# Understanding ADA Compliance for Websites

If you are a webmaster, you might be wondering about the necessity of ADA compliance for your website. Legally, this is a complex matter characterized by ambiguity and ongoing legal disputes. Nevertheless, aside from the evolving legal landscape, there are practical advantages to ensuring your website aligns with web accessibility standards. These benefits go beyond mere compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and encompass principles of user-friendliness and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). In this article, we delve into the history of ADA compliance for websites, its requirements, and the advantages it can offer.

## A Brief History of ADA and Its Application to Websites

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) aimed to prevent discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Initially, it primarily addressed physical accommodations, such as wheelchair ramps. However, as the internet became integral to daily life, the ADA's scope extended to websites. The ADA's language itself has not been updated to include explicit references to websites and online applications. While federal, state, and local governments are obligated to make their websites accessible under Section 508 of the ADA, the situation is less clear for private websites. In the United States and the United Kingdom, non-governmental websites fall under the category of public sector entities and may face lawsuits from disabled individuals under Title III of the ADA if they are inaccessible. Nevertheless, the Department of Justice has stated:

> “Absent the adoption of specific technical requirements for websites through rulemaking, public accommodations have flexibility in how to comply with the ADA’s general requirements of nondiscrimination and effective communication. Accordingly, noncompliance with a voluntary technical standard for website accessibility does not necessarily indicate noncompliance with the ADA.”

In essence, businesses have the liberty to choose which accessibility guidelines to follow due to the lack of enforceable legal standards within the ADA.

## Consequences of Non-compliance with the ADA

While the absence of federal requirements for website accessibility may provide flexibility, it does not absolve businesses from ADA obligations. Some states have set legal precedents requiring compliance with specific standards. Notably, the 2017 case of Gil v. Winn-Dixie in Florida compelled Winn-Dixie to pay $250,000 for website updates to align with Web Consortium Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). The European Union also imposes strict accessibility standards on member states for public sector websites and applications, threatening fines and legal penalties for non-compliance. In jurisdictions without clear legal precedent, a guideline has emerged: if a physical store must meet accessibility requirements, its website version should do the same.

## Benefits of Website Accessibility

Even in areas with lax accessibility regulations, ensuring website accessibility offers numerous advantages. Firstly, it serves as a safeguard against potential lawsuits. Legal interpretations concerning ADA and websites are evolving, with active cases awaiting resolution. By adhering to accessibility standards now, businesses can avoid unexpected legal ramifications. Secondly, it makes sound business sense. Inaccessible websites alienate potential customers. With around 53 million American adults with disabilities, half of whom use the Internet regularly, neglecting accessibility means overlooking a substantial market. Compliance also reflects social responsibility, fostering positive public perception. Additionally, website accessibility can indirectly benefit SEO, as many accessibility measures align with search engine recommendations.

## Understanding Web Accessibility

Although there is no federal definition of accessibility, many refer to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) by the Web Accessibility Initiative. These guidelines comprise four key principles for accessible websites: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust.

- **Perceivable:** Content must be presented in a way that all users can perceive, regardless of disabilities. This involves providing alt text for images, alternative CAPTCHA options, and subtitles, transcripts, and captions for media content.
- **Operable:** User interface components should be usable by all, regardless of disability. This requires keyboard navigation and avoidance of time-based constraints.
- **Understandable:** Information and user interface operation should be clear to users with disabilities. This entails consistent navigation, clear instructions for user input fields, and transaction confirmation options.
- **Robust:** Content must be compatible with various user agents and assistive technologies. This involves proper HTML tags and allowing users to determine the name and role of user interface elements programmatically.

## Tips for Getting Started with Accessibility

Here are some practical tips aligned with WCAG principles:

1. Avoid autoplay media, as it can interfere with assistive technology.
2. Refrain from using automatically advancing carousels and slideshows.
3. Ensure dynamic content informs assistive tools of changes, using ARIA landmarks.
4. Consider various disabilities, including colorblindness and photosensitive epilepsy. Maintain sufficient contrast between text and background colors, and avoid flashing images.

## Conclusion

Websites, as public sector entities, must comply with ADA requirements for accommodating individuals with disabilities. In the absence of federal guidelines, businesses must determine their own approach to accessibility. Nevertheless, following established guidelines like WCAG is a prudent choice. This not only shields your business from potential legal consequences but also expands your customer base, enhances your company's image, and can positively impact SEO.

To assess your ADA compliance, you can conduct an **[ADA Compliance Scan](#)**.

