what is website accessibility?
Website accessibility refers to the practice of designing and developing websites in a way that ensures equal access and usability for all individuals. The goal of website accessibility is to make online content and functionality accessible to people with various disabilities.
Navigating the current website accessibility landscape can be complex. Tambourine has simplified website accessibility into the following 4 principles:
- We NEVER use the word compliant.
Phrases like “ADA Compliant” or “Achieving Compliance” are black & white and intended to be absolute. The implication is that a website can be 100% compliant. And that is 100% not possible today. There are no laws or regulations in the United States that clearly define how to achieve compliance. This lack of clarity allows for lots of interpretation and subjectivity. And naturally this creates an ecosystem for lawsuits to be filed, frivolous or otherwise.
- We strive for accessibility.
In the absence of regulations, Tambourine relies on internationally recognized guidelines provided by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium). Following these guidelines with the assistance of a powerful accessibility software called SiteImprove, allows Tambourine to develop accessible websites. But never compliant.
- Accessibility is an ongoing process, not a project.
Tambourine does not treat accessibility as “set it and forget it.” Siteimprove will not only scan and score our websites for accessibility before launch, but it will also monitor and report on accessibility issues for the entire lifecycle of our websites. This allows Tambourine to ensure an optimal user experience and log a detailed history of all the efforts taken to achieve and maintain accessibility.
- There is no silver bullet.
If anyone tells you differently, it is simply not true. Frivolous complaints and lawsuits can and will be filed regardless of how much effort we put into making our websites accessible. Then why do we do it? Because it’s the right thing to do. And eventually the laws will catch up that clearly define the requirements to make a website accessible and remove the subjectivity that allows for frivolous lawsuits to be filed.
What we do to achieve accessibility
Building and maintaining accessible websites is not easy. It requires the coordination of multiple talents, skills, procedures and technology. There are no shortcuts. Our project managers, designers, developers and account executives are trained and knowledgeable on how accessibility factors into each of their deliverables. The following outlines just a snapshot of our accessibility program:
Accessibility begins with knowledge.
- Accessibility training for all relevant departments and disciplines
- Quarterly refresh sessions
- Frequent distribution of accessibility articles, webinars and legal decisions
- Support from industry and legal experts
Tambourine provides an extensive checklist to our customers during the onboarding process to gather all the necessary accessibility content for the website.
- Property or business accessibility statement
- List of accessible routes
- List of accessible amenities of the property
- List of accessible room features
- Additional accessibility content
- Identify how many PDFs (if any) will be provided and verify PDFs have been remediated for accessibility.
Tambourine designs best practice websites that showcase the unique stories and destinations of each property or business while allowing for optimal accessibility.
- Designs should accommodate for natural tabbing order and avoid radical layouts that would be difficult for assistive technology
- Color combinations should follow accessibility contrast ratios
- Navigation, links and buttons should demonstrate highlight focus
- Avoid embedded overlay text on images
- Booking widget designs must allow for manual entry of dates
Tambourine’s development platform has dozens of built in accessibility features which allows a web developer to focus on more complex issues.
- Code framework includes Skip to Main Content, Keyboard Focus and many other accessibility best practices
- Navigation module with tabbing order
- Form builder accommodates for audio labels
- Digital asset manager uses AI to auto populate all image alternative text
Tambourine partners with Siteimprove, a powerful accessible scanning tool.
- All websites are scanned prior to deployment to identify all unresolved accessibility issues
- Siteimprove’s scan algorithm is based on WCAG 2.2 AA guidelines
- Developers will remediate issues until Siteimprove has scored the website as close to 100 as possible
- Siteimprove will continue to scan the website every 5 to 7 days after deployment to identify new accessibility issues during the lifetime of the website
Development, Quality Assurance and Pre-launch
- The website is added to Siteimprove during development phase to scan and assess the website’s accessibility
- Development team references Siteimprove to ensure best coding practices are being followed for accessibility and apply any coded changes if required
- Developers must address all level 1 and level 2 accessibility issues identified in Siteimprove before deployment
- Accessibility report is reviewed by the project management team, and necessary remediation is completed to ensure the site is accessible based on the WCAG 2.2 AA guidelines.
A brief list of the type of issues are as follows:
- Text is formatted properly
- Links have aria-labels
- All form fields are labeled
- All images have alternative text
- Link text is not too generic
- All input fields have descriptions
- Iframes have titles
- Color contrast meets the minimum requirement
- Headings are structured correctly
- And over 100 other potential issues
Additional manual quality assurance checks for the following:
- Alternative text is contextually accurate and detailed
- All property accessibility content has been provided and integrated into website
- Verify color contrast results, or approval from client to use non-compliant
- Images with embedded text should have matching alternative text
- Tabbing works correctly
- Main CTAs function correctly with screen reader
Post Launch/Ongoing Maintenance
- SiteImprove will monitor the website for it’s entire lifecycle at Tambourine and keep an ongoing history of scores and remediations
- Sites are reviewed on a quarterly basis (or more frequently in some cases) and are remediated as needed
- New pages are subject to the same attention as prelaunch to ensure accessibility is maintained
- Account service team is trained to apply accessibility best practices for site maintenance and support
What happens when your property or business receives an accessibility complaint?
It is not about IF you will receive a frivolous or legitimate accessibility complaint against your website, but when you will receive one. The sad reality is anyone can file a complaint for dozens of subjective or pointless reasons regardless of how much effort is put into the accessibility of the website.
