The Question: Is My Website ADA Compliant?
If you have ever asked yourself, “Is my website ADA compliant?” you are not alone. Website accessibility has become one of the most important considerations for businesses of all sizes, and the consequences of getting it wrong can be significant. From potential lawsuits to lost customers, a website that fails to meet ADA requirements creates real risk for your business.
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that businesses provide equal access to their goods and services, and courts have increasingly interpreted this to include websites and digital experiences. ADA compliance for websites is no longer optional or aspirational. It is a lawful and ethical responsibility that every business owner needs to take seriously.
The challenge is that most business owners have no idea whether their website meets these standards. Here are five ways to tell if your website is ADA compliant and what to do if it is not.
#1. Test Your Website With a Keyboard Only
One of the simplest ways to check if a website is ADA compliant is to try navigating it using only your keyboard. Put your mouse aside, open your website, and use the Tab key to move through links, buttons, forms, and menus. Press Enter to activate elements. Use the arrow keys to navigate dropdown menus.
If you can access every page, complete every form, click every button, and interact with every feature using only your keyboard, your site passes this basic accessibility test. If you get stuck, if the focus indicator disappears, or if you cannot reach certain elements at all, your website has a significant accessibility barrier.
Keyboard navigation is essential for people who use assistive technologies such as screen readers and alternative input devices. An ADA compliant website must be fully functional without a mouse. This is one of the most fundamental ADA requirements for website accessibility, and it is one of the first things an ADA compliance checker will evaluate.
#2. Check Your Images for Alt Text
Every meaningful image on your website should have descriptive alt text that explains what the image shows. Alt text’s read aloud by screen readers, giving visually impaired users the context they need to understand your content. Without it, images are invisible to a significant portion of your audience.
To check this on your own, right-click on any image on your site, select “Inspect,” and look for the alt attribute in the image tag. If the alt attribute is empty or missing entirely, that image is not accessible.
Decorative images that serve no informational purpose should have an empty alt attribute so screen readers know to skip them. But any image that conveys information, such as product photos, infographics, charts, or team headshots, needs a clear and accurate description. This is a clear yet frequently overlooked element of ADA website compliance that affects how accessible your content truly is.
#3. Evaluate Your Color Contrast and Text Readability
An ADA compliant website must present text that is easy to read for users with low vision or color blindness. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, commonly known as WCAG, specify minimum contrast measures between text and background colors. For normal-sized text, the minimum contrast ratio is 4.5:1. For large text, it is 3:1.
If your website uses light grey text on a white background, thin fonts at small sizes, or color as the only way to convey important information, you likely have contrast and readability issues that affect ADA compliance.
Free online tools can help you measure the contrast ratio between your text and background colors. If your ratios fall below the WCAG thresholds, adjusting your color palette is one of the most effective changes you can make for website accessibility. This is also an area where a professional ADA website audit can provide specific, actionable recommendations customized to your design.
#4. Review Your Forms and Interactive Items for Labels and Instructions
Forms are critical touchpoints on most business websites. Contact forms, quote request forms, email signup fields, and appointment schedulers all require user input. For these forms to be accessible, every input field needs a properly associated label that tells the user what information is expected.
Placeholder text inside a form field is not a substitute for a label. Placeholders disappear once a user begins typing, which creates confusion for people using assistive technology and for users with cognitive disabilities. Each field should have a visible label that remains on screen and is programmatically linked to the input element.
Error messages also need to be clear and specific. If a user submits a form incorrectly, the error message should identify exactly which field needs attention and what the user must do to fix it. Vague messages like “please correct the errors above” without pointing to the specific problem create barriers for all users, but especially for those relying on screen readers.
How do I know if my website is ADA compliant in this area? Try completing every form on your site using a screen reader or using only your keyboard. If you cannot identify what each field requires or if error messages are unclear, your forms need attention.
#5. Run an ADA Compliance Checker on Your Website
Automated accessibility testing tools can scan your website and identify many common ADA compliance issues. These tools evaluate your site against WCAG standards and flag problems such as missing alt text, poor contrast values, empty links, missing form labels, and improper heading structures.
While no automated ADA compliance checker catches every issue, these tools deliver a useful starting point to understand where your website falls short. They are an efficient first step in evaluating whether your website is ADA-compliant.
However, automated tools alone are not enough. A comprehensive ADA website audit combines automated scanning with manual testing to evaluate the full user experience. Some accessibility issues, such as whether alt text’s actually descriptive or whether interactive controls behave as expected for keyboard users, require human assessment that software cannot duplicate.
This is where working with an experienced team for a full website review makes a considerable difference. A professional accessibility ADA compliance evaluation goes
beyond what any single tool can offer, giving you a complete picture of your current status and a clear path to full compliance.
Is Your Website ADA Compliant? Find Out Today
If you are unsure whether your website meets ADA requirements, the most effective next step is a thorough evaluation from professionals who understand both the technical and planning sides of website accessibility and ADA compliance for websites.
OneCom Media & Marketing offers a free website audit and strategy session to evaluate your site’s accessibility, performance, and search visibility. You will receive a clear assessment of where your website is today and a tailor-made strategy for dealing with any gaps.
Schedule your free website audit and strategy session now at: https://onecommedia.com/contact-us/
