ADA Compliance & Standards for Accessible Design: Online Retailers Beware!

1. ADA Compliance & Standards for Accessible Design: Online Retailers Beware! Linda MacLean Enterprise Architect

2. What we’ll cover today What we’ll cover today Awareness • ADA and Web Accessibility • Diversity of abilities • ADA Compliance Lawsuits Education • Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) • How impaired users navigate the web Demonstration • Before and After Demo • SmartSite Highlights Participation • Your involvement in making your site accessible • Getting started

4. ADA Compliance and ADA Compliance and Web Accessibility Web Accessibility

5. What Is What Is ADA ADA Compliance? Compliance? • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law in 1990. • The Department of Justice (DOJ) published the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards for Accessible Design in September 2010. • These standards state that all electronic and information technology must be accessible to people with disabilities. • The ADA standards apply to commercial and public entities that have “places of public accommodation” which includes the Internet. • ADA Compliance = Web Accessibility

6. What What Is Is Web Web Accessibility? Accessibility? Web Accessibility means that websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them. More specifically, people with diverse abilities can: • Perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web. • Contribute to the Web.

7. Web Accessibility encompasses all disabilities that affect access to the Web, including: Visual Inability to see objects, perceive light or color, correctly judge distances, or access information in visual media like print, images, or video. Physical Motor disabilities: difficulty with, or inability to use, the hands, feet, arms, or legs. Auditory Low or no hearing capability. Cognitive and Neurological Memory, Problem-solving, Attention, Reading/Linguistic/Verbal comprehension difficulties, Multiple Sclerosis, seizure disorders. Speech Difficulty producing speech that is recognizable by others or by voice recognition software.

8. Disability Statistics Disability Statistics % of population who identify as having a disability (2018): about 61 million people • (According to the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) Globally: ≈ 15% of the world’s population over one billion people • (According to World Health Organization (WHO))

9. Web accessibility also affects people without disabilities: Mobile devices People using mobile phones, smart watches, smart TVs, and other devices with small screens, different input modes, etc. Age-related Older people with changing abilities due to aging. Temporary People with “temporary disabilities” such as a broken arm or lost glasses. Situational People with “situational limitations” - in bright sunlight, in an environment where they cannot listen to audio, “hands-free” access while driving. Technical limitations People using a slow Internet connection or who have limited or expensive bandwidth.

10. What are the benefits of Web Accessibility? From a PEOPLE perspective: Web accessibility = Inclusivity Making your website available to as many people as possible.

11. What are the benefits of Web Accessibility? From a BUSINESS perspective: Web Accessibility = Good For Business The total after-tax disposable income for working- age people with disabilities in the U.S. is about $490 Billion. Discretionary income: about $21 billion. - American Institutes for Research (2018) “Many organizations are waking up to the fact that embracing accessibility leads to multiple benefits – reducing legal risks, strengthening brand presence, improving customer experience and colleague productivity.” - Paul Smyth, Head of Digital Accessibility, Barclays

12. What are the benefits of Web Accessibility? From a BUSINESS perspective: Top 5 Benefits of an Accessible Website: • Drive Innovation: Accessibility features in products and services often solve unanticipated problems and improve general usability. • Enhance Your Brand: Goodwill - Diversity and inclusion efforts that are so important to business success are accelerated with a clear, well-integrated accessibility commitment. • Extend Market Reach: The market for people with disabilities is large and growing as the global population ages. • Better SEO: Search engine optimization relies on web crawlers that read a website. More accessible content = increased availability to be crawled for SEO. • Minimize Legal Risk: Protect against ADA compliance lawsuits.

13. Another “benefit” of Web Accessibility… Another “benefit” of Web Accessibility… Web accessibility = compliance with the law Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (revision) In the United States: Currently, there are no enforceable ADA legal standards to follow for website accessibility for private and public sector websites. BUT, this does not mean that your business will not be presented with a lawsuit…

14. ADA Compliance Lawsuit Stats According to UsableNet research tracking federally filed ADA web accessibility-related lawsuits:

15. ADA Compliance Lawsuit Stats While the top 10 states by number of lawsuits are shown below, businesses across the country are being hit with website-related ADA lawsuits.

16. Some high profile companies have been hit with ADA lawsuits Lawsuit Disability Category Year WCAG version Mary Conner v. Parkwood Entertainment LLC (Beyonce) Visually Impaired 2019 2.1 Visually Impaired 2018 2.0 Bishop v. Amazon.com, Inc. Visually Impaired 2018 2.0 Luc Burbon v. Fox News Network Visually Impaired 2018 2.0 Maria Mendizabal, et al. v. Burger King Hearing Impaired 2018 2.0 Philip Sullivan v. CNN America Visually Impaired 2018 2.0 Braulio Thorne v. Porsche Design of America Inc. Visually Impaired 2017 2.0 Maria Mendizabal v. Nike Inc. Visually Impaired 2017 2.0 Reed v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc. Visually Impaired 2017 2.0 Robles v. Domino's Pizza Hearing Impaired 2016 2.0 National Association of the Deaf v. Hulu

17. ADA Compliance Lawsuit Forecast Will website ADA lawsuits ease in 2019? Short answer: unfortunately, NO. Lawsuits at a federal level will continue to rise for two primary reasons: • Many companies have not been proactive enough in addressing accessibility requirements on their websites. • The DOJ’s lack of a clear standard leaves lots of room for interpretation and allows even companies that have been proactive to be targeted.