**References**
- [10 Ways to Make Your Website Accessible](https://www.dreamhost.com/blog/make-your-website-accessible/) by Ellice. DreamHost Blog. July 24, 2018.
- [Give Your SEO a Boost With These 12 Accessibility Improvements](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-web-accessibility/199500/) by Tamar Weinberg. Search Engine Journal. June 26, 2017.
- [Website Accessibility & the Law: Why Your Website Must Be Compliant](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/website-accessibility-law/285199/) by Kim Krause Berg. Search Engine Journal. January 9, 2019.
- [Your Overview to ADA Compliance for Websites in 2018](https://www.quantumdynamix.net/blog/overview-ada-compliance-websites-2018/) by Craig Kazda. Quantum Dynamix. December 6, 2017.


Understand the nuances of ADA compliance for websites, how it enhances SEO, and ways to implement accessibility features. Dive deep into the WCAG principles for an inclusive web experience.

Fru_ADACompliance.png

A Comprehensive Guide to ADA Compliance & Website Accessibility

# Having Trouble Letting Go? Why Experts Should Handle Your Website Management

Whether you’re creating a new website or you’re maintaining a site you’ve used for years, website management is a vital, ongoing responsibility for the health of your business. Ensuring that you use best practices when it comes to quality SEO, security, updating your site, and staying current on content is a lot to handle, especially when other aspects of your business demand your attention. But website management doesn’t have to fall on your shoulders - trusted professionals can maintain and improve your website, with your oversight, so you can focus on growing your business. If that sounds scary to you, you’re not alone! Letting go of your website management is a big step, but with the right team, your site can soar to new heights. If you’re still not convinced, read 5 key reasons why having experts handle your website management is in your business’s best interest.

## You’ll Get a 360° View of Your Website
Even when you buy a new car, you still have to work on it and maintain it to keep it in good condition. Your website is no different! Fruition’s professionals always start by “looking under the hood” to learn the ins and outs of your website - from coding, to UX design, loading times, and more. This 360° view gives you a complete understanding of your website and its needs that you may not realize on your own.

## You’ll Avoid Losing Content or Site Connectivity
Even seemingly simple changes, if not performed correctly, can do serious damage to your site. Many clients have come to us after making changes that caused their site to go down or accidentally deleting content and not being able to recover it. When you hand off your website management, our professionals ensure all changes are done correctly using a comprehensive QA process.

## You’ll Stay Up to Date Effortlessly
Updating your site can be a hassle - outdated plugins can cause headaches and even small code changes can conflict with existing content. Plus, keeping up-to-date with best practices, such as striving for ADA website compliance, can be challenging.  Our website management team does everything from small changes in code to adding entirely new features and everything in between. Since you can trust we’ll update the site in a safe environment, you can focus on growing your business - we’ll make sure your site adapts and grows with you.

## You Can Choose Your Level of Commitment
Every business has different needs, so Fruition offers a variety of options for website maintenance.  If you’re not sold on completely letting go of your website management, you can buy blocks of time in 10, 20, and 40 hour increments. Our team will address your site’s needs using the given time and when the block is spent, you’re not committed to buying another.

## Learn Best Practices
Your time is valuable, and we want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to ensure your website is growing, not just staying stagnant. If you request a straightforward item that’s relatively easy to execute, our team offers step-by-step instructions with screenshots so you can complete the task in the future. This approach allows you to save your block of time for bigger updates that you can’t complete yourself.  Of course, if you don’t want to do this kind of work on your site, we’re happy to complete each and every update. It can be hard to keep your website growing alongside your business. When you let the experts handle your ongoing website maintenance, you can fully focus on growing your business while the Fruition team continuously develops and maintains your site.  Our team truly cares about the quality of our work and we want to do whatever it takes to help your site thrive. So, are you ready to let go?

**Put the advantage of website management to work for your organization**
                                                   Get in Touch
 



Take advantage of outsourced professional website management for superior SEO, updates, and maintenance. Learn how this could transform your business growth. Explore the potential of your site with Fruition and see the difference today.

Fru_Blog-WebsiteManagement-V1.png

Drive Growth with Expert Website Management Services: See the Benefits

# The Importance Of Website Updates And Why You Should Keep Up With Them

As important as it is to set up a new website correctly, it’s equally important to make sure it continues to perform as expected. Just as you complete regular maintenance on your car to keep it in tip-top shape, updates keep your website functioning as it should. Today, we’re discussing why updates are important and answering some common questions our clients have asked us about website updates. 

