ADA & WCAG: web accessibility compliance in the US

What the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines mean for your website, and how we build with accessibility in mind.

Web accessibility means building websites that people with disabilities can use. That includes people who are blind or have low vision, people who are deaf or hard of hearing, people with motor impairments, and people with cognitive disabilities.

In the United States, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been interpreted to apply to websites. The practical standard for measuring accessibility is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

This is not legal advice

Chykalophia is a design and web agency, not a law firm. This article explains accessibility concepts and describes the practices we follow when designing and building websites. It is not legal advice. The legal landscape around web accessibility continues to evolve; please consult a qualified attorney for guidance specific to your situation and industry.

Quick summary

The ADA prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities, and the Department of Justice's position is that this covers the services a business provides online. For state and local governments, the DOJ has set WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the required technical standard. For private businesses there is no regulation spelling out a detailed standard, and the DOJ points to WCAG as helpful guidance. Either way, WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the level to build to: it lowers your legal risk and — more importantly — makes your site usable by more people. We build accessible-first websites and conduct accessibility reviews as part of our launch process.

The ADA and websites

The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed in 1990. It prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, government services, and more.

Two parts of the law matter for websites. Title II covers state and local governments. Title III covers businesses that are open to the public, which the ADA calls "public accommodations."

The Department of Justice says businesses and governments "have flexibility in how they comply with the ADA's general requirements of nondiscrimination and effective communication," and that they "still must ensure that the programs, services, and goods that they provide to the public—including those provided online—are accessible to people with disabilities."

How specific the requirement gets depends on which part of the law you fall under:

State and local governments (Title II). The DOJ published a final rule on 24 April 2024 that sets WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the technical standard for web content and mobile apps. Compliance dates were later extended: 26 April 2027 for entities serving a population of 50,000 or more, and 26 April 2028 for smaller entities and special district governments.
Businesses (Title III). The DOJ states plainly that it "does not have a regulation setting out detailed standards," but that its long-standing interpretation of the nondiscrimination and effective-communication rules applies to web accessibility. It names WCAG and the Section 508 Standards as existing technical standards that "provide helpful guidance."

Businesses of all sizes, across many industries, receive accessibility demand letters and complaints. Whether the ADA has been broken on a particular website is a legal question, and the answer can turn on your industry, your state, and the specific barriers alleged. If a letter arrives, talk to a lawyer rather than to us.

What WCAG is

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is a set of technical recommendations from the W3C (the international body that sets web standards).

WCAG 2.2 is the latest version. It was published on 5 October 2023 and updated on 12 December 2024. It adds nine new success criteria and removes one older one about HTML parsing (4.1.1), and W3C says content that conforms to WCAG 2.2 also conforms to WCAG 2.1. WCAG 2.1, published on 5 June 2018, is the version US rules point to, which is why most compliance conversations are still about 2.1.

WCAG has three conformance levels:

Level	Meaning	Expectation
A	Minimum accessibility	Avoids the most critical barriers
AA	Standard accessibility	The level regulations and official guidance point to
AAA	Enhanced accessibility	Best effort; W3C does not recommend requiring it for whole sites

Each level includes the one below it: meeting Level AA means meeting all the Level A and Level AA criteria. WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the target most legal standards, government guidance, and accessibility best practices point to.

The four principles of WCAG

WCAG is built on four principles, often abbreviated as POUR:

Perceivable

Information must be presentable in ways all users can perceive. Examples:

Images have descriptive alt text so screen readers can describe them
Videos have captions
Text has sufficient color contrast against its background

Operable

Users must be able to navigate and operate the interface. Examples:

Every function is reachable using a keyboard alone (no mouse required)
Nothing flashes more than three times in any one second, unless the flashing stays below WCAG's defined flash thresholds
Pages have descriptive titles and clear heading structure

Understandable

Information and UI must be understandable. Examples:

The page language is identified in the code
Error messages clearly describe what went wrong and how to fix it
Navigation is consistent across pages

Robust

Content must work with current and future assistive technologies. Examples:

HTML is written correctly so screen readers and other tools can parse it
Custom interactive components follow ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) standards

Who this applies to

When in doubt, build accessibly

Even businesses not currently subject to active enforcement are well-served by accessible design. It makes your content easier for search engines and assistive technology to read, expands your audience, and reduces legal risk. We recommend aiming for WCAG 2.1 AA on every site we build.

