Why You Need an AI-Powered Strategy for Website Accessibility Compliance
Maximizing the potential of your online business hinges on ensuring accessibility for all users, including those with disabilities.
Despite the growing emphasis on creating inclusive experiences, the needs and preferences of individuals with disabilities get overlooked, representing a missed opportunity for companies to tap into a population of some 61 million individuals in the US, according to the CDC. The disability community encompasses a diverse range of individuals with varying abilities and requirements, including those with mobility, visual, auditory, cognitive, and neurological disabilities. This multifaceted sector not only wields significant spending power but also considerable influence over the purchasing decisions of their families, friends, and caregivers, who prioritize accessibility and inclusivity. Websites that underestimate this market segment are making a costly mistake by not removing accessibility barriers and maintaining their site’s accessibility on an ongoing basis.
Accessibility and Compliance
For people with disabilities, the web can be a great equalizer, offering unprecedented access and empowerment. It represents a vital gateway to information, products, and services. However, this transformative potential can only be fully realized if websites and online platforms are designed with accessibility in mind.
The issue of ensuring your website is accessible to all is more than just a social issue of equality. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) initiated a Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) that regularly publishes and updates the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) which is a widely recognized global standard for web accessibility. They list success criteria to make websites, mobile apps, electronic documents, and other digital content accessible to users with a wide range of disabilities, including visual, auditory, physical, cognitive, and neurological impairments.
Is Your Website WCAG Compliant?
If your website does not meet the accessibility needs of users with disabilities, the implications extend beyond neglecting a crucial user group. Non-compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines can result in legal challenges under legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 508 in the United States and the European Accessibility Act (EAA) in the EU. This could lead to financial repercussions including legal fees, settlements, and fines. Additionally, a lack of website accessibility can be perceived as a disregard for inclusivity, damaging public perception and diminishing goodwill.
So how can you determine whether your site is WCAG compliant? Getting started is as easy as using an online website accessibility checker. The automated process will identify barriers that individuals may face if they have motor, visual, cognitive, hearing, or other impairments.
Technology that is Accessible and Inclusive
Maximizing the potential of your online business hinges on ensuring accessibility for all users. UserWay, a leading provider of web accessibility solutions, is empowering organizations to create an inclusive digital experience for all. Their core offering, the AI-Powered Accessibility Widget, seamlessly integrates with over 20 website-building platforms and supports more than 50 languages to provide a comprehensive solution that addresses accessibility challenges.
This lightweight Widget technology leverages the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning to automatically detect and fix accessibility issues on your website in real-time. After you add a few lines of code to your website’s HTML code, it starts to scan your site, identifying violations of accessibility regulations in the U.S., Canada, and Europe as well as the compliance standards set forth by WCAG 2.1 and 2.2. It not only identifies these code violations but applies fixes to resolve them, increasing compliance and equal access.
On top of its powerful automated remediations which address accessibility, the Widget provides opt-in personalization tools to users who choose to tailor their experience. To do this, the Widget provides a menu that users can interact with to adapt websites to their specific accessibility needs. For example, users can choose to adjust text sizes, change color contrasts, stop animations, or enable a screen reader mode. They can generate unique URLs with a single mouse click that activates specific accessibility profiles tailored to their individual needs and disabilities.
From the User Perspective
AI is transforming the world in myriad ways, including our understanding of diverse user experiences. Today, AI-enabled website widgets are using computer vision and image recognition technologies to convert visual content into image alt text. These are accessed through text-to-speech functionalities, where AI-powered screen readers interpret images and provide detailed descriptions, making visual content accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired. AI is not only enhancing websites, it is enhancing the human experience for millions of users out there, and UserWay is leading this revolution, as the world’s most popular solution chosen by millions of sites.
Why Business of all Sizes can Benefit
AI is transforming the world in myriad ways, including our understanding of diverse user experiences. Today, AI-enabled website widgets are using computer vision and image recognition technologies to convert visual content into image alt text. These are accessed through text-to-speech functionalities, where AI-powered screen readers interpret images and provide detailed descriptions, making visual content accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired. AI is not only enhancing websites, it is enhancing the human experience for millions of users out there, and UserWay is leading this revolution, as the world’s most popular solution chosen by millions of sites.
Backing their Reputation and Yours
If you doubt the prevalence of web inaccessibility, consider that in 2023, 95.9% of home pages were found to have WCAG 2 failures. This significant figure underscores the long road ahead as digital accessibility is not just an advantageous feature. But how can you be sure that AI widgets align your site with the law’s legal requirements? UserWay is so confident in the efficacy of their technology that they offer a $10,000 Pledge. This program covers awarded damages if a website using UserWay’s AI-Powered Accessibility Widget is found to be non-compliant with accessibility regulations.
Prioritizing web accessibility signifies a commitment to inclusivity and equal access for all users. This effort can enhance your own brand and foster customer loyalty and position the organization as a leader in accessibility and diversity. Moreover, improving accessibility is proven to positively impact various metrics, including click-through rates, earnings per click, bounce rates, and conversion rates. Ultimately, focusing on web accessibility is a win-win for everyone involved.
Conclusion
AI is revolutionizing the way we approach digital accessibility, and companies like UserWay are at the forefront of this revolution. They make it easier than ever for SMBs, ecommerce sites, and companies of all sizes to leverage cutting-edge AI and machine learning technologies to break down barriers and empower individuals with diverse abilities to engage seamlessly with online content. Through innovative solutions like the AI-powered Accessibility Widget, UserWay is enabling organizations of all sizes to achieve compliance with accessibility standards, mitigate legal risks, and create truly inclusive digital experiences. If your company has a web presence, find out how AI can bridge the gap between current digital practices and the need for universal accessibility.
MORE ON AI
