Accessibility on your website is important but time-consuming. Now, AccessiBe is the tool to fix the problem!

The issue of accessibility has become an essential concern for businesses in the last few years. Social awareness and advocacy for disabled people, along with legal guidelines, have made web accessibility a priority for many people and businesses. 

Why Accessibility Is Important

On ADA.gov, you can find important information and reasoning regarding ADA compliance. They say, “Inaccessible web content means that people with disabilities are denied equal access to information. An inaccessible website can exclude people just as much as steps at an entrance to a physical location. Ensuring web accessibility for people with disabilities is a priority for the Department of Justice.” This is the basis for the guidance on ADA-compliant websites. Other legal guidelines include the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is the most comprehensive resource for ADA and AODA compliance; following WCAG is the best way to ensure compliance with these laws. 

READ MORE: Lawsuits targeting business websites over ADA violations are on the rise

How To Make Your Website Accessible

The ADA covers a wide range of disabilities, and there are many features the ADA requires. These include close-captioning, keyboard navigation optimization, comprehension adjustments, and color contrast. One of the most important ways for blind people to use websites is ALT text. There are software programs that can read web pages to people with disabilities, and ALT text is what describes important photos on a web page. Adding ALT text is traditionally done manually to every image on a website, but this is very time-consuming and confusing. To learn more about the process, WCAG created a decision tree that helps you decide if and what ALT text an image needs. This decision tree is what WordPress recommends you follow for Alt text.

To ensure your website is ADA and WCAG-compliant by hand, we anticipate the work will be approximately 12 hours of work every month for sites up to 1,000 pages. At a minimum wage of $7.25/ hour (and not taking overhead into consideration), your business can expect to pay $1,044 every year. AccessiBe is $490/ year. 

AccessiBe Features

As we mentioned, adding ALT text that meets ADA and AODA guidance is confusing and time-consuming. AccessiBe is a widget that uses machine learning to scan and interpret every media file for you. They make sure your website is ADA and AOID compliant, and they do it with a quick turnaround. Large corporations like Chick-fil-A, State Farm, and NBC utilize accessiBe. AccessiBe was developed with a team of disabled people to test the software and websites. They adhere to WACG guidelines for the blind, visually impaired, motor impaired, hearing impaired, and those with cognitive disabilities and epilepsy. AccissiBe offers media accessibility, file accessibility, user testing, and expert audits. 

Price of AccessiBe

AccessiBe pricing is based on the size of your website. Prices start at $490/year for websites under 1,000 pages and increases to $1,490/year for 10,000-page sites and $1,990 for 100,000-page sites. 

While this may seem like an investment for a small business, having an ADA-compliant website will save you so much money in the long run. Not only will you avoid lawsuits related to accessibility, but your company may also be eligible for a tax credit of up to $5,000. Learn more about the ADA compliance tax credit here. 

If you are ready to get started with AccessiBe now, click through to follow the process here: https://accessibe.com/a/awibipa

If you still need more help, or need an AccessiBe partner to initiate the system on your site, please reach out to us by clicking through to get in touch.