ADA Compliance

Written by Patricia Anderson on June 17, 2016. Posted in Friday Blog Post

Here’s a question: Have you ever considered any problems the disabled might encounter trying to access or download information online?  

Unless you deal each day with these ideas, chances are that online access does not fall into that realm of thought.

There may come a day soon, however, where you’ll definitely need to add this to your online “to do list,” as courts around the country are currently deciding on the issue of whether the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) extends to the Internet.

Some courts have indeed found that websites must be made accessible to people with visual and other impairments. While the ADA itself doesn’t address this issue, that’s only because the 1990 legislation predates the widespread use of the Internet.

Looking toward the future, it may be prudent to make your websites ADA compliant today, before being forced to meet an arbitrary deadline sometime in the future.

But how can you do that? Well, here are a few tips:

1. Contact your website expert and inquire about the current accessibility of your site.
2. Learn how your site scores on the “Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0” standards created by the World Wide Web Consortium.
3. Learn about programs that add text descriptions to complex graphics, voiceovers that read aloud and/or transcripts of videos.
4. Add a feedback form to your site so users can tell you about what accessibility features you may need to add or improve upon.
5. BE PROACTIVE. Addressing these issues now can prevent legal and time sensitive problems later.

The National Association of REALTORS® recommends the above steps and others in order to ensure compliance with the ADA, both now and in the future.

Watch the video below to learn more about this issue:

How do you feel about this or other current issues going on in the world of real estate? Leave us your comments below and join in on the discussion.

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