Digital Accessibility in E-Commerce

Since the start of the pandemic, we have seen an unprecedented shift toward online shopping, especially for people with disabilities. This shift requires companies to properly focus on improving their digital accessibility. Beyond being required by law, an accessible website is also a sound business decision as it can drastically improve sales.
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Digital Accessibility in E-Commerce
digital accessibility

People with disabilities are the largest minority group in the US, totaling 61 million people – that’s 26% of the population! And the law explicitly states that any commercial website must be accessible to anyone, whether they are sight impaired, color blind or cognitively disabled. A non-accessible website is deemed discriminatory under Title III of the American’s with Disabilities Act. These laws have been in place since 1990 and there is no excuse for arguing otherwise if your business is hit with an ADA lawsuit.

Whether your business is primarily a brick-and-mortar location, or you are exclusively e-commerce-based, all websites and apps must be accessible.

Avoid ADA Lawsuits

Web accessibility lawsuits are skyrocketing, forcing thousands of retailers to react and work toward becoming accessible. From publically traded companies, to local mom-and-pop small businesses, every digital property must be accessible. It is not a simple process, and it takes time. However, the longer a website or app is non-accessible, the more exposed it becomes for a lawsuit. And no sector has a higher exposure rate than retail, which makes up a massive percentage of the websites and apps that are targeted by serial litigants every year.

Avoid ADA Lawsuits
digital accessibility

Accessibility: smart business, ethical business

Whether you have an online site to bolster your brick-and-mortar business or you are exclusively an e-commerce store, ensuring your website is accessible to everyone has multiple benefits beyond avoiding a costly lawsuit:

  • Ensure Every Customer Can Be Reached 61 million Americans are disabled. 50% of them use the internet daily. Some of them are your customers. Don’t leave them incapable of accessing your digital properties.
  • Happy Customers Are Returning Customers When a customer, regardless of limitations, can seamlessly access your website or app, it makes them happy. And as Baby Boomers age, they are acquiring new disabilities and having fully accessible websites and apps ensures they can continue to use your website despite these challenges.
  • Digital Accessibility Boosts Your Return on Investment
    (ROI)
    Beyond access for your customers, your digital properties is how you market yourself. Google and other search engines recognize when a website is optimized for accessibility and reward site owners with better placement in search results. They also penalize websites for not being accessible.
Avoid ADA Lawsuits
Paper example
Voluntary Product Accessibility Template® (VPAT®)
International Edition
Version 2.4
Check VPAT example PDF

Do I need a VPAT?

Any commercial-based company faces incredibly stringent accessibility requirements. To minimize lawsuit exposure and secure contracts, you may need to get a VPAT for all of your digital properties. Whether that is your website, mobile app, or customer portal, they all must have a VPAT, documenting their accessibility. The best way to secure a VPAT Template is by hiring a trained consultant to draft it for you. ADACP can help.

Accessibility Solutions: Manual Audits vs. Automated Scans

The best way to gain a complete understanding of how accessible your digital properties are and make sure that all the accessibility issues are addressed is to hire an expert who uses both automated and manual accessibility testing.
It’s unfortunate that many companies, keen to get into the ADA market as lawsuit threats continue to grow, tout automated software scans as a comprehensive solution when the AI is only capable of catching approximately 30% of non-compliant issues. In order to truly ensure ADA compliance, you must include a live audit, in which a trained technician tests your website for all the requirements.
Accessibility: smart business, ethical business
Document Your Financial Institution with a VPAT

ADACP – Here To Help

With over a decade of experience, we are ready to deliver a hands-on approach to confirm that your company meets the required compliance for web accessibility. We will work hard to confirm that your website is compliant according to all required guidelines. Our Accessibility Team is composed of professional and skilled technicians who offer white glove support through the duration of the audit process. Although auditing digital products is complex, our quality of service is top-notch and our team does not rely solely on automated software scans because they are not enough to protect you from lawsuits or ensure your website gets sufficiently compliant.

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What our clients say about us

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Jordan Friedlander
moduspersona Senior UX Designer
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"ADACP is an absolutely amazing company, the quality of their work and the patience of their entire team is truly impressive! During our collaboration at SiliconExpert (a subsidiary of Arrow Electronics), they displayed remarkable professionalism in navigating miles of bureaucracy and red tape, keeping a positive attitude during the long process. Their team consistently demonstrated a deep understanding of digital accessibility requirements, making them an invaluable partner in working to ensure our application was inclusive and compliant. I would use them again for any accessibility solution in a heartbeat!"

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Emily-Rose Barry
Branching Minds, VP of Product
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"We contacted ADACP as part of our search for a third party to conduct our accessibility audit for a VPAT. ADACP stood out due to their excellent value proposition. I was pleasantly surprised by the level of expertise and guidance provided by ADACP during the diligence process, even before contract signing. It was evident from the outset that they were a team of dedicated experts aligned with their mission, mirroring my commitment to ours. The audit was prompt, and the resulting report was comprehensive and well-structured. Our software engineering team utilized the report to address flagged issues efficiently, with the assurance that ADACP is available for further assistance if required. Overall, our experience with ADACP has been highly positive, and I would enthusiastically recommend their expertise to anyone in my network."

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Cynthia Wells
Muck Rack, LLC Associate Counsel
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I reached out to ADACP as we were up against a tight timeline to complete our VPAT certification. David and his team accommodated our request for a meeting on very short notice and began the process of reviewing our website right away. Working with ADACP made all the difference in helping us to better understand digital accessibility standards and what we needed to do to improve on various aspects of our product's accessibility, including its user interface, interaction design, and compatibility with assistive technologies. The process didn't take more than a few weeks from start to finish. We are happy to be able to provide better service to our Customers.

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Charlene Srivastava
Vocareum, Inc. VP, Business Operations
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"ADACP's thorough understanding of ADA regulations and commitment to excellence has been instrumental in helping us provide an inclusive learning environment for all users. David and the team's responsiveness and streamlined process for remediation make the compliance journey easier. I highly endorse ADACP to any organization seeking reliable solutions for digital accessibility compliance."

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