Over the past few years, digital accessibility has moved from a niche topic to a core part of modern website management. More businesses are asking questions about ADA compliance, what it means for their website, and how it affects their legal responsibilities.
At Twelve Legs Marketing, we frequently discuss accessibility with clients as part of broader conversations about website performance, usability, and long-term digital strategy. As regulations evolve and awareness grows, it is important for businesses to understand what ADA compliance actually involves, what it does not guarantee, and why it requires ongoing attention rather than a one-time fix.
This article provides a practical overview of ADA accessibility, explains how websites can improve accessibility over time, and clarifies how this type of work fits into the services our agency provides.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was originally enacted in 1990 to prevent discrimination against individuals with disabilities. While the law was created before the modern internet, courts and regulators have increasingly interpreted ADA protections to apply to digital services such as websites and mobile applications.
The goal is simple:
people with disabilities should be able to access digital services in the same way as everyone else.
This includes individuals who:
Today, accessibility is widely recognized as both a usability improvement and a risk-management practice for businesses that rely on their websites to communicate with customers.
For additional context, the U.S. Department of Justice provides guidance on web accessibility and the ADA here:
https://www.ada.gov/resources/2024-03-08-web-rule/
Although the ADA itself does not contain detailed technical website standards, the industry widely relies on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
The most commonly referenced standard today is WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
You can review the guidelines here:
https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag
These guidelines address many aspects of accessibility, including:
WCAG provides a framework for improving accessibility, but it is important to understand that meeting these guidelines is not always a simple checklist exercise.
In April 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice finalized a rule establishing accessibility requirements for state and local government websites and mobile applications, formally referencing WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the technical standard.
While this rule applies specifically to government entities, it reinforces a broader trend: WCAG has effectively become the benchmark for evaluating digital accessibility across many industries.
As awareness grows, more organizations are proactively evaluating their websites to improve accessibility and reduce potential risk.
One of the most important concepts to understand is that ADA accessibility is not a binary condition. A website is rarely ever “fully compliant” in a permanent sense.
There are several reasons for this.
Most websites are dynamic systems that evolve over time. New pages, images, videos, and content updates are added regularly. Each change introduces new opportunities for accessibility improvements—or new accessibility issues.
Accessibility is influenced by multiple factors:
Even if the technical framework of a website is highly accessible, new content added by editors may unintentionally introduce issues such as missing alt text or inaccessible documents.
Screen readers, browsers, and accessibility tools change over time. What works well today may require adjustment in the future as technologies evolve.
Because of these realities, accessibility should be understood as an ongoing improvement process, rather than a permanent state of completion.
Accessibility improvements often require careful auditing, technical adjustments, and ongoing monitoring.
Typical accessibility work may include:
Some of these tasks can be automated, but many require manual evaluation and technical expertise.
This type of work is similar to security auditing or performance optimization: it requires dedicated time from experienced developers and accessibility specialists.
For reference, WebAIM provides an excellent overview of accessibility testing tools and practices:
At Twelve Legs Marketing, our standard website maintenance plans focus on keeping your website stable, secure, and operational.
Depending on the plan level, these services may include:
These services ensure that the website infrastructure remains healthy and that routine support requests can be addressed efficiently.
Accessibility auditing and remediation, however, fall into a different category of work.
Accessibility reviews often require:
Because of the level of expertise and time commitment involved, accessibility work is considered a separate professional service rather than standard maintenance.
When working with Twelve Legs Marketing, clients are essentially allocating time from our team of specialists.
Each service we provide—whether development, design, strategy, or auditing—requires a certain number of hours to execute properly.
Several factors influence the cost of a service:
Accessibility auditing and remediation can involve significant analysis and implementation time, which is why it is typically scoped as a dedicated project or consulting engagement rather than bundled into general maintenance.
This approach ensures that accessibility improvements are handled thoughtfully and thoroughly.
Another important point to understand is that ADA compliance is ultimately the responsibility of the business that owns the website.
While agencies like ours can assist with:
the legal responsibility for website accessibility remains with the organization operating the website.
This is partly because accessibility is not determined solely by technical implementation. It is also affected by:
Because of this, accessibility should be viewed as a shared operational practice between the business and its digital partners.
Rather than viewing accessibility as an all-or-nothing goal, the most effective approach is continuous improvement.
Many organizations begin by:
This approach allows businesses to steadily improve accessibility while maintaining a practical balance between resources, timelines, and ongoing operations.
While accessibility discussions often begin with legal considerations, the broader goal is improving the experience of people interacting with your website.
Accessible websites tend to be:
In many cases, accessibility improvements also align with broader best practices in user experience, SEO, and website performance.
If you would like to better understand the accessibility of your website, the team at Twelve Legs Marketing can help.
Our agency offers accessibility audits that identify opportunities for improvement and provide recommendations tailored to your website and business goals.
If you are interested in learning more or would like to schedule a consultation, we would be happy to start that conversation.
Improving accessibility is not about achieving perfection overnight—it is about making thoughtful improvements over time and building a more inclusive digital experience for everyone.
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