The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights law, not a web design spec — it never mentions alt text or color contrast. But U.S. courts and the Department of Justice have consistently treated websites of businesses open to the public as covered by the ADA, and the DOJ points to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as the reference standard for what an accessible site looks like. In 2024 the DOJ also finalized a rule requiring state and local government websites to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA, which reinforced that standard as the practical benchmark for everyone else.
That means ADA compliance for your website is really a WCAG project with legal stakes. The good news: most of the work breaks down into concrete, checkable items. This checklist organizes them by the parts of your site where problems most often show up — images, forms, navigation, color, media, and structure — so you can audit page by page instead of staring at a 100-page standard.
Work through each section below, fix what fails, and re-test on a schedule. Accessibility is not a one-time certification; every new page, plugin, or redesign can introduce new barriers.
WCAG 2.1 AA is the benchmark
The ADA itself sets no technical standard for websites, but courts, settlements, and DOJ rulemaking all point to WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the target to aim for.
Demand letters are common
Thousands of web accessibility lawsuits and demand letters are filed against U.S. businesses every year, and small businesses are frequent targets — not just big brands.
Most failures are fixable basics
Missing alt text, unlabeled form fields, low contrast, and keyboard traps account for a large share of real-world failures — and all of them are on this checklist.
It is a process, not a badge
New content and code changes can break accessibility at any time. Schedule recurring audits and make the checklist part of your publishing workflow.
Images and visual content
Screen reader users experience your images only through the text you attach to them. This is the single most common failure category, and it is usually the easiest to fix.
- Every meaningful image has alt text that describes its purpose, not just its appearance ("Search" for a magnifying-glass button, not "icon").
- Purely decorative images have empty alt attributes (alt="") so screen readers skip them.
- Images of text are avoided — use real text styled with CSS instead.
- Charts and infographics have a text alternative nearby or linked (a summary or data table).
- Logos used as links describe the destination ("AccessWiser home"), not just the brand name.
Forms and interactive elements
Forms are where accessibility failures cost you money directly: an unusable checkout or contact form turns away customers and invites complaints.
- Every input has a visible, programmatically associated label — placeholder text alone is not a label.
- Required fields are indicated in text, not by color alone.
- Error messages identify which field failed and how to fix it, and they are announced to assistive technology.
- All controls — buttons, dropdowns, date pickers, custom widgets — can be operated with a keyboard alone.
- Focus is managed sensibly in modals and multi-step flows: it moves into the dialog when it opens and returns when it closes.
- Time limits on sessions or forms can be extended or turned off.
- No CAPTCHA blocks users who cannot see or hear — provide an accessible alternative.
Navigation and keyboard access
Many users never touch a mouse. Everything a mouse user can do, a keyboard user must be able to do too — and it must be obvious where they are on the page.
- You can Tab through every interactive element on every page in a logical order with no dead ends (keyboard traps).
- A visible focus indicator shows which element is active at all times — do not remove the focus outline without replacing it.
- A "skip to main content" link appears as the first focusable element on each page.
- Menus, accordions, and dropdowns open and close with keyboard input, not only on hover.
- Link text makes sense out of context — "View pricing" rather than "click here".
- Page titles are unique and descriptive, and headings follow a logical hierarchy (one H1, nested H2s and H3s).
Color, contrast, and readability
Low vision and color blindness affect a significant share of your visitors. Contrast failures are invisible to most designers but glaring to the people they affect.
- Normal-size text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background; large text at least 3:1.
- Interactive components and their focus states meet at least 3:1 contrast against adjacent colors.
- Color is never the only way information is conveyed — pair it with text, icons, or patterns (e.g. error fields get an icon and message, not just a red border).
- Text can be resized to 200% without loss of content or function.
- Content reflows on zoom and small screens without requiring horizontal scrolling.
Audio, video, and motion
Multimedia needs alternatives for people who cannot hear it, see it, or tolerate motion.
- Pre-recorded videos have accurate, synchronized captions — not just auto-generated ones left unreviewed.
- Videos where visuals carry meaning have audio descriptions or a descriptive transcript.
- Audio-only content (podcasts, recordings) has a transcript.
- Nothing plays audio automatically for more than a few seconds without a way to pause or stop it.
- Carousels, animations, and auto-updating content can be paused, stopped, or hidden.
- No content flashes more than three times per second.
Structure, code, and documents
Assistive technology depends on well-structured code to make sense of your pages. This section is where your developers earn their keep.
- The page language is declared in the HTML (lang="en"), and language changes within a page are marked.
- Semantic HTML is used for what it is for: real buttons, real lists, real tables with header cells.
- ARIA attributes are used correctly and sparingly — no ARIA is better than wrong ARIA.
- Dynamic updates (cart totals, live chat, form validation) are announced via appropriate live regions.
- PDFs and downloadable documents are tagged and accessible, or an accessible HTML version exists.
- Third-party embeds — booking widgets, payment forms, chat tools — are tested too; you are responsible for the whole experience on your site.
Testing, policy, and ongoing maintenance
Automated scanners catch only a portion of WCAG issues — roughly the mechanical ones. Combine automation with human testing, then make the process routine. Tools like AccessWiser can continuously monitor and remediate common issues, which meaningfully helps toward compliance, but no tool alone guarantees legal compliance — pair it with manual review and a real remediation process.
- Run an automated scan (Lighthouse, axe, WAVE, or similar) on your key pages and fix every flagged issue.
- Manually test your top user journeys — homepage to checkout, contact form, sign-up — using only a keyboard.
- Test at least your critical pages with a screen reader (NVDA and VoiceOver are free).
- Publish an accessibility statement with a working contact method for barrier reports, and respond when people write in.
- Assign an owner for accessibility and re-audit after every redesign, major content push, or at least quarterly.
- Train content editors on alt text, headings, and link text so new content stays compliant.
Frequently asked questions
Does the ADA legally require my website to meet WCAG?
The ADA statute does not name a technical standard for private-sector websites. However, courts and DOJ settlements consistently use WCAG — currently version 2.1 Level AA — as the measure of accessibility, and the DOJ's 2024 rule for state and local governments formally adopted WCAG 2.1 AA. Meeting it is the most defensible position a business can take.
My business is small. Does the ADA still apply to my site?
Title III of the ADA applies to "places of public accommodation" regardless of company size — restaurants, shops, professional services, and most businesses serving the public are covered. Small businesses receive demand letters and lawsuits regularly, so size is not a reliable shield.
Will an accessibility widget or overlay make me compliant?
No single tool guarantees compliance. Widgets and automated remediation can fix or mitigate many common issues and are a genuinely useful layer, but some WCAG requirements — like meaningful alt text, logical reading order, and accessible documents — need human judgment. Treat tools as part of a program that also includes manual testing and fixes in your source code.
How often should I audit my website?
Audit after any redesign, template change, or major content addition, and on a recurring schedule — quarterly is a reasonable baseline for most businesses. Continuous automated monitoring between audits helps catch regressions early.
What happens if someone sues over my website?
Most web accessibility claims resolve in settlements that include remediation commitments, plaintiff's attorney fees, and sometimes monetary payments. Beyond the ADA, some state laws such as California's Unruh Act allow damages per violation. The cheapest path is almost always fixing barriers before a complaint arrives.
This article is provided for general information about accessibility regulations and standards. It is not legal advice — consult a qualified professional about your specific compliance obligations.