18. How can a business owner protect against being hit by an ADA lawsuit? The only way to minimize legal issues and meet the intent of the ADA is to make sure your website is accessible to people with disabilities. Get Started: Take action!

19. So, with no official enforceable ADA Web Accessibility standards… How do we measure if a website is accessible?

21. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) in cooperation with individuals and organizations around the world. GOAL: To provide a single shared standard for web content accessibility that meets the needs of individuals, organizations, and governments internationally. The WCAG Success Criteria (quick reference) documents and explains how to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities.

22. WCAG 2.1 at a Glance WCAG Principles (summary): P Perceivable – Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive. O Operable – User interface components and navigation must be operable. U Understandable – Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable. R Robust – Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.

23. Perceivable Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive. • Provide text alternatives for non-text content. • Provide captions and other alternatives for multimedia. • Create content that can be presented in different ways, including by assistive technologies, without losing meaning. • Make it easier for users to see and hear content.

24. Operable User interface components and navigation must be operable. • Make all functionality available from a keyboard. • Give users enough time to read and use content. • Do not use content that causes seizures or physical reactions. • Help users navigate and find content. • Make it easier to use inputs other than keyboard.

25. Understandable Make text content readable and understandable. • Make text readable and understandable. • Make content appear and operate in predictable ways. • Help users avoid and correct mistakes.

26. Robust Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. • Maximize compatibility with current and future user tools.

27. Tools and Techniques that help users with impairments interact with the web Some examples of Assistive Technology/techniques by impairment category: • • • • • • • • • • Screen readers Text-to-speech Braille Video with audio alternative ARIA roles and labels Image ALT text Voice browser (mobile devices) Screen magnifiers (low vision) Rescale content (low vision) High contrast (low vision) Visual • • • • Keyboard navigation Voice recognition (speech input) Eye tracking Content page flow Physical • • • • • • Closed Captions (video) Audio descriptions (video) Transcripts (video) Text chat Sign language Visible, active email assistance Auditory • • • • Pop-up and animations blockers Reading assistants Simplified content Symbols (icons for words/concepts) Volume control Cognitive / Neurological • • • • Text chat Sign language Visible, active email assistance Speech

29. Before and After Demo WAI demo: Improving a Web site using Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 https://www.w3.org/WAI/demos/bad/ The Before and After Demonstration is a multi-page resource that shows an inaccessible website and a retrofitted version of this same website (with accessibility fixes).

30. SmartSite • Ability Commerce is committed to making SmartSite accessible to users with a diverse range of abilities. • We have already implemented many accessibility enhancements, with many more to come in the development pipeline. • Our team is engaged and active in staying abreast of the evolving Web Accessibility guidelines to enhance SmartSite and to protect your business.

31. SmartSite Some examples of Web Accessibility improvements already implemented in SmartSite: • Notice of Accessibility page with contact info • “Skip to Main Content” links (Screen reader & keyboard navigation) • Focus indicator and tab order flow (Keyboard Navigation) • Informative ALT text and ARIA labeling for images, links, form elements, etc. (Screen readers) • Accessible Rating Star functionality (Screen readers) • ARIA landmarks and HTML native semantic structure (<h1>, <h2>, etc.) to facilitate keystroke navigation (Screen readers) • Improved navigation functionality (example: BrandList page) • Mobile Scalability: pinch/zoom to enlarge content • Improved keyboard access to interactive elements

33. Recap Recap Awareness • ADA and Web Accessibility • Diversity of abilities • ADA Compliance Lawsuits Education • Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) • How impaired users navigate the web Demonstration • Before and After Demo • SmartSite Highlights Participation • Your involvement in making your site accessible • Getting started

34. Web Accessibility and Your Website Making your SmartSite business website as accessible as possible is not just a passive involvement on your part. Ability Commerce is baking accessibility accommodations into the SmartSite base product. However, you - as our customer - have the ability to customize your content: • Color schemes • Static content pages • Image ALT text • Link text • Custom functionality • And so on... These customizations can have an effect on - and even break - the web accessibility of your site.

35. Web Accessibility and Your Website The Ability Commerce team is here to assist and guide you on making your SmartSite website accessible to all users of diverse abilities. Web Accessibility is an ongoing journey for everyone. We're here to be your partners on this journey.

36. Web Accessibility and Your Website To get the conversation started on how we can help you improve the Web Accessibility of your website, you can reach out to: Kimberly Paradise Vice President – Marketing & Professional Services kimberlyp@abilitycommerce.com