My grandfather is deaf, so the importance of accessibility has always been personal to me. I've long been a supporter of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the opportunities it helps protect for people with disabilities.
But this week, a client sent me a video that made me think more seriously about how the ADA relates to something I do professionally: building websites.
The video featured the owners of Candycopia, a small candy business in Illinois that faced a five-figure legal settlement involving the accessibility of its website. As a small business owner and website designer myself, that certainly got my attention.
It also raised a bigger question: How many of us have websites that look beautiful and function perfectly well for us, without realizing they may be difficult—or even impossible—for someone else to use?
What Does the ADA Have to Do With Your Website?
When many of us think about the ADA, we picture wheelchair ramps, accessible parking spaces, or other accommodations in physical spaces. But people also need access to the information and services businesses offer online. A website can create barriers just as a physical location can, whether someone is trying to read about your services, contact your business, or make a purchase.
The U.S. Department of Justice's guidance on web accessibility and the ADA explains its longstanding position that the ADA's requirements apply to the goods and services businesses open to the public offer on the web. How those requirements apply to a particular business can depend on the circumstances and jurisdiction. For business owners, the practical takeaway is to consider whether people with disabilities can use the website to access what the business offers.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), developed by the W3C, provide technical guidance for identifying and addressing accessibility barriers. They give website owners and designers a shared reference for improvements such as text alternatives, readable contrast, keyboard access, and understandable forms. Following a checklist alone, however, isn't a guarantee of legal compliance.
When Website Accessibility Becomes a Legal Issue
The Candycopia story is particularly concerning because its owners believed they were doing the right things. According to an October 20 article in the Wednesday Journal, co-owner Alycia Mason explained that she had relied on her website developers and third-party Shopify applications, assuming accessibility was being addressed. Instead, the business ended up facing a five-figure legal settlement related to its website. I can certainly understand how overwhelming that would be for a small business owner, especially one who may not have the technical knowledge or resources to identify every potential accessibility issue.
And Candycopia isn't an isolated example. According to UsableNet's summary of its 2026 Midyear Report, researchers projected more than 6,000 digital accessibility lawsuits for the year, based on filings recorded through June 14. This was a projection, not a final annual count. The Wednesday Journal reported that e-commerce businesses accounted for approximately 79% of the cases analyzed in the report. Some law firms file large numbers of these cases, raising concerns about whether the primary motivation is improving accessibility or obtaining financial settlements. Those concerns deserve attention, particularly when small businesses may face substantial legal expenses while trying to understand and correct problems they didn't know existed. At the same time, it's important to remember that an accessibility lawsuit can also represent a legitimate effort to address discrimination.
What stood out to me in the Wednesday Journal article was the perspective of people who actually experience these barriers. Representatives from the Progress Center for Independent Living described the challenges of navigating websites that prioritize appearance over usability, including difficulties completing everyday tasks such as purchasing airline tickets. Their experiences were a reminder that accessibility isn't an abstract technical requirement or simply another business expense. When someone cannot navigate a website, understand its content, or complete a transaction because of a disability, the consequences are very real.
I don't believe small business owners should have to become accessibility experts overnight, and I certainly don't claim to be one myself. But I do believe we have a responsibility to learn, ask better questions, and make improvements where we can. After discussing the Candycopia story with my client, we added an accessibility statement to her website while continuing to evaluate and improve the experience itself. The statement isn't a certification of compliance or a substitute for fixing accessibility barriers. It's one way to communicate our commitment to accessibility and give visitors a way to let us know if they're having difficulty using the site.
Five Ways to Make Your Website More Accessible Today
If you're reading this and wondering whether your own website is accessible, you're probably not alone. The good news is that you don't have to understand every technical aspect of web development to start making meaningful improvements. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which develops internationally recognized web accessibility guidelines, provides resources such as W3C Easy Checks to help website owners identify common accessibility barriers. While the following five steps won't guarantee ADA compliance or replace a comprehensive accessibility evaluation, they're practical places to begin.
1. Give Your Images Meaningful Descriptions
Have you ever wondered how someone who is blind or has limited vision experiences the images on your website? Many people use screen readers, which are technologies that read digital content aloud or present it through a braille display. Alternative text, commonly called alt text, helps communicate the purpose or meaning of an image to someone who cannot see it. Without it, important information contained in an image may be completely missed.
If you're using WordPress, open your Media Library and review the alternative text associated with your images. Rather than writing something generic like "business photo," describe what matters about the image in the context of the page. For example, a Pilates studio might use "Instructor guiding a client through a Pilates reformer exercise" for a photograph illustrating personalized instruction. Keep in mind that purely decorative images should generally have an empty alt attribute (alt="") so assistive technology can skip them, and images containing important information may require more than a brief description. The goal isn't to describe every visual detail, but to make sure someone using assistive technology receives the information they need.