## What Updates Does My Site Need? 
Website frameworks provide updates for various reasons, like fixing bugs, adding new features, and optimizing performance. While all these types of updates are important and should be completed in a timely manner, one type of update should take priority: security patches.  When security flaws are identified in WordPress, Drupal, or other software, maintainers work to address them through established processes, especially when vulnerabilities are responsibly reported by open-source community members. Once they’ve identified a fix, they release the update, usually on a predetermined schedule. Since platforms tell the public about the security issue when they release an update, bad actors can determine who hasn’t completed an update and take advantage of the opportunity. By delaying security updates for too long, your site becomes vulnerable to malicious attacks. You don’t need to be specifically targeted, either; depending on the vulnerability, automated scripts can run against thousands of sites in hopes of exploiting those which have not been patched.

## What Happens If I Don’t Update My Site? 
If your site falls behind on updates, it not only becomes vulnerable to security attacks - it can also quickly become outdated and obsolete. When you delay multiple updates in a row, it can be much more difficult to bring your site up to date.  To understand why, consider a staircase that’s being built. When your site’s platform updates, a new stair is added to the top of the staircase. By updating right away, you climb the new step and reach the top of the staircase. Climbing one step is relatively easy, but imagine you’ve waited until 3 stairs have been added. Instead of being able to climb each step individually, you must now jump from your current step to the top of the staircase. Just as it’s difficult to jump 3, 4, or 5 stairs at a time, it's much more difficult for your site to update itself if it needs to jump several versions ahead.  

## Will The Latest Drupal Or WordPress Update Negatively Affect My Site? 
Since most security updates are released in such a way to specifically avoid unrelated changes, chances are your site won’t experience any negative effects from the update. This is especially true if you have an experienced web maintenance team that can review the patches before they are applied. By partnering with the expert developers at Fruition, we can perform the latest updates while ensuring your site doesn’t miss a beat. 

## How Do I Limit The Changes Of Regression When Upgrading?
Open-source frameworks like Drupal and WordPress release security updates to core software as self-contained updates. That way, applying a security patch right away should carry very little risk of regression since it’s only the affected code that’s updated. When new releases to framework code or contributed modules/plugins are made, there may be backwards-incompatible changes to functionality, especially when upgrading to a new “major version” (for example, moving from version 5.1.2 to 6.0). These kinds of updates introduce more changes than others, which increases the likelihood that something in your site could “break,” or just look different than what you were expecting. To prevent any surprises when upgrading, consider the following best practices:
- Always backup your site before performing any updates
- After performing an update to your code, do a thorough review on a local or staging environment to review changes

## How Can I Stay Up To Date On Updates And Run My Business? 
Keeping track of site updates, performing them, and resolving potential conflicts can feel like a full-time job, especially if you have a complex site. Fruition’s Service Desk is a great solution for busy businesses who need help keeping their sites up to date. When you host your site with Fruition, our Service Desk team will help maintain your site, which includes performing updates. As your partner, we’re dedicated to implementing updates and making any necessary changes to ensure your site continues to function as efficiently as possible.  Are you interested in learning more about how Fruition’s Hosting and Service Desk teams can help keep your site up to date? 
Contact the experts today!

Learn why you should perform website updates regularly. Then, read experts’ responses to frequently asked questions regarding site updates.

Fru-Blog-Service-Desk.png

The Importance Of Website Updates And Why You Should Keep Up With Them

# Does Your Site’s Imagery Reflect Your Brand Identity?

As the old adage goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Considering the average site visitor bounces from your website in less than 15 seconds, the imagery you use must demand attention, tell your brand story, and encourage engagement. By exploring different types of imagery and understanding the visual impact your choices have on users, you can create a more interesting, inviting experience for site users – which can result in increased trust, loyalty, and conversions. Read More: How To Choose A Color Palette For Your Brand’s Website

## Types Of Website Imagery
Your site can visually tell your business’ story in many different ways. The most common types of site imagery include:
- **Photography: The go-to for most sites, photography is always a good option, especially for sites that want to show a human connection. Try to avoid overly “stocky” images – original photography always conveys more authenticity and trustworthiness.** 
- **Illustrations:** If you want to visualize how humans interact with and use digital products, illustrations are a good solution. Many SaaS companies, like Hootsuite or Mailchimp, use illustrations in addition to screenshots to add visual interest to their site.
- **3D Renders:** 3D renders are great for visualizing physical products. Flat artwork can also be mapped to 3D renderings to create 3D product images, eliminating the need for costly and time-consuming product photoshoots. You can create photo-realistic designs and interesting 3D “backdrops” for product imagery using tools like Adobe Dimension.
- **Icons:** Icons are simple representations of concepts and can be used in a variety of applications. Icons are available in a large number of styles, including solid, lined, color, and 3D.

