What is Digital Accessibility Compliance?

What is Digital Accessibility Compliance?

Digital accessibility compliance means adhering to specific, measurable standards (such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines(opens in a new tab) (WCAG)) that define how to make websites, mobile applications, and other digital content accessible to people with disabilities. It involves following technical requirements and testing criteria that ensure equal access to information and functionality. 

How does compliance differ from accessibility? While they’re similar, they have distinct concepts. Accessibility is the broader goal of creating digital experiences that work for everyone, including people with disabilities. 

Compliance, on the other hand, is the specific practice of meeting established standards, guidelines, and technical requirements that define what accessibility actually looks like. While you can have accessibility without formal compliance, compliance provides the structured framework and measurable criteria for creating accessible experiences.

Why Does Compliance Matter?

There are a few reasons compliance matters within the accessibility industry. from both a business and a user perspective.

• Legal protection: Arguably, the most important part of meeting compliance requirements is that it protects organizations from potential lawsuits, fines, fees, and other regulatory penalties, as well as compliance violations that can result in significant financial and reputational costs. 

• Risk reduction: Taking a proactive approach to accessibility compliance reduces the likelihood of costly retrofitting, emergency fixes, and user experience issues that can damage your brand reputation. 

• Improves the user experience: The more accessible digital content is, the better the user experience for everyone. This can help expand customer bases and strengthen brand reputation. 

• Increases SEO rankings: Many accessibility best practices, such as proper heading structure, descriptive alt text, and semantic markup, also boost search engine rankings, helping your content reach a wider audience.

• Competitive advantage: Organizations that prioritize accessibility often stand out in their markets and appeal to consumers who value inclusive practices. 

• It’s the right thing to do: Ensuring equal access to online information and services for all users, including the estimated 1 billion people worldwide who live with a disability(opens in a new tab), is a legal requirement, yes. More importantly, it’s the right thing to do.

An Overview of the Standards Landscape

Digital accessibility compliance relies on established standards that provide concrete, testable criteria for creating accessible experiences. More simply, these guidelines provide a clear, testable way to create digital content that works for everyone. 

One of the most widely recognized standards is WCAG. These standards serve as the international standard for accessibility and are used to measure compliance with laws like Section 508, the ADA, etc. 

These standards translate broad accessibility requirements into specific, measurable requirements that designers, developers, and other content creators can implement and test. Instead of vague guidance like “make your website accessible,” WCAG guidelines provide detailed success criteria such as “ensure all images have alt text” and “add captions to all videos.” That specificity is what makes it possible for organizations to evaluate and test their digital content to ensure it’s compliant.