Accessibility Requirements for Websites

WEBSITE COMPLIANCE SERVICES

Your website has a target on its back. We help you protect it.

Website accessibility requirements include GDPR, CCPA, ADA, cookie consent. The legal landscape for websites is more enforced than ever. One missed requirement can cost more than a complete rebuild.

$7,988 — Max CCPA fine per violation

As of January 1, 2025, CCPA fines were adjusted upward for inflation by the California Privacy Protection Agency. Intentional violations now carry penalties up to $7,988 per incident, with no cap on total penalties.

Secure Privacy, CCPA Requirements 2026

€20M — Max GDPR fine (or 4% of revenue)

The €20 million maximum fine (or 4% of global annual revenue, whichever is higher) is written directly into the General Data Protection Regulation and applies to any organization that collects data from EU residents — regardless of where the business is located. Source:

GDPR Article 83, gdpr-info.eu

5,000+ — ADA website lawsuits projected for 2025

UsableNet’s Mid-Year 2025 Digital Accessibility Report recorded 2,019 ADA website lawsuits filed in the first half of 2025 alone, projecting nearly 5,000 cases by year-end — a 20% increase over 2024. Source:

Accessibility.Works, AI-Fueled ADA Lawsuits 2025

95.9% — of websites fail basic accessibility tests

The WebAIM Million is an annual study that tests the home pages of the top one million websites against WCAG accessibility standards. The most recent report found that 95.9% of those home pages contained detectable accessibility failures.

WebAIM Million Annual Accessibility Report

THE RISK IS REAL

What happens when you skip compliance

With compliance
Documented consent records that hold up in audits and investigations
Opens the door to enterprise and government contracts that require it
Builds genuine trust with privacy-conscious buyers — increasingly the majority
Full access to users who rely on assistive technology (26% of US adults)
Regulatory updates handled proactively, not scrambled for after the fact
Competitive edge: most small business sites are still non-compliant

Without compliance
CCPA fines up to $7,988 per violation — with no cap on total penalties
GDPR fines up to €20M or 4% of global revenue, whichever is higher
ADA lawsuits rose about 20% in the first half of 2025 — and are still climbing
Enterprise clients won’t sign with non-compliant vendors
Inaccessible to the 26% of the US population living with a disability
Reputational damage that outlasts any fine or settlement

ADA website lawsuit data sources:

EcomBack 2025 Mid-Year Report (PRNewswire) — 2,019 lawsuits filed in H1 2025, about a 20% year-over-year increase
Accessibility.Works 2024 Year-End Review — Over 4,000 digital accessibility lawsuits in 2024; 1 in 4 targeted sites with accessibility widgets already installed
UsableNet 2024 Digital Accessibility Lawsuit Report — State-level ADA cases rising; New York and California account for 40% of all cases
DarrowEverett LLP — 2025 ADA Litigation Analysis — Illinois up 746% year-over-year; Florida nearly doubled filings in H1 2025
Accessibility.Works — AI-Fueled ADA Lawsuits (2025) — 2025 projected to reach nearly 5,000 cases; 64% target businesses under $25M annual revenue

MANDATORY COMPLIANCE

Does this apply to your business?

The ADA was intentionally written to evolve. “Places of public accommodation” now includes websites. If your business falls into any of these categories, ADA website compliance is not optional.

Categories where accessibility is legally required

Any business affecting interstate commerce that falls under these classifications must meet accessibility requirements — including on its website.

Hospitality: hotels, motels, inns
Food & Beverage: restaurants, bars
Entertainment: theaters, stadiums, venues
Commerce & Retail: any sales or rental establishment
Professional Services: law offices, accountants, insurance
Healthcare: hospitals, clinics, pharmacies
Personal Services: salons, laundromats, repair shops
Financial Services: banks, lending, finance
Public Display: museums, libraries, galleries
Education: private schools and institutions
Social services: daycare, shelters, nonprofits
Recreation: gyms, spas, golf, bowling

WHAT WE LOOK AT

8 things every compliant website needs

These are the technical requirements we audit and address on every site. Most WordPress websites are missing several of these out of the box.

Image alt attributes

Every image needs a descriptive alt tag. Screen readers use this to describe images to visually impaired users — and it directly benefits your SEO.

Form field labels

Input fields must have visible labels, not just placeholder text, which disappears when a user starts typing and is inaccessible to screen readers.

