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Important website accessibility information

January 24, 2023 Gabriel Accessibility

Website accessibility: A wheelchair ramp for your website

You’ve probably heard of people who file lawsuits when they find an organization that doesn’t provide wheelchair access.  According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, lack of wheelchair access is a clear case of discrimination.  For many years, individuals have been pairing with attorneys specifically for the purpose of finding wheelchair access violations and filing lawsuits.  These suits almost always end in a financial settlement because the cost of arbitrating is astronomical and because they are unable to dispute the violation.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has expanded its legislation requiring all websites be accessible to people with disabilities. The easiest way to understand website accessibility is to imagine how blind people interact with the internet. Special software reads website content and the user navigates through it using their keyboard. When a website is not accessible, the screen reader cannot interpret the content and the user cannot navigate with their keyboard.

In December, one of our local Montana clients was sued in New York state federal court for discrimination because their website was not accessible. When I researched the plaintiff and attorney, I found that they are filing dozens of lawsuits against random websites around the country.  It appears to be a clear case of what the industry calls “digital ambulance chasing”.  Unfortunately, the goal of these lawsuits is not to bring websites into compliance but rather to get paid.

For this reason, we are strongly recommending that your website become compliant with industry-wide accessibility standards.

We’ve been bringing websites into compliance by adding an accessibility widget that continuously scans content and augments code to make and keep it accessible.

The widget has an annual fee that varies depending upon the size of your website – more specifically, the number of pages Google has indexed.

You can see the widget in-action right here on our own website – note the blue person-icon in the lower right hand corner.

The widget also gives you an accessibility statement and an accessibility audit showing your compliance.

Without a compliant website, you are at risk of a discrimination lawsuit.

More information about the ADA’s legislation is available here: https://www.ada.gov/resources/web-guidance/

There is a tax credit that helps offset the accessibility expenses you incur each year and it does apply to web accessibility

https://archive.ada.gov/archive/taxpack.pdf

https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8826

https://archive.ada.gov/taxcred.htm


Website accessibility questions and answers

Why isn’t website accessibility a one time fee?

Great question. I’d much rather pay for something once and not have to deal with it ever again. The problem is that websites are constantly being updated. That may mean that blog posts are added, images are changed, staff are added and removed etc. It is possible to make a website accessible without adding an accessibility widget but the problem with a one-time accessibility overhaul is that the website will may fall out of compliance as soon as a change is made.

The accessibility widget continuously scans your website’s content and adds accessibility features on the fly. For that reason, it comes with an annual fee.

Do I qualify for the website accessibility tax credit?

The ADA tax credit benefit is available to businesses that generated $1,000,000 or less during the year prior to filing or businesses that employ 30 or fewer full-time employees.

The tax credit, listed under Section 44 of the IRS Code, covers 50% of the eligible access expenditures made during the previous tax year, with a maximum expenditure limit of $10,250. There is no credit for the first $250 of the expenditures, and so, it is subtracted accordingly. Therefore, the highest amount of credit a business can receive is $5,000.

My organization has less than 15 employees, so this doesn’t apply to me, right?

This is true for Title I which refers to employment discrimination but not true for Title III which pertains to disability and places of public accommodation (like websites). See an explanation here https://krisrivenburgh.medium.com/15-employees-for-ada-website-compliance-myth-30ee983e7b75

Does the accessibility widget protect me from legal action?

Nothing can fully protect you from legal action. Remember that anyone can sue you at any time for any reason. That’s the world we live in. Our accessibility widget provides you with an accessibility statement that outlines the browser and assistive technology compatibility of your website. It certifies that your website is compliant with the WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines – which makes you compliant with all international accessibility standards!

In addition, monthly compliance audit reports further prove that your website is fully accessible and compliant.

At this point, you should have enough to stop any lawsuit in its tracks.


DISCLAIMER: I am not an attorney and cannot offer legal advice. I recommend you consult with an attorney about this important issue.

523 N Higgins Ave, Missoula
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Eric Rasmusson a week ago
I have worked with other website designers who did not listen to my concerns nor take the time to explain to me what the process entailed and the mutual goals we were trying to accomplish with my firm website. Also, after the website went live they returned my calls and answered my emails - wow that did not happen with other companies before. Nor was i shuffled off to multiple minions whom i needed to educate again and again about the services my law firm provides. Our main contact Maggie M. has remained our main contact and she has been great to work with - very patient with a guy who started practicing law when faxes were the cutting edge of technology. Finally. Gecko provided onsite training which will help us manage many things on our own without the need to incur additional fees in the future. i highly recommend this organization.
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Michael Sweet 5 months ago
The Converge Foundation team really enjoyed working with Gecko Designs. It was our first foray into a professional website, and we had lots of ideas and much to consider. The folks at Gecko guided us through the process and we ended with a product that not only met our needs but was visually pleasing and easy to navigate. Our foundation works with a wide array of persons with varying abilities, so it was important for our foundation to have a website that was accessible. Gecko had the tools and background to support that objective.
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Colleen Gallagher 6 months ago
After experiencing severe email deliverability issues for weeks, which is a huge problem for a small business, Gecko Designs was able to jump in and immediately uncover what was wrong and resolve the problems. They were extremely professional and helpful and I'm very grateful they got us up and running smoothly again.
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Katy Doss 6 months ago
We found Gecko Designs when we were in a huge bind with another website developer. Gecko jumped in and handled a huge technical project for our agency, and was a true pleasure to work with. We appreciated the thoughtfulness they brought to the project, and look forward to working with them again!
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Jessica Zephyrs 6 months ago
Gecko took over a very complicated project when another agency wasn't able to finish, and we are very pleased with the partnership. The team is knowledgeable, efficient, excellent communicators, and adept problem solvers. So happy to be working with them.