Karben Marketing, the leading graphic design and marketing agency in Illinois, released an article to explain the importance of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for launching and maintaining a higher-quality website.

The article states that the Americans with Disabilities Act was introduced in 1990 to safeguard the rights of disabled citizens. This Act is not limited to ensuring physical ease of accessibility for disabled citizens at public locations like shopping malls and bus stops. It also encompasses the rights of every person using digital technology to be able to access and understand the information present on the World Wide Web, i.e., the internet. In other words, all businesses that serve the public must ensure that the information present on their respective websites is accessible to every user, irrespective of their disability.

This approach to developing websites helps the brand message reach a wider audience and enables the brand to target new audiences that are often neglected yet represent a significant number of consumers. People with different disabilities represent roughly 15% of the Earth’s population. This is over one billion additional consumers who can access a brand’s content if the website is following the ADA guidelines.

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires websites to address four criteria during the website development process to address the most prevalent disabilities among internet users. These guidelines also help US citizens who suffer from age-related impairments. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provide the requirements for online ADA compliance. The four criteria are:

PERCEIVABLE: Visitors must be able to comprehend the content present on the site.

OPERABLE: Visitors of all abilities or disabilities must be able to explore the website.

UNDERSTANDABLE: The website must have information and a user interface presented…