Descriptive link text

Links that read “click here” or “read more” are meaningless out of context. Every link needs to describe where it goes using an aria-label or visible text.

Users navigating by keyboard need a way to jump past lengthy menus directly to main content. Small effort, high impact — and a common lawsuit trigger when missing.

Proper heading hierarchy

Pages must use H1 through H6 in logical order. Screen readers use headings to navigate a page the same way sighted users scan visually.

Language attribute

The lang attribute on the HTML tag tells browsers and assistive technology which language the page uses, enabling correct pronunciation and rendering.

Frame and iframe titles

Every iframe — YouTube embeds, maps, contact forms — needs a descriptive title attribute so screen readers can identify what the embedded content is.

New window warnings

When a link opens in a new tab, users relying on assistive technology must be notified. Unexpected context changes create disorientation and are an accessibility failure.

EVALUATION

How To Check Your Website’s Status

Here’s a very easy way to get a list of all the violations of your website. This will help you target what you need to do and how to prioritize making those changes. Simply follow this link and enter the website URL to get a list.

Evaluation Tool

website code

EVOLUTION

Why Isn’t My Site Coded Correctly Now?

The internet is an always evolving and changing thing. Next year we will learn that we have to make more adjustments, more settings, improvements, etc.

Your current website isn’t incorrectly coded. It is just now considered incompletely coded. New requirements means new coding… required. Let’s fix this! Use the wizard below so we can get started and do an evaluation to provide you with a quote.

COMPLIANCE WIZARD

What does your site actually need?

Two questions. Instant answer.

Step 1 — Where is your primary audience?

      California (US)
      CCPA / CPRA applies

      Other US states
      State laws vary

      EU / UK
      GDPR applies

      Canada
      PIPEDA applies

      Multiple regions
      Broadest requirements

Step 2 — What type of business is this for?

      Healthcare / medical
      HIPAA considerations

      Legal / financial services
      High ADA exposure

      Local service business
      Contractor, salon, etc.

      B2B SaaS / tech company
      SOC 2, GDPR common

      General small business
      Retail, service, etc.

    Your compliance profile

      Required for your site

      Strongly suggested

    Based on your answers, we have highlighted the recommended package below.

    Entry level
    Foundation
    Get the essentials in place
    (fees vary based on several variables)
    Essential compliance setup using proven plugins, properly configured for your existing WordPress site. No recoding. No fuss.
    ✓Cookie consent banner (Complianz)
    ✓GDPR / CCPA basic configuration
    ✓Privacy policy page creation
    ✓Google Consent Mode v2 setup
    ✓Geo-targeted banner display
    ✓Basic consent logging
    ✗ADA / WCAG accessibility overlay
    ✗Multi-region policy generation
    ✗Code-level WCAG remediation
    [Get started](#signup)

    Most popular
    Compliance Pro
    The smart middle ground
    (fees vary based on several variables)
    Full plugin-based compliance suite — properly configured, tested, and actively maintained. No recoding required. This is where most sites need to be.
    ✓Everything in Foundation
    ✓Complianz Privacy Suite (full config)
    ✓ADA / WCAG overlay — installed & configured
    ✓Multi-region consent (GDPR, CCPA, PIPEDA)
    ✓Cookie scanner + auto-categorization
    ✓Privacy policy + cookie policy generation
    ✓"Do not sell / share" opt-out (CCPA)
    ✓Full consent log audit trail
    ✓Monthly compliance check-in report
    ✗Custom consent infrastructure
    ✗Code-level WCAG remediation
    [Get started](#signup)

    Premium
    Enterprise
    Built right from the ground up
    (fees vary based on several variables)
    Full WCAG 2.1 AA remediation and custom-coded consent infrastructure. No overlays. No third-party scripts. Built for organizations that cannot afford legal exposure.
    ✓Everything in Compliance Pro
    ✓WCAG 2.1 AA audit + written report
    ✓Accessibility-first HTML / CSS remediation
    ✓Custom consent management — no overlay
    ✓Keyboard navigation + screen reader fixes
    ✓Color contrast + focus state remediation
    ✓Ongoing compliance monitoring dashboard
    ✓Quarterly compliance review call
    ✓Legal-grade consent documentation
    [Get started](#signup)

  Prices are for standard WordPress sites. Complex or custom-built sites may require a scoping call first.

  Monthly maintenance covers plugin updates, policy refresh, and compliance monitoring.

  This is not legal advice. Compliance strategy for your situation should be reviewed with qualified counsel.

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