Making your website ADA-compliant is no more an option but a mandatory task for website owners. For this, WordPress developers worldwide are working hard to make the platform more accessible for people with disabilities.
This means an increasing number of plugins are now available that aim to make WordPress sites ADA-compliant. However, with plenty of options available, it is often difficult to decide on the best option. In this article, we have reviewed some of your top options.
What is ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is an important civil rights law that protects people with disabilities from discrimination. As such, website owners and developers need to ensure their sites comply with this law to prevent any legal action from being taken against them.
Also read: WordPress Accessibility and Why It’s So Important
Benefits of ADA Compliant WordPress Plugin for 2023
The Benefits of ADA Compliant WordPress plugins are numerous. First, it offers an enhanced level of accessibility for visually impaired, hearing impaired, and physically challenged users to access your website. By creating a more accessible website, you will open up a greater pool of potential customers and site visitors that may have previously not been able to use the site.
Furthermore, choosing an ADA-compliant WordPress plugin ensures that all website visitors will have an improved experience when browsing the site — regardless of disability status.
Not only that, but having an ADA-compliant WordPress plugin can also significantly improve search engine optimization (SEO) benefits. According to recent Google updates, compliant websites are now ranked higher, even on many other search engines such as Yahoo and Bing.
Finally, another major benefit is legal protection against costly lawsuits relating to discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Ensuring your website’s accessibility features meet standards under this act via a WordPress plugin can limit any associated risks and provide you with greater security.
In simple words, using an ADA Compliant WordPress plugin offer you the following benefits:
- Increased accessibility for visually impaired, hearing impaired, and physically impaired users
- Improved experience for all website visitors
- Enhanced Search Engine Optimization (SEO) benefits
- Legal protection from discrimination Lawsuits by making the website compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
How to Choose the Best ADA Compliant WordPress Plugin
When choosing the best ADA Compliant WordPress plugin for your needs, it is important to consider a number of factors. Firstly, your plugin should have excellent usability and user interface elements. This means that the plugin should be intuitive and easy to use, given the heightened level of accessibility expected of an ADA-compliant website.
Additionally, you should make sure that any plugins you consider fully meet the relevant web accessibility standards and criteria set by organizations such as W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). In addition, cost and support availability are certain considerations when selecting an adequate WordPress plugin for your website’s needs.
Some plugins may require monthly or annual fees and technical support options from the provider — so researching these variations beforehand would be advisable.
Here is a quick checklist:
- Usability
- User Interface
- Functionality
- Accessibility
- Cost and Support
Best ADA Compliant WordPress Plugin for 2023
In the past, many different ADA-compliant WordPress plugins were available on the market. However, some of these plugins boasted features that weren’t particularly helpful, and others simply didn’t offer enough support.
Therefore, when looking for the best ADA-compliant WordPress plugin for 2023 – it’s important to choose one that has all the features you need. In addition, the tool must provide comprehensive support whenever required.
Here are detailed reviews of some of the top options.
XCompliant
One of the best WordPress plugins when it comes to ADA compliance is XCompliant – a powerful yet easy-to-use plugin. The tool is designed specifically for making websites ADA compliant.
It offers a wide range of tools, including text alternative tools, contrast testing tools, and adjustments for color blindness. Plus, it ensures that all images and videos include captions for individuals who can’t see or hear them. The tool ensures your site meets the highest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) compliance standards.
XCompliant also allows users to embed friendly codes into their posts easily and adjust class names to make certain HTML elements accessible, such as headings and other content areas like tables & forms, etc.
In addition, XCompliant helps create a positive experience by ensuring visitors can easily navigate your website layout without any difficulty or confusion, regardless of impairment or disability they may have. This means the tool makes your website secure and benefits everyone who visits it!
Finally, XCompliant also has a highly user-friendly dashboard and guides that allow even those unfamiliar with web coding – to configure their settings quickly & easily. This means there’s no need to learn codes. Instead, simply install the plugin and adhere to all mandatory accessibility requirements in no time!
Given its wide range of features combined with its user-friendly setup functions & comprehensive support options – XCompliant is definitely one of the best ADA Complaint Plugins currently available. It is a perfect choice for anyone looking to achieve full WCAG standards compliance with their WordPress website for 2023 and beyond.
WP Accessibility
This plugin by WP Team is extremely popular amongst WordPress developers because it’s both lightweight and powerful. WP Accessibility allows WordPress users to easily customize their sites according to accessibility guidelines such as WCAG 2.0 and Section 508 requirements.
The plugin gives you full control over your website’s overall accessibility level through advanced customization options like admin notices & alerts, disabling certain display elements or widgets when necessary, keyboard shortcuts, and more! Additionally, it provides support tools such as access complaints forms which users can use if they encounter any difficulties while navigating the website.
Toolset Accessible Forms
If you need a plugin that makes it easier to create forms that are accessible according to WCAG standards – specifically WCAG 2A & 2AA – then Toolset Accessible Forms is what you seek!
It has several features such as automatic error detection/prevention; label associations; auto-complete/autosuggest options; native AngularJS validation, and more to ensure your forms remain 100% compliant no matter what changes you make during design or after submission!
Contrast Checker
Another useful tool that comes in handy when managing multiple websites simultaneously while ensuring they comply with both section 508 & other regulations regarding contrast levels between text colors & background colors displayed throughout pages/posts found within each property managed by user(s).
Furthermore – this particular plugin also helps users keep tabs on any potential issues related underline links when displaying them inside paragraphs (recommendations are made depending upon severity level); plus miscellaneous fixes which can help maximize overall page readability even further once applied correctly.
Access Monitor
Last but certainly not least – here is another quite handy implement from Automattic called ‘Access Monitor‘. The tool enables administrators of WordPress sites to see how different sections (or entire webpages) would look from a person’s perspective when using screen readers – thus checking whether there’s anything specific missing regarding HTML content structure required for improved user experience across range devices including desktop computers tablets smartphones, etc.
Additionally, this type checker highlights headings unclosed instead of nested tags + notes down errors displayed statistics per search query sent, etc. All these features ultimately serve the purpose of bettering quality assurance process implementation.
Final Words
To wrap up, website accessibility is a must for all websites in order to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. By investing in the right tools and utilizing ADA Compliant WordPress plugins, you can not only open up your website to a wider range of visitors but also benefit from improved SEO rankings and legal protection against discrimination lawsuits.
This article has discussed some of the best ADA Compliant WordPress plugins available on the market, including XCompliant, WP Accessibility, Toolset Accessible Forms, and Access Monitor. Each plugin provides different features that can help make your website more accessible for users with disabilities. By choosing one that best suits your needs, you can ensure that all of your visitors receive a positive experience when visiting your site – regardless of disability status!
Also read: Why Is ADA Web Accessibility a Legal Requirement? A Full Explanation