## How do you Determine Your Site’s Imagery?
Your site’s imagery should be closely related to your color palette and logo design, especially if you’re a newer brand. Typically, larger, more established brands can take bigger risks when it comes to imagery and color. For example, Dropbox and MailChimp have recently rolled out some daring color palettes and visual imagery. As established brands, these companies can afford to take bigger risks when it comes to visual identity.  If you’re still developing your brand’s visual aesthetic, create a mood board with your brand’s logo, color scheme, and several examples of imagery. By examining each visual aspect side-by-side, you can begin to create a cohesive visual story.

## Why Is Site Imagery Important?
Effective use of imagery has many benefits:
- Conveys a sense of trustworthiness
- Creates a strong connection to the brand
- Adds visual interest to the design
- Creates a memorable experience

Conversely, ineffective imagery can create a lack of trust, creates a weak connection to the brand, and makes your site boring and forgettable to users.

## Examples Of Great Brand Imagery
To inspire your project, we’ve compiled a few sites that use imagery exceptionally well:
- Fisher-Price: Fisher-Price’s site is bright, playful, and fun – just like the brand. Authentic photography, whimsical icons, patterns, and animations come together to create a visual identity perfect for children’s toys.
- Formula1: The site showcases the brand’s bold fonts and colors. Combined with high-quality photos, lines and patterns, and memorable track illustrations, the site perfectly captures the adventurous spirit of the sport.
- Chobani: With contemporary photography and typography, and playful icons and illustrations, Chobani’s site visually positions the brand as a fresh, fun, and nutritious option.

With just 15 seconds to capture users’ attention, perfecting your site’s imagery is crucial. By aligning your site’s visual story with your brand identity, you’ll gain trust, build a connection with visitors, and create a positive and memorable site experience.

Uncover various website imagery types to boost your brand's connection with users. Draw inspiration from brands that deploy visuals resourcefully.

Fru-Blog-Imagery.png

Enhance Your Website Imagery For Stronger Brand Bonding

# How Fruition Stays On The Cutting Edge Of Web Development

Fruition’s award-winning development team relies on open-source platforms like WordPress and Drupal. In addition to using, contributing to, and supporting open-source platforms, Fruition recently hired two open-source leaders to strengthen our team’s knowledge and skillset. 

## Open-source Leadership 
Fruition recently welcomed two leaders in the open-source community to our team: Benji Fisher and Ian Belanger. As leaders in the Drupal and WordPress communities, respectively, Benji and Ian use their expertise and insight to help the team create innovative and intuitive websites. Benji Fisher joined the Fruition team as a Senior Drupal Developer. As a co-maintainer of the migration system in Drupal core, Benji runs weekly Drupal meetings with the migration subsystem team, documents each session, engages with the community, and reviews patches for suggested code changes. His scrutiny and evaluation help the team update Drupal quickly and efficiently without sacrificing quality.  Ian Belanger is Fruition’s Senior WordPress Developer. As a component maintainer for bundled themes in WordPress, Ian tracks theme updates, fixes theme bugs, submits new code, and reviews patches from the community. His work to improve WordPress’s themes has given him an intimate understanding of the platform, which helps give Fruition direction on WordPress site builds. 

## Expert Web Development 
Benji and Ian’s extensive experience in their respective platforms helps guide Fruition’s development team, troubleshoot issues, and help us anticipate changes or updates. Thanks to their knowledge, the development team continues to streamline efforts to deliver client sites in a timely manner. For example, when the development team encounters an error message or issue, Benji and Ian investigate the platform’s open issues and update queue. This allows Fruition to better understand when an issue will be fixed through an update or if our team should write unique code to address the issue. 

## Creating Better Websites With Open-source Software 
Open-source communities are just that - a community of passionate developers who want to help others create better sites. When asked why people should get involved with the open-source community, both Benji and Ian celebrated the strength of the community:  “The WordPress community is very open to helping with issues. If you’ve never asked the community questions before, don’t be nervous - everyone who’s answering has been in your shoes. I encourage everyone who wants to know more about the platform to get involved.” - Ian Belanger  “Karma is real! If you’re actively helping people who need it, people will be more likely to help you when you have a question. This can be a real benefit if you’re working through an issue you don’t know the answer to.” - Benji Fisher  Ian and Benji’s backgrounds help strengthen the Fruition team and enable us to build better websites every day. If you’re interested in creating cutting-edge sites using open-source platforms, we’d love to speak with you. View our open positions today!   

