How to make your website ADA, EQA and WCAG compliant

by Haydawn Studio

Web accessibility is an important consideration for website owners and designers as it ensures that people with disabilities can access and use your website with ease. Without accessibility, people with disabilities may be excluded from accessing vital information and services online, which can lead to further marginalisation and exclusion.

 

ADA, EQA, and WCAG are guidelines that aim to provide clear and concise instructions for website owners and designers to ensure their websites are accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. These guidelines were created to ensure that web content is accessible and usable for people with a wide range of disabilities, including visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive impairments.

 

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal law in the United States that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. The ADA ensures that people with disabilities have equal access to goods, services, and information, including websites. The Equality Act (EQA) is the UK equivalent of the ADA, which also aims to ensure that people with disabilities are not discriminated against in any way.

 

WCAG, on the other hand, is a set of guidelines created by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to provide a technical standard for web accessibility. The guidelines provide specific instructions on how to make web content accessible, including text, images, videos, and interactive elements.

 

To make your website ADA/EQA/WCAG compliant, you should follow the guidelines provided by these standards. These guidelines include providing alternative text for images, closed captions and transcripts for videos, ensuring proper colour contrast, providing text alternatives for non-text content, keyboard accessibility, using clear and simple language, providing accessible forms, and testing your website for accessibility issues.


One important aspect of accessibility is ensuring that people with disabilities have equal access to information and services. By implementing these steps, you can help make your website more accessible to users with disabilities, which is not only the right thing to do but also a legal requirement in many countries. Additionally, making your website more accessible can also improve the user experience for all users, regardless of their abilities.


To conclude, ADA, EQA, and WCAG are important guidelines that aim to ensure that websites are accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. By following these guidelines, you can make your website more accessible and ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to the information and services they need. By making your website accessible, you not only comply with legal requirements but also create a more inclusive online space that benefits all users.