Key Takeaways
- Approximately 96% of websites have accessibility issues, which create both legal and UX risks.
- The ADA and WCAG provide guidelines to ensure websites are accessible to people with disabilities.
- AccessiBe is an AI-powered tool that enhances accessibility with features such as screen reader compatibility, keyboard navigation, and adjustable fonts.
- While no tool guarantees full compliance, AccessiBe supports WCAG/ADA efforts, enhances user experience, and reduces risk.
- Adding AccessiBe through Lasso Up provides cost efficiency, DEI alignment, legal safeguards, and potential ADA tax credits.
Do you know if your website is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities? If not, you’re not alone.
According to a study conducted by WebAIM of the world’s top 1,000,000 websites, 96% of websites had detectable accessibility issues.
This is a growing concern. Websites that are difficult to navigate for users with disabilities may create a legal risk for business owners under accessibility laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
In this blog, we’ll introduce the basics of ADA and WCAG standards, a powerful tool called AccessiBe that can help improve your website’s accessibility, and how Lasso Up makes it easy to get started.
Lasso Up offers AccessiBe as an optional add-on to any of our website care plans.
Understanding ADA & WCAG Website Accessibility
The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities, including digital spaces like websites. WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is a globally recognized set of guidelines that defines how to make web content more accessible to people with a range of disabilities, such as visual, auditory, cognitive, or motor impairments.
Meeting these guidelines can include:
- Providing alternative text for images
- Maintaining strong color contrast
- Captioning videos
- Making navigation keyboard-friendly
While no tool can guarantee full compliance with every aspect of ADA or WCAG, taking steps toward better accessibility shows a good faith effort, improves user experience, and helps reduce the risk of lawsuits.
Why Accessibility Can Be Challenging
Even well-meaning businesses can find digital accessibility difficult to implement:
- Hard to identify issues: Without accessibility expertise, it can be challenging to pinpoint and resolve problems on your site.
- Constantly evolving standards: WCAG guidelines are updated to reflect new best practices.
- Design limitations: Striking a balance between visual appeal and accessibility can be a challenge.
That’s where AccessiBe comes in to help automate and simplify these efforts.
What Is AccessiBe?
AccessiBe is an automated, AI-powered tool that helps improve your website’s accessibility. It works by scanning your site and adjusting frontend elements in real-time to make them more usable for people with disabilities.
Features include:
- Screen reader compatibility
- Keyboard navigation improvements
- Adjustable fonts, color contrast, and spacing
- AI interpretation of website structure for accessibility tools
AccessiBe also provides an on-site accessibility interface that users can engage with to customize their browsing experience based on individual needs.
What AccessiBe Does (and Doesn’t Do)
AccessiBe is designed to support accessibility efforts and help businesses move closer to WCAG and ADA guidelines. It offers an extra layer of accessibility without requiring a complete website overhaul.
However, it’s important to note: AccessiBe does not make a website “fully compliant” on its own. No automated tool can guarantee complete compliance, as manual adjustments and testing are often required depending on your content and functionality.
Benefits of Using AccessiBe with Lasso Up
Here’s why many of our clients choose to implement AccessiBe:
- Legal Safeguards: Shows a reasonable effort toward accessibility, which may help reduce exposure to lawsuits.
- Supports DEI Goals: Aligns with diversity and inclusion initiatives by making your digital presence more equitable.
- Potential Tax Credit: Businesses may be eligible for an ADA tax credit, up to $5,000 annually. Learn more here.
- Time & Cost Efficiency: Avoid expensive manual fixes. AccessiBe installs quickly and runs continuously in the background.
- Enhanced UX: Improves the experience for users who rely on assistive tech or accessibility settings.
- Broader Reach: An estimated 15% of the population lives with a disability. Making your site more accessible means more potential customers.
How to Get Started
Implementing AccessiBe on your website is a straightforward process. Here are the steps involved:
AccessiBe Add-On Setup Includes:
- Initial Setup & Integration – We install the AccessiBe script on your WordPress site.
- Accessibility Panel Customization – Tailored to your brand’s color palette and layout needs.
- Ongoing Monitoring – You get an accessibility statement and logs to demonstrate ongoing effort.
Pricing:
- One-time setup fee: Starts at $500 (1–30 pages), $700 for mid-sized sites. Custom quotes for larger builds.
- Ongoing AccessiBe subscription: Paid directly to AccessiBe – $49/month or $490/year
Ready to Make Your Website More Accessible?
Implementing AccessiBe is a smart way to improve usability, reduce legal risk, and support an inclusive brand experience, without a complete redesign.
Contact us to ask how AccessiBe can be added to your site.
FAQs about Website Accessibility and AccessiBe
Q: What is website accessibility?
A: Website accessibility ensures that digital content can be used by people with disabilities, including those with visual, auditory, cognitive, or motor impairments. It involves following ADA requirements and WCAG guidelines, such as adding alt text, ensuring keyboard navigation, and providing captions for videos.
Q: What are the ADA and WCAG guidelines?
A: The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities, including in online spaces. WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is a global standard that defines how to make web content accessible, covering everything from text alternatives to color contrast and navigation structure.
Q: What is AccessiBe and how does it work?
A: AccessiBe is an AI-powered accessibility tool that scans your website and adjusts frontend elements in real time. It offers screen reader support, keyboard navigation improvements, adjustable fonts and colors, and an accessibility panel, allowing users to customize their experience.
Q: Does AccessiBe make a website fully ADA-compliant?
A: No automated tool can guarantee full compliance. AccessiBe helps businesses move closer to WCAG and ADA standards; however, manual testing and adjustments may still be necessary, depending on your content and functionality.
Q: What are the benefits of using AccessiBe?
A: Key benefits include:
- Reducing legal risk by demonstrating reasonable accessibility efforts
- Supporting DEI initiatives with a more inclusive digital presence
- Improving user experience for visitors with disabilities
- Extending reach to the estimated 15% of the population with disabilities
- Saving time and costs compared to a full redesign
- Potential eligibility for an ADA tax credit of up to $5,000 annually
Q: How do I get started with AccessiBe through Lasso Up?
A: Lasso Up’s team handles the entire setup process, including script installation, customization of the accessibility panel, and ongoing monitoring. Contact us to add AccessiBe to your website and start improving accessibility today.