Delve into Fruition's commitment to advanced open-source web development. Find out how industry experts Benji Fisher and Ian Belanger steer the team towards creating innovative, cutting-edge sites.

Fru-Blog-Cutting-Edge.png

Open-source Web Development with Experts Fisher, Belanger At Fruition

# How do I make my Drupal or WordPress site PCI compliant?

## What Is PCI Compliance?
“PCI Compliance” generally refers to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), a set of regulations created to ensure companies safely process, transmit, and store credit card information. PCI security standards were launched in 2006 and have become an integral part of developing a successful website.

## Do PCI DDS Requirements Apply To Me?
Data security standards apply to any organization that accepts, stores, or transmits cardholder data, regardless of size or number of transactions. However, there are varying levels of standards depending on where and how you use or store cardholder data.

## How Do I Know What PCI DSS Requirements Apply To My Site?
E-commerce website owners must determine the “self-assessment questionnaire” (SAQ) level that applies and then successfully implement the applicable PCI-DSS requirements for that level. Depending on your card processor/gateway, they may utilize a third-party approved scanning vendor (ASV) to guide you through this process. Even if your processor does not require this, it does not mean you are exempt from compliance. Completing the appropriate SAQ demonstrates you’re taking the security measures necessary to keep cardholders data safe. The vast majority of e-commerce sites should make it a goal to qualify for SAQ A or SAQ A-EP. These designations mean that part or all of cardholder data functions are outsourced. While your business will still have to work through some security issues to be compliant, they’re not as comprehensive as other SAQs. On the other hand, if your business falls into SAQ D, you’ll need to implement and maintain a much more onerous set of measures. Modern payment gateways all offer A/A-EP compatible card processing options to help you avoid SAQ D. If it’s been years since you implemented your payment solution or your site “sees” raw card numbers at any point, you should make it a goal to upgrade to a more secure process. We can help.

## How do I make a Wordpress woocommerce site PCI Compliant?
Ensuring you have your payment gateway is setup properly and you are not storing credit cards in your ordPress woocommerce database is a good start. If you are capturing or storing credit cards you are certainly not PCI compliant. At Fruition we can provide WordPress woocommerce support to get you PCI compliant.

## How do I make my Drupal site PCI Compliant?
The same PCI standards apply to a Drupal site as other types of commerce sites. At Fruition we can assist with a Drupal support package to get your Drupal site PCI compliant.

## Why Is It Important To Be PCI Compliant?
In addition to meeting security standards and regulations, maintaining PCI compliance provides various benefits, including:
- Customers will trust you with their sensitive information, which leads to customer confidence and repeat purchases
- Improves your reputation with payment brands
- Can contribute to improving your IT infrastructure

PCI non-compliance can lead to lawsuits, canceled accounts, insurance claims, government fines, and erode the trust that customers and partners place in your business.

## My Site Is Served With TLS/SSL (a lock in the URL bar); Isn’t This Enough?
Employing encryption is important (and most modern web browsers will warn users if you’re not) but serving your web site with TLS (often called “SSL”) encryption is not sufficient in and of itself to satisfy the PCI DSS standard at any SAQ level. Another common misconception is that receiving but not storing card data excludes a site from the more stringent SAQ D requirements. If your web application ever sees a full card number - even if immediately sent to a third party without storage - this exposes you to significant risk and compliance requirements. Understanding your SAQ level is crucial for mitigating risk and helping your business succeed. If you’re not sure what SAQ level applies to your business, or need help assessing your PCI Compliance, contact us today.

Dive deep into PCI compliance for Drupal and WordPress to secure cardholder data. Explore varied PCI-DSS standards and the importance of being PCI compliant.

Strategy & Research

Digital Marketing

Web Development

Creative

AI Data & Analytics

Tony Diaz

Service Desk Lead

More articles by Tony Diaz

A Comprehensive Guide to ADA Compliance & Website Accessibility

Drive Growth with Expert Website Management Services: See the Benefits

The Importance Of Website Updates And Why You Should Keep Up With Them

Enhance Your Website Imagery For Stronger Brand Bonding

Open-source Web Development with Experts Fisher, Belanger At Fruition

Tips to Render Drupal & WordPress Sites PCI Compliant - Safeguarding Cardholder Data