADA Compliance Helps You Avoid Penalties While Boosting Audience Reach and Engagement

Connecting with potential customers online is pivotal in today's economy, where 85 percent of consumers conduct online research before purchasing. As you optimize your digital presence, there are a few well-known best practices: a mobile-friendly website, fast speed times, and search-engine-optimized content.

You likely don’t know about one thing. And it could be keeping you from reaching as many people as possible. Since the American Disabilities Act passed in 1990, it's gone beyond offering accessibility in physical spaces through things like ramps and Braille signage. In February 2011, the Department of Justice passed its first ADA Standards for Accessible Design, creating guidelines for website accessibility.

Find out how your company website benefits from ADA compliance beyond the legal ramifications and howOne Firefly is stepping up to help clients meet ADA standards.

SEE MORE: 4 Reasons Your Website Needs Secure Hosting And Maintenance

How Does Your Company Benefit from ADA Compliance?

Over the last few years, accessibility lawsuits related to websites have risen consistently. These lawsuits could result in fines of up to $75,000 for the first violation and $150,000 for subsequent ones.

Not only do you avoid legal troubles and fines by updating your website, but there's also a reason these regulations exist. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports one in four adults in the United States has a disability. By making your website ADA-accessible, you'll better reach customers with disabilities.

More people will find your website, and you'll get better-quality traffic. For example, a visually impaired client using alt text through their screen reader could engage with your photo gallery and easily navigate between different pages to truly understand your company's value.

On top of that, you get to boost your brand image and reputation. Today, people care as much about what you represent as they do the quality of your work. Clients are more likely to trust you if you care about inclusivity. This is particularly important in the custom integration industry when you often visit people's homes. When potential customers are choosing between you and your competitors, having an ADA-compliant website is a great way to show you're the more trustworthy option.

How Can One Firefly Help You Be ADA Compliant?

We'll install a widget on your website that allows users to access a wide range of features. The widget we use is ADA recommended and will help mitigate the risk of lawsuits while keeping you compliant with new requirements. It uses two unique AI engines. One focuses on images: analyzing them and describing them.

The second is continually learning the purpose of website elements and implementing relevant features as needed to meet ADA compliance. As the widget makes changes on your behalf, it will only toggle on features based on users' browser settings (for example, reading out captions for those with screen readers, as we mentioned earlier). How will it make your website look? Just check out our website, where it's already in use!

Want to have this widget installed on your website? We’re offering our clients the widget at a monthly subscription cost. As part of the service, you'll get widget installation, QC, and official ADA certification.

If you want to learn more about our new ADA-compliance offering or other website services, fill out our contact form or chat below. We'd love to hear from you!.