The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed in 1990, well before the web existed in any meaningful commercial form. Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination by "places of public accommodation" — and for decades, what exactly counts as a "place of public accommodation" in the digital world has been litigated extensively.

The Department of Justice's position has been consistent: businesses with websites that relate to their operations must make those websites accessible to customers with disabilities. Federal courts across most circuits have upheld some version of this. A majority of federal circuit courts hold that if you have a physical location, your website must be accessible to the same standard. The First Circuit has gone further, holding that even online-only businesses fall under Title III. Recent developments in the Seventh Circuit (covering Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana) have begun to align with this more expansive view.

What this means practically: regardless of whether your business has a physical storefront, your website is at legal risk if it's inaccessible, and defending an ADA lawsuit is expensive even when you win.

When courts and the DOJ evaluate whether a website is accessible, the benchmark they reference is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) — an internationally recognized set of technical standards developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

Specifically, WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the de facto compliance standard for ADA purposes. The DOJ's 2024 rule explicitly required WCAG 2.1 AA for government entities under Title II. For private businesses under Title III, courts have consistently referenced WCAG 2.1 AA in enforcement actions.

Think of WCAG 2.1 AA as the standard that, if you meet it, gives you the strongest legal defense against accessibility claims.

Before diving into technical requirements, it's worth grounding this in reality. In the U.S., approximately 61 million adults live with some form of disability. The disabilities most affected by digital inaccessibility include:

Visual disabilities: blindness, low vision, and color blindness — affecting how users read content, view images, and navigate interfaces Hearing disabilities: affecting users who rely on captions and transcripts for video and audio content Motor disabilities: affecting users who cannot use a mouse and rely on keyboard navigation or assistive devices Cognitive disabilities: affecting users who need clear structure, simple language, and predictable navigation An accessible website isn't just a compliance exercise. It's a business that a broader range of people can actually use.

The most frequently cited issues in ADA website litigation are:

Missing or inadequate alt text. Alt text is the text description attached to an image that screen readers read aloud to blind users. When images have no alt text, or alt text that just says "image" or "pic123.jpg," visually impaired users have no idea what they're looking at. The landmark Robles v. Domino's Pizza case specifically cited alt text failures as a key violation.

Poor color contrast. Text that doesn't have sufficient contrast against its background is difficult or impossible to read for people with low vision or color blindness. WCAG 2.1 AA requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.

No keyboard navigation. Many users with motor disabilities cannot use a mouse and navigate entirely by keyboard. If your menus, forms, buttons, and interactive elements aren't operable via keyboard — using Tab, Enter, and arrow keys — these users are locked out.

Unlabeled form fields. Forms without proper labels are unusable for screen reader users. A text box that just looks like a blank field on screen has no inherent meaning when a screen reader encounters it.

Videos without captions or transcripts. Deaf and hard-of-hearing users cannot access video content without synchronized captions. This includes automated captions, which must be reviewed for accuracy — auto-generated captions from platforms like YouTube are often riddled with errors and don't meet the standard.

Missing "skip navigation" links. Screen reader users hear every navigation link on a page before reaching main content. A "skip to main content" link at the top of the page lets them jump directly to the content they came for.

Inaccessible PDFs. PDFs that aren't tagged for accessibility are essentially unreadable by screen readers. If you post downloadable documents — menus, price sheets, spec sheets, contracts — they need to be accessible.

Here's what WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance looks like in practical terms:

Images and media:

All meaningful images have descriptive alt text Decorative images use empty alt text (alt="") so screen readers skip them All video content has synchronized captions Pre-recorded audio content has transcripts Complex images (charts, infographics) have extended descriptions Text and readability:

Color contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text Text can be resized up to 200% without breaking layout

No information is conveyed by color alone Navigation and structure:

The site is fully navigable by keyboard (no mouse required)

Focus indicators are visible when navigating by keyboard Page titles accurately describe the page content Headings are used in a logical, hierarchical order (H1, H2, H3 — not chosen for styling) A "skip to main content" link is provided Forms and interactive elements:

All form fields have associated labels Error messages clearly identify the field with the error and explain what's wrong Buttons have accessible names (not just icons without text labels) Content and language:

The page language is specified in the HTML Content that changes unexpectedly or automatically can be paused, stopped, or controlled

You don't need to hire an expensive consultant to get started. There are solid free tools:

WAVE (wave.webaim.org): Browser extension that highlights accessibility errors and warnings directly on your pages Axe DevTools (available as a Chrome/Firefox extension): Developer-focused tool that identifies WCAG violations Google Lighthouse: Built into Chrome DevTools; includes an accessibility audit with a score and specific recommendations Color Contrast Checker (webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker): Quickly test whether your text-background color combinations meet the 4.5:1 ratio These automated tools are useful starting points, but they can only catch around 30-40% of accessibility issues. Manual testing — including actually navigating your site using only a keyboard and checking it with a screen reader — catches what automation misses.

For a serious compliance effort, consider hiring an accessibility professional or firm to conduct a full audit.

You may have seen "accessibility overlay" products — JavaScript plugins that claim to automatically make your website accessible for a monthly fee. Overlays like AccessiBe and AudioEye have been heavily marketed to small businesses.

The accessibility community and many legal experts are skeptical of these products. Multiple lawsuits have been filed against companies using overlays, with plaintiffs arguing that the overlays don't actually solve the underlying accessibility problems — they just add a layer on top. Relying solely on an overlay as your accessibility strategy is not a reliable defense against ADA litigation.

Overlays can be a supplement to real accessibility work, but not a replacement for it.

If a demand letter or lawsuit arrives claiming ADA accessibility violations:

1. Don't ignore it. Even if you believe the claim is frivolous, ignoring it can lead to a default judgment. 2. Consult an attorney immediately who has experience with ADA Title III cases. 3. Begin remediation. Courts respond positively to defendants who take concrete steps toward compliance once they're on notice. 4. Document your accessibility efforts. Any work you've done to improve accessibility before the lawsuit strengthens your position. Most small business defendants settle in the range of $5,000 to $20,000 plus a commitment to remediate. Defendants who fight tend to spend more in legal fees alone.

ADA compliance isn't only about avoiding lawsuits. About 26% of U.S. adults have some type of disability. An accessible website reaches that audience. It also tends to perform better in search engines — many accessibility best practices (clear headings, descriptive alt text, logical page structure) align directly with SEO best practices.

Accessibility is good product design. When you build for the edges of the capability spectrum, you tend to improve the experience for everyone.

Don't let the scope overwhelm you. Start here:

1. Run a WAVE audit on your homepage and your highest-traffic pages. Fix the errors flagged in red first.
2. Test keyboard navigation. Tab through your entire site and see if you can reach every link, button, and form field. 3. Check your color contrast. Paste your text and background colors into a contrast checker. 4. Add alt text to your images. This is usually a quick edit in any CMS. 5. Add captions to any video content. A focused afternoon of work can resolve many common violations. The goal isn't perfection overnight — it's demonstrable, documented progress toward a more accessible site.

Your next step: Run a free WAVE or Axe audit on your homepage today, and create a prioritized list of issues to address. Start with the high-impact, low-effort fixes, and build from there.

Accessibility belongs in the same compliance sweep as your terms and privacy policy and cookie practices. SaaS founders should bake WCAG into the product and reference it in their terms.