Automated ADA & Section 508 Compliance Services

ADA compliance services help websites comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design. Typically, ADA compliance services will include auditing and updating your website to achieve compliance.

MarketingCloudFX AI tech can be installed in just two weeks on any website or content management system (CMS).

While we can’t guarantee 100% compliance with accessibility guidelines, our technology aims to maintain your site’s accessibility — even as you make updates.

Prices for ADA compliance services vary and depend on your website size, your current level of compliance, and more. On average, ADA compliance services cost $1500 to $5000, which is significantly less than the price of ADA fines, which range from $55,000 to $75,000.

The Section 508 legislation is an amendment to the Workforce Rehabilitation Act of 1973, signed into law by President Clinton in 1998. This amendment requires the information technology of Federal Agencies, including websites, to be accessible to those with disabilities.

The burden is on the Federal Agency to maintain the website and ensure users with disabilities have access to and use of information comparable to that of the general public. While the experience may not be exactly the same, all users must be able to access the same information, including images and media files, as well as perform common tasks, such as making a purchase or filling out a form on your site.

If you are a federal institution or a direct vendor to the Federal government, your business must comply with federally regulated guidelines for Section 508, including website accessibility. WebFX 508 Compliance solutions, also called ADA compliant solutions, meet all the accessibility requirements outlined in this legislation. In knowing how to satisfy these conditions, we are able to provide exceptional websites that adhere to the requirements of this act.

Section 508, an amendment to the U.S. Workforce Rehabilitation Act of 1973, is a federal law that requires federal government websites to be safe and accessible for people with disabilities.

While Section 508 only applies to federal agencies, it is best practice to comply with both ADA and 508 standards to provide the best possible experience for all website visitors.

In addition, having a compliant website increases your base of potential customers. Roughly 19% of the population is living with some type of disability, and ensuring your site is accessible to this population is certainly to your company or organization’s benefit. Don’t miss out on potential sales because your site is not accessible.

To comply with ADA standards, companies are encouraged to use the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 level AA standards.

This guide provides the gold standard for ADA website compliance, outlining guidelines for:

1. Text alternatives
2. Time-based media
3. Keyboard accessibility
4. Navigation
5. Readability
6. And more

ADA standards apply to commercial and public entities with “places of public accommodation” which includes the Internet.

In short, the law impacts:

1. Americans with disabilities, their friends, family, and caregivers
2. Private employers with 15 or more employees
3. Businesses operating for public benefit
4. State and local government agencies

While every business should ensure ADA compliance, our services are especially helpful for:

1. Banks
2. Financial institutions
3. Insurance providers
4. Government websites
5. Ecommerce websites

Although federal agencies have been required to make their sites accessible to people with disabilities since 1998, it was not until fairly recently that anyone took action against non-compliant sites. This changed when the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) started bringing attention to the issue.

In the past few years, they’ve filed Section 508 lawsuits against several major agencies and businesses, including the Small Business Administration, the Social Security Administration, and the US Department of Education.

These federal agencies’ sites were all inaccessible to blind Internet users and prevented them from filling out forms and accessing certain information.

The National Association for the Deaf (NAD) has also taken action on the issue, and filed lawsuits against Harvard University and MIT in 2015. These were two of the first complaints filed against educational institutions, but because they receive federal funding, they were required to have Section 508 compliant sites.

In some cases, privately-owned businesses and corporations have also been subject to accessibility lawsuits. In 2006, for example, the NFB, NFB of California, and a blind college student filed a lawsuit against Target Corporation.

Target’s site was inaccessible to blind users, and did not allow them to access information or make purchases. This violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the court ruled in favor for the NFB.

This set a precedent for online retailers, and as this becomes more of a well-known issue, there are likely to be similar lawsuits in the future for ecommerce sites that are inaccessible to customers with disabilities.

In fact, some individual citizens have started filing their own lawsuits over ADA violations in recent years. Between 2012 and 2015, one blind man in Beaver County filed 66 lawsuits against various businesses with inaccessible sites – and has “reached confidential settlements” with every single one.

The companies he sued ranged from clothing retailers to banks to auto repair shops, demonstrating that regardless of industry, any business could be at risk for lawsuits over ADA violations.