Key takeaways
- Website accessibility is a legal risk as well as good practice. UsableNet reviewed more than 5,000 ADA-related digital accessibility lawsuits filed in federal and state courts in 2025.
- WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the standard most often cited in lawsuits and the one the Justice Department adopted for state and local government websites in 2024; WCAG 2.2, published in 2023, adds a few more criteria.
- Overlay widgets do not make a site compliant. UsableNet counted more than 1,400 lawsuits in 2025 against companies that used accessibility widgets.
- Accessibility serves a large audience: the CDC reports more than one in four US adults has some type of disability.
- Treat accessibility as ongoing work built into design, content and development, with regular testing and a public accessibility statement.
Courts have repeatedly treated business websites as subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act, and lawsuits over inaccessible sites now number in the thousands each year. Beyond legal risk, accessible sites are easier for everyone to use. This Emulent guide covers what accessibility compliance requires, how to assess your site, what to do after an assessment and how accessibility connects to SEO and conversions. It is general guidance, not legal advice.
What does accessibility compliance actually require?
Meeting the WCAG success criteria, built on four principles: content must be perceivable, operable, understandable and reliably compatible with assistive technologies.
| Requirement | What it means |
|---|---|
| Text alternatives | meaningful alt text for informative images; empty alt text for decorative ones. |
| Keyboard access | every link, button, menu, form, modal and accordion usable with a keyboard alone, with a visible focus indicator. |
| Color contrast | at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text and interface components. |
| Structure | one clear H1 and a logical heading order, plus proper landmarks and lists. |
| Forms | visible labels tied to each field, clear instructions and error messages that explain how to fix the problem. |
| Media | captions for prerecorded video and transcripts for audio. |
| Responsive and zoomable layouts | content usable at 200% zoom and on small screens without horizontal scrolling. |
| Time limits and motion | let users pause moving content and extend time limits. |
The legal picture varies. The Justice Department’s 2024 rule under ADA Title II adopted WCAG 2.1 AA for state and local governments. For private businesses under Title III, there is no specific federal web regulation, but plaintiffs and courts commonly point to WCAG 2.1 AA. Businesses selling into the EU also face the European Accessibility Act, which applies from June 2025.
Emulent treats accessibility like SEO: a quality standard that helps every visitor, not a box to tick after a demand letter arrives.
How do you assess your current accessibility status?
Combine automated scans with manual testing, because tools catch only part of the problems.
- Automated scans: WAVE, axe DevTools and Google Lighthouse flag issues such as missing alt text, low contrast and empty links.
- Keyboard testing: move through your main pages and forms using only Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter, Space and arrow keys.
- Screen reader testing: try NVDA on Windows, VoiceOver on Mac and iPhone, or TalkBack on Android on your top pages and conversion paths.
- Content review: descriptive link text, unique page titles, plain language and captions on videos.
- Third-party tools: check booking widgets, chat tools, payment forms and embedded maps, which often cause failures.
- Rank by impact: fix barriers that block essential tasks, such as contact forms, booking and checkout, before cosmetic issues.
What should you do after the assessment?
Turn findings into a plan with owners and deadlines.
- Group issues by severity: critical barriers first, then major and minor issues.
- Assign ownership: content teams fix alt text, headings and link text; designers fix contrast and focus styles; developers fix keyboard traps, ARIA and form code.
- Replace inaccessible components: menus, sliders and modals are frequent problem areas.
- Publish an accessibility statement: your target standard, known limitations and a way to report barriers.
- Build accessibility into workflows: checklists for new pages, design reviews and pre-launch testing.
- Avoid overlays as a fix: UsableNet’s 2025 year-end report documents widespread lawsuits against sites using widgets, and many accessibility experts oppose relying on them.
Emulent builds accessibility into every website design project, because fixing problems after launch costs far more than building correctly. On WordPress, we run accessibility checks on each page element; for ecommerce, we recommend Shopify with themes and apps tested for accessibility.
How does accessibility connect to SEO and conversions?
Much of the work overlaps with good SEO and usability.
- Alt text helps screen reader users and image search.
- Logical headings help assistive technology and search engines understand page structure.
- Descriptive link text helps users and search engines understand destinations.
- Clear forms and readable text reduce abandonment for everyone.
- Captions and transcripts make video content usable and indexable.
- A large audience: the CDC’s disability data shows more than one in four US adults has a disability, and many more benefit from captions, contrast and simple layouts in everyday situations.
How can the Emulent team help?
Emulent audits websites against WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 AA, fixes design, content and code issues, writes accessibility statements and builds new sites with accessibility from the start. A caveat: no audit or tool can guarantee freedom from lawsuits, so pair technical work with legal advice if you receive a demand letter. Contact the Emulent team to make your website accessible.