In 2025, there were over 4,600 ADA-related lawsuits filed against websites. That's up from around 800 in 2018. Three hundred percent growth in five years.
These aren't lawsuits against giant corporations. Many target small and medium businesses — restaurants, retail stores, service companies, professional firms — whose websites don't meet accessibility standards.
If your website can't be used by someone with a disability, you're potentially liable. And most business owners have no idea.
What "Website Accessibility" Actually Means
Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can use your website. This includes:
- Visual impairments: People who are blind or low-vision use screen readers that read your website aloud. If your images don't have alt text, your forms don't have labels, or your content isn't structured with proper headings — the screen reader can't make sense of it.
- Motor impairments: People who can't use a mouse navigate with a keyboard. If your website can't be navigated with Tab, Enter, and arrow keys — it's inaccessible.
- Hearing impairments: Videos without captions exclude deaf and hard-of-hearing users.
- Cognitive impairments: Complex layouts, auto-playing media, and confusing navigation create barriers for people with cognitive disabilities.
About 26% of Americans have some form of disability. That's roughly one in four people who might not be able to use your website.
The Legal Landscape
The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requires businesses to provide equal access to their goods and services. Courts have increasingly ruled that websites are "places of public accommodation" — meaning they fall under ADA requirements.
The Department of Justice has explicitly stated that the ADA applies to websites. And in 2024, they published specific guidance linking to WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the standard.
What happens in a lawsuit:
- A plaintiff (often represented by a law firm that specializes in these cases) identifies that your website has accessibility barriers
- They file a demand letter or lawsuit
- Settlement typically runs $5,000-25,000 for small businesses, plus attorney fees, plus the cost of making your site accessible
- If you don't fix it, they can come back
The demand letters often come in batches — a law firm will identify hundreds of non-compliant sites and send letters to all of them. It's efficient for them and expensive for you.
The Good News: It's Fixable
Most accessibility issues are straightforward to fix. The most common problems:
Missing alt text on images. Every image should have a description. "Team photo of Long Drive Marketing staff in the Franklin office" — not just "image1.jpg" or nothing.
Low color contrast. Light gray text on a white background is hard to read for everyone and impossible for low-vision users. Text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1.
Missing form labels. Every form field needs a label that's programmatically associated with it. Not just placeholder text — an actual label that screen readers can announce.
No keyboard navigation. Can you tab through your site and use every function without a mouse? If not, keyboard users are locked out.
Missing heading structure. H1, H2, H3 tags should create a logical outline of your page content. Screen readers use headings to navigate. Random heading levels or no headings = chaos for screen reader users.
Auto-playing media. Videos or audio that play automatically with no way to pause are a barrier for many users.
Missing skip navigation. A "Skip to main content" link at the top of the page lets keyboard and screen reader users bypass your navigation menu on every page.
The Overlay Widget Trap
You've probably seen those accessibility overlay widgets — the little icon that sits on your site offering to "fix" accessibility with text resizing, contrast changes, etc.
Do not rely on these. Multiple courts have ruled that overlay widgets do not provide adequate accessibility. The National Federation of the Blind has publicly opposed them. Plaintiffs' attorneys specifically target sites using overlays because they know the underlying code is still inaccessible.
Overlays are a band-aid on a bullet wound. They make it look like you're trying while doing almost nothing to actually fix the problems.
Real accessibility comes from fixing the underlying code, content, and design.
The Audit Process
Step 1: Automated scan. Tools like axe, WAVE, or Lighthouse catch obvious issues — missing alt text, contrast problems, missing labels. This catches about 30-40% of issues.
Step 2: Manual testing. Tab through your site using only a keyboard. Try using it with a screen reader (VoiceOver on Mac, NVDA on Windows — both free). This catches the issues automated tools miss.
Step 3: Fix the issues. Prioritize by severity — complete barriers first (can't navigate, can't submit forms), then moderate issues (missing alt text, contrast), then minor issues.
Step 4: Ongoing maintenance. Every time you add content, add new pages, or update your site — accessibility needs to be checked. It's not a one-time project.
The Business Case Beyond Legal Risk
Legal compliance is the stick. But there's a carrot too:
SEO improvement. Alt text, heading structure, page titles, and semantic HTML — all accessibility requirements — are also SEO best practices. Fixing accessibility often improves search rankings.
Better user experience for everyone. Keyboard navigation helps power users. Captions help people in noisy environments. Good contrast helps people in bright sunlight. Accessibility improvements make your site better for all users, not just those with disabilities.
Larger market. 26% of Americans have a disability. That's a quarter of your potential market that might not be able to use your site. Fixing accessibility literally opens your business to more customers.
Brand reputation. Being accessible signals that you care about all your customers. In an era where consumers increasingly choose businesses based on values — this matters.
What to Do This Week
- Run your site through our website score tool — it includes accessibility checking
- Check your images for alt text (most sites are missing it on 50%+ of images)
- Test your site with keyboard-only navigation (unplug your mouse and try)
- Check your color contrast (WebAIM has a free contrast checker)
- If you find issues, talk to your web developer about fixing them — or talk to us
Accessibility isn't optional anymore. The legal risk is real and growing. But more importantly — it's the right thing to do. Your website should work for everyone.
Long Drive Marketing builds accessible, ADA-compliant websites as standard practice. [See our web technology services →](/web-technology)