Business type	Why accessibility matters for you
State and local government bodies	WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the required standard under the DOJ's 2024 Title II rule
Anyone building or running a site for a state or local government	The Title II rule applies to that content even when an outside company builds it
Businesses open to the public (retail, restaurants, medical, professional services)	Title III requires effective communication, including online
E-commerce stores	Title III applies, and a checkout that locks people out is the clearest kind of barrier
Nonprofit organizations	Many nonprofits run places open to the public, which brings Title III into scope
Small informational sites	No detailed federal standard for private businesses, but Title III still applies and accessibility remains best practice

What we do to help

Accessibility is built into our design and development process, not added as an afterthought.

In design:

We ensure color palettes meet WCAG AA contrast ratios (at minimum 4.5:1 for body text)
We design clear focus states so keyboard users can see where they are on the page
We use readable font sizes and adequate line spacing

In development:

We use semantic HTML (proper headings, lists, landmarks) so assistive technologies work correctly
Every image gets meaningful alt text, or is marked as decorative if appropriate
Forms include clear labels and helpful error messages
We test keyboard navigation on every page before launch

In testing:

We run automated accessibility scans using tools like Axe or Lighthouse
We review results and fix flagged issues before launch
We include accessibility as part of our ongoing care plan reviews

Automated tools only catch part of the picture

The Department of Justice puts it well: automated checkers "need to be used carefully," and "a 'clean' report does not necessarily mean everything is accessible." The rest requires human review. We do both — but if you want the strongest position, an independent accessibility audit by a specialist goes further than any scan.

Common pitfalls

Relying on an "accessibility overlay" widget. These third-party scripts claim to fix accessibility problems automatically. The Department of Justice groups overlays with automated checkers: they "can be helpful tools," but "need to be used carefully," and a clean report does not mean the site is accessible. An overlay does not fix the underlying code, so it is not a substitute for building the site accessibly. We do not install overlay widgets.
Alt text that isn't helpful. "image001.jpg" or "photo" doesn't help someone who can't see the image. Alt text should describe what the image shows and why it's there.
Forms without labels. A text box with placeholder text only is not accessible. Every form field needs a proper label.
Low color contrast. Light gray text on white backgrounds may look elegant but fails accessibility standards and is hard to read for many people.
No keyboard access. If any part of your site requires a mouse — dropdown menus, modals, sliders — keyboard users and screen reader users may be locked out.
PDFs that aren't tagged. PDFs need to be properly tagged to be readable by screen readers. See our guide on PDFs and documents.

Common questions

Can I get sued over my website's accessibility?

Yes — website accessibility claims are real. Most begin with a demand letter from a plaintiff's attorney, and businesses of every size have received them. The DOJ publishes its own web accessibility enforcement cases under both Title II and Title III. We cannot predict or prevent litigation, but building to WCAG 2.1 AA reduces your exposure. Talk to a lawyer if you have received a demand letter.

Is having an accessibility statement enough?

No. An accessibility statement (a page that describes your accessibility commitment and how to report issues) is good practice and recommended, but it does not substitute for actually making your site accessible. Think of it as a supplement to a genuinely accessible site, not a replacement.

What is ARIA, and do I need to worry about it?

ARIA stands for Accessible Rich Internet Applications. It is a set of HTML attributes that help assistive technologies understand complex UI components (like custom dropdowns, modals, and tabs). Your developers handle ARIA; you don't need to interact with it directly. But if you're choosing between a simple form and a complex custom widget for your site, know that simpler is often more accessible.

Do videos on my site need captions?

Yes. Captions for pre-recorded audio in video are a Level A criterion (1.2.2), and captions for live audio are Level AA (1.2.4), so both are needed at Level AA. If you are embedding videos from a hosting platform, auto-generated captions are a starting point but should be reviewed and corrected for accuracy, especially for proper nouns and technical terms.

How often do I need to check my site's accessibility?

Every time content is added or the site is significantly updated. New images need alt text. New forms need labels. New interactive components need keyboard testing. We include accessibility reviews in our ongoing care plan, and we test before every major site update.

Need a hand?

If you're stuck, email support@chykalophia.com and we'll help. Include your website address and a screenshot if you can.