If you own a website, the thought of making it fully accessible, allowing those with disabilities to have equal access, can seem overwhelming, and you may not know where to even begin. To add to the pressure is the fact that there are legal requirements so getting this wrong could be damaging to you and your company from a legal standpoint, which in turn could affect your financial status, not to mention your reputation. So, no matter how overwhelmed it makes you feel, this is something you need to get right.
I do, however, have some very good news for you. While this is a very important issue and not one to be taken lightly, it is also an issue with an easy solution. While it may seem like a huge task to get your website fully accessible, it doesn’t have to be. Yes, there are clever people out there who have already done the bulk of the work for you. There are companies out there, like accessiBe, that can offer you software that, when uploaded to your website, can have it fully accessible in a matter of days. These companies will even come out and set it up for you.
In this period of time, when equal rights are being fought for as never before, where you stand on this is no small matter. It is not a case of ‘if’ – your reputation will be damaged if you don’t ensure equal access for all on your website. The number of lawsuits being made against companies who have failed in this regard has risen sharply in the last couple of years. This shows that the issue is being addressed more and more by many governments around the world. Some large, well-known companies have also been affected by this and it has cost them greatly, both their reputation and financially.
With governments clamping down, and the public no longer willing to tolerate the lack of equal rights they see in many areas, including for those with a disability, this is something that you need to fix now. If your website is not fully accessible, make sure you contact a company who have the right software and have them come and install it on your websites now. Save yourself the stress of the legal ramifications, protect your reputation and live with the peace of mind that you have done the right thing for the millions of people living with disabilities.
