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Last updated: August 2026 ยท This is general information, not legal advice.
Why this is now a business risk, not a nice-to-have
US courts have broadly treated business websites as places of public accommodation under the ADA, and a large industry of demand letters has grown around it. Canadian businesses face parallel obligations, notably Ontario's AODA requirements for larger organizations. The typical target is not a corporation with a legal department; it is a regional business whose website has obvious, automated-scan-detectable failures.
The failures that cause most complaints
Missing image alt text. Screen readers describe images through alt attributes; without them, an image is silence.
Poor color contrast. Light gray text on white is the single most common automated finding, and it fails real readers before it fails a scanner.
Keyboard traps and unusable navigation. Every function must work without a mouse. Test by pressing Tab through your site: if you cannot reach or activate something, neither can a keyboard-only user.
Unlabeled form fields. Placeholder text is not a label. Forms need programmatically associated labels or they are unusable to assistive technology.
Missing video captions. Video content needs captions, and audio needs transcripts.
Missing focus indicators. Removing the visible outline on focused elements, a common design choice, leaves keyboard users lost.
What to do, in order
Run a free automated scan (WAVE or Lighthouse) to catch the mechanical failures, which typically account for a third of real problems. Fix contrast, alt text and form labels first, since they are the most cited and the easiest. Then do the manual checks a scanner cannot: navigate your key paths using only the keyboard, and confirm that headings describe structure rather than being chosen for their font size. For sites where accessibility matters commercially, an expert audit with real assistive-technology testing is the honest next step.
A word about accessibility overlay widgets
Overlay tools that promise instant compliance from one script are contested, criticized by many accessibility advocates and disability organizations, and have themselves been named in litigation. They can help at the margins; they do not make an inaccessible site accessible, and treating them as legal cover is a gamble.
Accessibility is a maintenance issue
This is the part businesses miss: a site made accessible in March drifts by September. New images arrive without alt text, new pages introduce contrast failures, a plugin update changes form markup. Accessibility checks belong in the same monthly rhythm as security and speed, which is where we handle them for sites on our plans.
The upside nobody sells
Accessible sites are better sites. Proper headings, contrast and labels improve usability for everyone, work better on phones, help SEO, and expand your market to a substantial population of customers who are routinely locked out of competitors' websites.
FAQ
Does the ADA explicitly cover websites? The statute predates the web and does not name websites, which is why case law and Department of Justice guidance rather than a single clear rule drive the current landscape. Consult a lawyer for your specific exposure.
What standard should we target? WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the widely referenced benchmark in settlements and regulations.
How much does compliance work cost? Basic remediation of common failures is usually modest. Full audits with expert testing are a project, priced by site size.
Are small businesses actually sued? Yes, frequently, and small businesses are the most common defendants precisely because their sites are least likely to have been checked.
Still comparing? Here is our honest pitch
Full-scope website maintenance from $49/mo: 24x7 monitoring, security, updates, backups, speed work and monthly edits. Month to month, cancel anytime, and we will tell you if another provider fits you better.