Digital accessibility for businesses

This guide is a practical overview for business leaders, marketers and product teams. It is not legal advice, and the rules that apply to you depend on what you sell, where and to whom. It will help you ask the right questions.

ADA Title III: businesses open to the public

Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act covers businesses that serve the public, such as retailers, restaurants, hotels, banks, health providers and many others. The U.S. Department of Justice has said that the ADA applies to the websites of these businesses, and that they must make their web content accessible to people with disabilities. Unlike the public-sector rule, Title III does not name a single technical standard, but WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 Level AA is the benchmark courts, settlements and buyers use in practice.

Website accessibility claims are filed in large numbers each year in the United States, and they are not limited to large brands. Small and mid-sized businesses with online stores, booking systems and forms are frequent targets.

Selling into Europe: the European Accessibility Act

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) has applied since June 28, 2025. It requires many products and services sold in the EU, including e-commerce, banking services, e-books, transport ticketing and certain devices, to meet accessibility requirements. It can apply to companies based outside the EU that sell to EU customers. Microenterprises providing services have some exemptions. If you sell online into Europe, this is worth reviewing with counsel.

Selling to government and schools

If you sell software, digital services or content to federal, state or local agencies, schools or universities, expect to be asked for accessibility documentation. Federal agencies follow Section 508, and state and local governments now have their own federal web rule. Buyers usually ask for an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR), typically completed using the VPAT template, which states how your product meets each requirement.

• An ACR is only as good as the testing behind it. Vague or overstated reports are increasingly challenged by procurement teams.
• "Partially supports" with a clear plan is more credible than "supports" without evidence.
• Keep it current. A report on a version you no longer ship does not help.

Public entities themselves have specific deadlines under the ADA Title II web rule. Those are covered in detail at TitleII.org.

What enterprise buyers ask for

Large customers increasingly include accessibility in security and vendor reviews. Common asks include a current ACR or VPAT, an accessibility statement, a named contact, a roadmap for known issues and contract language that commits to WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 AA.

The customer case

People with disabilities, their families and older adults are a large share of any market. When your checkout, booking or support flow fails with a screen reader or keyboard, those customers do not file a complaint first. They leave. Accessible sites also tend to perform better in search and work better with AI assistants that read pages the way assistive technology does.

A practical plan

1. Find out where you stand. Scan, then have a person review your key pages and flows. See accessibility scanning.
2. Fix what customers touch first: navigation, search, product pages, checkout, forms, account and support.
3. Fix the system, not just the page: templates, components, brand colors and content habits.
4. Do not forget documents. Menus, statements, policies and brochures in PDF count. See PDF remediation.
5. Document the work: an accessibility statement, a remediation log and, if you sell to institutions, an ACR.
6. Keep it up. Build checks into publishing and development so new content does not reopen old issues.

A widget alone does not make a site conform. Your organization remains responsible for the accessibility of its own content and services.

Common questions