Why accessibility matters
The ADA and WCAG, the things people miss, and the customers you gain.
Every fact links to its source.
United States: the ADA and WCAG.
The Justice Department says Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to the websites of businesses open to the public.
It has not issued a detailed technical rule for businesses; it points to WCAG as helpful guidance, and lists common problems such as poor contrast, missing text alternatives and inaccessible forms. ADA.gov web guidance
For state and local governments, a 2024 rule under Title II sets WCAG 2.1 AA as the technical standard; in 2026 its compliance dates were extended to April 2027 and April 2028.
It does not apply to private businesses, but it is the clearest official benchmark, so it is the level we work to for US sites. ADA.gov: the 2024 Title II rule · Federal Register: 2026 extension
The lawsuit numbers
Plaintiffs filed 3,117 website accessibility lawsuits in federal court in 2025, a 27% increase on 2024’s 2,452; they made up 36% of all 8,667 ADA Title III federal filings that year. Seyfarth Shaw, ADA Title III blog
UsableNet, which also counts New York and California state courts, tracked 3,195 federal and 1,919 state digital accessibility lawsuits in 2025 (to December 15), more than 5,000 in total.
45% of those federal lawsuits targeted companies that had already been sued. UsableNet 2025 year-end report, PDF
Most cases settle early, because businesses have few defenses.
And 64% of 2025’s lawsuits targeted companies with under $25M in revenue, so small businesses are sued too. American Bar Association · UsableNet, PDF
Seven things businesses often miss.
1. An accessibility statement
It is not a named legal requirement for US businesses, but it is good practice: it says what was made accessible, the standard you work to, and how to report a problem or ask for an accessible version.
2. PDFs and documents
Documents on your site, such as PDFs, are part of its content, and WCAG applies to them too.
Menus, price lists and brochures count.
3. Online forms, whatever their age
A form customers use to get your service (contact, booking, sign-up, quote) has to work for them however old it is, and WCAG has explicit criteria for labels, instructions and error messages. WCAG 2.1
4. Maps, booking and payment from other companies
A widget customers need in order to book or pay is part of your service in practice, so test it like the rest of the site.
Even the FTC’s order against an overlay vendor requires it to disclose that its product does not correct barriers on third-party domains that are part of the user experience. FTC order, PDF
5. Captions on video
Recorded video needs captions under WCAG (success criterion 1.2.2, level A), and video that carries information needed for the service also needs a text or audio alternative. WCAG 2.1
6. Updates that quietly break it again
A site that passed last year can fail today after a redesign, a new plugin or new content.
The duty applies to the site as it is now.
Plan a re-check after every significant change, or choose a monitoring plan.
7. Responding to complaints
When someone reports a barrier, respond quickly: fix it, and in the meantime give that person another way to get the service.
Your statement should say how to reach you.
Try browsing like your customer
One sample page, three ways to see it. The simulation runs only inside this frame, never on the rest of the site.
Book a table tonight
Pick a time and your party size, and we'll text you a confirmation.
Free cancellation up to two hours before.
On your site, we fix this in the code. Scan my site ($29)
The business case: customers who can finish.
People with disabilities are a large group of customers, and most sites still put obstacles in their way.
A site with barriers carries legal risk and turns customers away at the same time.
The most common problems are basic ones, which is good news: they are fixable.
28.7%of US adults have a disability, more than 1 in 4. CDC
95.9%of the top million home pages had detectable WCAG failures in 2026, about 56 errors per page. WebAIM Million 2026
83.9%of those pages had low-contrast text, the most common failure. WebAIM Million 2026
The WebAIM Million also found missing image alt text on 53.1% of pages, missing form labels on 51%, empty links on 46.3%, empty buttons on 30.6% and a missing page language on 13.5%.
Platform matters too: pages built on Shopify had 33.9% more errors than average, while Wix and WordPress pages had fewer. WebAIM Million 2026
The same fixes help everyone: captions in a noisy café, contrast in bright sun, a form that explains its errors, a checkout that works with one hand.
Clear headings, real text alternatives and clean structure also help search engines understand your pages.
And there is certainty: once the work is done, documented and backed by a written commitment at delivery, accessibility is no longer an open question.
Why a widget is not the fix.
Overlay widgets add a toolbar on top of a site and leave the code underneath unchanged.
In April 2025 the US Federal Trade Commission finalized an order requiring overlay vendor accessiBe to pay $1 million.
The FTC said the company’s claims that its tool could make any website WCAG-compliant were false, misleading or unsubstantiated, and the order bars it from claiming that its automated products can make any website WCAG-compliant, or keep it compliant over time, unless it has evidence to support those claims. FTC press release
This site has an accessibility menu too: it is our own widget, the one clients can add to their sites as an optional extra.
It is an extra comfort tool for visitors.
It is not what makes this site accessible; the code is. See how it works
This page explains the law in general terms.
It is not legal advice, and your situation may differ.