If you do receive a formal accessibility complaint, you should first contact your legal counsel or contact a legal firm that specializes in Accessibility Complaints.
Also share a copy of the full complaint with your Tambourine account executive. While Tambourine is not a law firm and we do not dispense legal advice, we have experience reviewing hundreds of accessibility complaints. A specialist will review the complaint and provide insight on the legitimacy of the issues cited in the complaint and if any remediation is required. We will also provide a report from SiteImprove with the website’s current accessibility score.
We’re in this together
Until laws are in place providing “safe harbor” standards for businesses to adhere to realistic website accessibility, it will continue to be the wild west for frivolous lawsuits. Tambourine is committed to building and maintaining accessible websites to the best of our ability as well as providing your business with important data to assist in the responding when you inevitably receive a frivolous complaint.
Please reach out to your sales or account service representative with any questions or concerns.
What we do to achieve accessibility
Building and maintaining accessible websites is not easy. It requires the coordination of multiple talents, skills, procedures and technology. There are no shortcuts. Our project managers, designers, developers and account executives are trained and knowledgeable on how accessibility factors into each of their deliverables. The following outlines just a snapshot of our accessibility program:
Accessibility begins with knowledge.
- Accessibility training for all relevant departments and disciplines
- Quarterly refresh sessions
- Frequent distribution of accessibility articles, webinars and legal decisions
- Support from industry and legal experts
Tambourine provides an extensive checklist to our customers during the onboarding process to gather all the necessary accessibility content for the website.
- Property or business accessibility statement
- List of accessible routes
- List of accessible amenities of the property
- List of accessible room features
- Additional accessibility content
- Identify how many PDFs (if any) will be provided and verify PDFs have been remediated for accessibility
Tambourine designs websites that showcase the unique stories and destinations of each property or business while allowing for optimal accessibility.
- Designs should accommodate for natural tabbing order and avoid radical layouts that would be difficult for assistive technology
- Color combinations should follow accessibility contrast ratios
- Navigation, links and buttons should demonstrate highlight focus
- Avoid embedded overlay text on images
- Booking widget designs must allow for manual entry of dates
Tambourine’s development platform has dozens of built in accessibility features which allows a web developer to focus on more complex issues.
- Code framework includes Skip to Main Content, Keyboard Focus and many other accessibility best practices
- Navigation module with tabbing order
- Form builder accommodates for audio labels
- Digital asset manager uses AI to auto populate all image alternative text
Tambourine partners with Siteimprove, a powerful accessible scanning tool.
- All websites are scanned prior to deployment to identify all unresolved accessibility issues
- Siteimprove’s scan algorithm is based on WCAG 2.2 AA guidelines
- Developers will remediate issues until Siteimprove has scored the website as close to 100 as possible
- Siteimprove will continue to scan the website every 5 to 7 days after deployment to identify new accessibility issues during the lifetime of the website
Development, Quality Assurance and Pre-launch
- The website is added to Siteimprove during development phase to scan and assess the website’s accessibility
- Development team references Siteimprove to ensure best coding practices are being followed for accessibility and apply any coded changes if required
- Developers must address all level 1 and level 2 accessibility issues identified in Siteimprove before deployment
- Accessibility report is reviewed by the project management team, and necessary remediation is completed to ensure the site is accessible based on the WCAG 2.2 AA guidelines.
A brief list of the type of issues are as follows:
- Text is formatted properly
- Links have aria-labels
- All form fields are labeled
- All images have alternative text
- Link text is not too generic
- All input fields have descriptions
- Iframes have titles
- Color contrast meets the minimum requirement
- Headings are structured correctly
- And over 100 other potential issues
Additional manual quality assurance checks for the following:
- Alternative text is contextually accurate and detailed
- All property accessibility content has been provided and integrated into website
- Verify color contrast results, or approval from client to use non-compliant
- Images with embedded text should have matching alternative text
- Tabbing works correctly
- Main CTAs function correctly with screen reader
Post Launch/Ongoing Maintenance
- SiteImprove will monitor the website for it’s entire lifecycle at Tambourine and keep an ongoing history of scores and remediations
- Sites are reviewed on a quarterly basis (or more frequently in some cases) and are remediated as needed
- New pages are subject to the same attention as prelaunch to ensure accessibility is maintained
- Account service team is trained to apply accessibility best practices for site maintenance and support
What happens when your property or business receives an accessibility complaint?
It is not about IF you will receive a frivolous or legitimate accessibility complaint against your website, but when you will receive one. The sad reality is anyone can file a complaint for dozens of subjective or pointless reasons regardless of how much effort is put into the accessibility of the website.
If you do receive a formal accessibility complaint, you should first contact your legal counsel or contact a legal firm that specializes in Accessibility Complaints.
Also share a copy of the full complaint with your Tambourine account executive. While Tambourine is not a law firm and we do not dispense legal advice, we have experience reviewing hundreds of accessibility complaints. A specialist will review the complaint and provide insight on the legitimacy of the issues cited in the complaint and if any remediation is required. We will also provide a report from SiteImprove with the website’s current accessibility score.
We’re in this together
Until laws are in place providing “safe harbor” standards for businesses to adhere to realistic website accessibility, it will continue to be the wild west for frivolous lawsuits. Tambourine is committed to building and maintaining accessible websites to the best of our ability as well as providing your business with important data to assist in the responding when you inevitably receive a frivolous complaint.
Please reach out to your sales or account service representative with any questions or concerns.