2. Make Sure Your Text Is Easy to Read
I love a beautiful color palette, and I know firsthand how tempting it can be to choose colors based on appearance alone. Unfortunately, combinations that look elegant on a design mockup aren't always easy for everyone to read. Someone with low vision or color-vision deficiencies may struggle to distinguish text from its background, particularly when the colors are similar in brightness. That pale pink text on a cream background might complement your branding perfectly, but it may also prevent someone from reading your message.
A good starting point is to check the contrast between your text and background colors. Under WCAG 2.2 Level AA, standard text generally needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1, while qualifying large text needs at least 3:1. You can use the free WebAIM Contrast Checker to test your website's color combinations without needing to understand the calculations behind them. Pay particular attention to navigation menus, buttons, forms, and smaller text. You don't necessarily have to abandon your brand colors; sometimes a darker shade or a different background is all it takes to make your content easier to read.
3. Try Navigating Your Website Without a Mouse
Here's a simple experiment: open your website, put your mouse aside, and try navigating using only your keyboard. Press the Tab key to move between links, buttons, and form fields, and use Enter or Space where appropriate to activate controls. Can you reach everything you need? Can you tell which element is currently selected? If you get stuck or can't complete an important action, you've discovered something worth investigating.
Keyboard accessibility matters because not everyone uses a mouse or touchscreen to navigate the internet. People with certain mobility disabilities rely on keyboards, switches, and other assistive devices to interact with websites. A properly designed website should allow visitors to access its essential features without requiring precise mouse movements. As a website designer, I think this is one of the most revealing tests you can perform because it forces you to experience your website differently. It also takes only a few minutes to identify some potentially significant problems.
4. Give Your Website a Clear Structure
Headings do more than make a website look organized. They help visitors understand how information is arranged, and they allow people using screen readers to navigate between sections more efficiently. Think about how you scan a webpage when you're looking for something specific. You probably read the headings before deciding which paragraphs deserve your attention, and someone using assistive technology may rely on that structure even more heavily.
In WordPress, check that your headings follow a logical order. Your main page heading should generally be an H1, with H2 headings introducing major sections and H3 headings organizing subsections when needed. Don't choose an H3 simply because you prefer its font size, and don't use bold text as a substitute for an actual heading. Your website's visual styling can be adjusted separately from its underlying structure. This is one of those improvements that can make your content easier to navigate for everyone, regardless of how they access it.
5. Make Your Forms Easy to Understand and Complete
Imagine finding a business you're interested in working with, only to discover that you can't complete its contact form. Perhaps the fields aren't labeled clearly, the instructions are confusing, or an error message doesn't explain what needs to be corrected. For someone using assistive technology, these problems can make it difficult or impossible to submit an inquiry, book an appointment, or complete a purchase. And from a business perspective, that's a potential customer who may have no practical way to reach you.
Take a few minutes to test every form on your website, including contact forms, appointment requests, newsletter subscriptions, and checkout pages. Make sure each field has a clear, programmatically associated label, required information is identified, and error messages explain what needs attention. Don't rely exclusively on placeholder text inside a field or on color alone to communicate an error. If possible, test the form with a keyboard and a screen reader as well. A form that works for you isn't necessarily a form that works for everyone, and testing different ways of completing it can reveal barriers you might otherwise overlook.
Accessibility Is an Ongoing Commitment
When I think about my grandfather and the barriers people with disabilities have faced throughout their lives, I'm reminded why the Americans with Disabilities Act matters so much. Accessibility isn't about giving someone special treatment; it's about making sure they have a fair opportunity to participate in experiences that others may take for granted. That principle doesn't disappear when we move from a physical storefront to a digital one. If anything, the growing importance of websites in our everyday lives makes it even more relevant.
The Candycopia story was an eye-opener for me, and I'm grateful my client shared it. It prompted us to take a closer look at her website, add an accessibility statement, and think more intentionally about the improvements we can continue making. I know there are things I still need to learn, and I suspect many other business owners and website designers feel the same way. But I don't think we need to have every answer before we start asking better questions and taking meaningful action.
As a Brand Architect, I spend a great deal of time thinking about how businesses present themselves to the world. I believe a website should be beautiful, functional, and thoughtfully designed to serve the people who visit it. This experience has reminded me that accessibility belongs in that conversation from the very beginning, not as an afterthought when something goes wrong. Because ultimately, what good is a beautiful website if some of the people you're hoping to reach can't use it?
Beautiful ideas deserve brilliant architecture. And brilliant architecture should make room for everyone.
Educational note: This article is provided for educational and informational purposes only and is not legal advice. It does not certify ADA compliance or replace a comprehensive accessibility evaluation. For advice about your business's legal obligations or a specific accessibility claim, consult a qualified attorney.