ADA Compliance – The Skipped Step in Web Development
Most people—programmers included—who understand ADA also recognize the importance of making information accessible to everyone. But there is one common obstacle that often derails even the best-laid web development plans – time.
I started to think about ways to address this issue and help other people achieve a higher level of compliance for their sites while I was working for both Ernst & Young and Thomson Reuters. While with the latter, part of my position involved traveling the world and developing websites in a variety of capacities. I spent time as a front-end Java developer, project manager, and business analyst, all depending on what the specific project required. And part of my work exposed me to corporations with very large web presences, including NASDAQ/AMEX, Georgia Pacific, Royal Bank of Canada, AT&T, PR Newswire, and others.
During my time working with these organizations, one thing was always clear; every project was short on time and needed urgently. In addition, there is still a large portion of the workforce that doesn’t fully understand the importance of compliance, and the many benefits that accessibility can offer for customers, clients, and organizations alike. As a result, ADA compliance was consistently pushed to a later phase of development, and often that phase never came around.
Working for JPMorgan offered an opportunity to receive some valuable training on ADA, and that’s when the pieces started to click together. Not only was ADA compliance necessary, but it was more within reach than anyone had seemed willing to admit.
Combining these experiences and the knowledge gained, we founded ADASure and created our auditing process to help companies and organizations overcome that last hurdle to compliance. The automatic scanning tools that we utilize, in addition to custom scripts and screen readers, allow us to complete a comprehensive audit that identifies any and all issues. Our audit process and scorecards have been developed over more than a year of testing and refinement, and our team of expert developers and QA analysts is always working to refine the process. Through continuous testing and development, we are confident that your audit will be thorough, allowing you to develop a complete plan for achieving compliance.
Whether your organization is just starting a new round of development or your site is well established, the ADASure audit process and expert consultation can put ADA compliance well within reach. Let us know how we can help you learn more about web accessibility and what you need to do to welcome everyone to your site.