ADA vs. 508, vs. WCAG 2.0 Compliance - And Why It Necessary For Your Government Website!

Your government website visitors are just as distinct as the community you serve and to deny them access to the information on your webpage is almost the same as not providing them access to your physical office. With the introduction of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, and Section 508, the protection for those with disabilities is being enforced across the digital landscape too. Following these website compliance standards will make your site all-inclusive to your users. Each standard aims to make all the existing information, accessible to people with any form of disabilities, yet they are different from each other.

What Are These Website Standards Your Local Website Should Follow?

ADA

The Americans with Disabilities Act was established in 1990. It is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. It ensures that people with any form of disability should have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. They should have access to every information pot on the internet including accessing websites.

Section 508

This refers to a division in the Rehabilitation Act, a federal law. The Act mandates the federal agencies to develop acquire, maintain and use information technology that people with disabilities can easily access. When discussing this, it's important to mention that the law doesn't focus just on federal employees with disabilities. It applies to all the people with disabilities that use federal agency resources, like a U.S. National Park’s website.

WCAG

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), launched in 2008. It details a series of standards developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). It gives organizations an actionable guide and resources for making a website accessible to users with disabilities.

What Is The Difference Between The Three?

When discussing the Three Compliances, there are two major differences that you need to know!

The Audience

While Section 508 focuses on federal departments and agencies, ADA encompasses a broad spectrum of audiences. Every organization functioning in the public and private sectors must adhere to the ADA standards. While the WCAG serves as a guide for any organization building an accessible website.

The Use

The Division ensures that any individual with a disability working for or interacting with the federal government without facing any issue. The Disability Act provides people with disabilities equal opportunities, free of any kind of discrimination. Whereas the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines offer industry-specific resources for them to adhere to. The Guidelines operate more of a resource for meeting the industry norms for web design, you don't have to worry about becoming compliant. Instead, you can use all of these guidelines for your site to be designed and function properly. And for this to work out completely perfect, you should hire an experienced design and development team, like that of Uncommon Analytics, that develops and deliver your website much sooner with cost-effective options, expecting talented developers to dedicated project managers, a client-first approach that makes the compliance stress-free and more effective. Because creating a website that everyone can access is a massive undertaking, and obviously, you don't want to end up with formal complaints, lawsuits, or penalties, or any revoking of funds. Let's create a functional website, responsibly designed, custom coded, and build a community together, even for the Disabled!