Your website may be the first place a customer interacts with your business. But can everyone actually use it?

For individuals who are blind or have low vision, are deaf or hard of hearing, or have disabilities affecting mobility or dexterity, seemingly ordinary website features can create significant barriers. Images without alternative text may be inaccessible to screen-reader users. Poor color contrast can make text difficult to read. Forms that require a mouse may prevent someone who relies on a keyboard from completing them. Videos without captions may exclude users who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Website accessibility is not simply a technology issue. It can also be a legal and business issue.

The U.S. Department of Justice has long taken the position that the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to the goods and services businesses provide through their websites, where the business is covered by the ADA. DOJ guidance specifically identifies practices such as alternative text for images, sufficient color contrast, accessible online forms, captions, proper headings, and keyboard navigation as important components of website accessibility.

Businesses sometimes assume that installing an accessibility plug-in or overlay means the website is now “ADA compliant.”

The reality is more complicated.

Accessibility involves examining how people actually interact with a website: Can someone navigate it without using a mouse? Does a screen reader properly identify buttons and form fields? Do images convey meaningful information through alternative text? Can users enlarge text without making the site unusable? Are videos captioned? Can a person identify and correct an error when completing an online form?

These are precisely the kinds of practical barriers DOJ highlights in its web-accessibility guidance.

And website accessibility continues to generate litigation. In 2026, for example, DOJ became involved in litigation concerning allegations that Fashion Nova’s website denied blind users full and equal access to its online goods and services.

As businesses begin planning for 2027, November is an excellent time to take another look at the company’s digital presence.

A website accessibility review can help identify potential barriers before they become complaints, and can also make a website easier to use for customers generally.

Businesses may want to review areas such as:

• alternative text and other accommodations for visual content;
• keyboard navigation;
• color contrast and readability;
• headings and page structure;
• online forms and error messages;
• video captions and multimedia;
• downloadable documents; and
• mechanisms for users to report accessibility problems.

BridgehouseLaw offers Website Privacy & Compliance Audits designed to help businesses identify potential legal and compliance concerns with their websites.

As part of that process, our team can review a company’s website for potential accessibility concerns, identify areas that may warrant attention, and provide recommendations for improving the site’s alignment with applicable accessibility principles and best practices.

If you are unsure whether your website is as accessible as it should be, let BridgehouseLaw take a look.

A proactive review today may help identify issues before a customer, or a demand letter, does.