Website accessibility and the ADA: what small businesses need to know

Most business owners only think about website accessibility when a demand letter arrives. By then the options are narrower and more expensive. A better time is now, especially as the rules and expectations have become much clearer.

What’s been happening

• Lawsuits are routine. Thousands of lawsuits are filed every year under the Americans with Disabilities Act claiming business websites can’t be used by people with disabilities. Small and mid-sized businesses are frequent targets, not just big retailers.
• The government set a standard for itself. In April 2024 the Department of Justice finalized a rule requiring state and local government websites to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA, with deadlines starting in 2026. It doesn’t apply directly to private businesses, but it makes clear what “accessible” is expected to mean.
• The standard keeps evolving. WCAG 2.2, published in 2023, added criteria covering things like focus visibility, target size and accessible authentication.
• Overlays aren’t a shortcut. In 2025 the FTC ordered accessiBe, a well-known accessibility widget company, to pay $1 million over claims that its AI tool could make websites compliant. Plugins that promise one-click compliance don’t fix the underlying code, and sites using them still get sued.
• Europe raised the bar too. The European Accessibility Act took effect in June 2025 for many businesses selling products and services to EU customers.

Why it’s worth doing anyway

Around one in four U.S. adults lives with some type of disability. An accessible site is easier for everyone to use, including older customers and anyone on a phone in bright sunlight. It also tends to perform better in search, because much of what helps a screen reader, like clear headings, descriptive links and text alternatives, also helps Google.

The most common problems

• Images without meaningful alt text
• Text with too little contrast against its background
• Forms whose fields have no proper labels
• Menus, sliders and pop-ups that can’t be used with a keyboard
• No visible focus indicator, so keyboard users get lost
• Headings used for styling instead of structure
• Videos without captions
• Links that just say “click here”

A practical path

1. Audit against WCAG 2.2 AA. Automated scanners catch some issues, but a manual review with a keyboard and a screen reader catches the ones that matter most.
2. Fix the templates first. Navigation, headers, footers and forms appear on every page, so one fix there pays off everywhere.
3. Fix your key journeys. Make sure someone can find your services, contact you, book or buy using only a keyboard or a screen reader.
4. Publish an accessibility statement with a way for people to report problems.
5. Make it part of upkeep. New pages, plugins and content can reintroduce issues, so check accessibility whenever the site changes.

The bottom line

Accessibility isn’t a widget or a one-time project. It’s part of building a website properly. Done well, it lowers your legal risk and makes your site work better for every customer.

This article is general information, not legal advice. If you’ve received a demand letter or lawsuit, talk to an attorney.