Accessibility
ADA Title III (digital)
Courts treat consumer-facing U.S. websites as places of public accommodation. WCAG AA conformance is the de-facto safe-harbor — the DOJ has said so since 2022.
What it is
The Americans with Disabilities Act doesn't explicitly cite WCAG, but the DOJ's 2022 guidance and a decade of case law have settled on WCAG 2.0/2.1 AA as the operative benchmark for website accessibility.
Why it matters
Demand letters and lawsuits over inaccessible U.S. websites are a real, ongoing legal risk — settlements average $20K–$50K. An accessibility statement plus credible WCAG AA scan results substantially reduces exposure.
Who it applies to
U.S. consumer-facing websites of businesses considered places of public accommodation.
- Site types: E-commerce, Corporate / B2B, SaaS / Product, News / Publisher, Local business, Media / Streaming
- Jurisdictions: United States
How WQI scores it
Web Quality Index considers this standard satisfied when all of the 6 supporting factors pass.
| # | Factor | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 52 | Accessibility statement page | planned |
| 54 | Image alt text coverage | planned |
| 55 | Heading hierarchy validity | planned |
| 56 | Color contrast (WCAG AA) | planned |
| 57 | ARIA labels presence and validity | planned |
| 58 | Skip-to-content link | planned |
0 of 6 supporting factors are currently collected. Sites where the remaining 6 haven't been measured will show as partial or unknown on this standard until the data lands.
Related standards
Standards that share factors with this one
Auto-computed from overlapping factor tickets in satisfiedBy, excluding standards already listed under "See also" above. Strong overlap suggests these standards rise and fall together when sites are scored.
Other references
- guidance DOJ 2022 web accessibility guidance
- regulation DOJ Title II web/mobile rule (2024)