Website accessibility means people with disabilities can use your site, including those who use screen readers, keyboards instead of a mouse, or captions instead of audio. There is no ADA rule written specifically for private business websites, but courts generally treat WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the standard. Federal website-accessibility lawsuits reached 3,117 in 2025, up 27% from 2024, and small businesses are not exempt.
If you run a business in St. Peters, O'Fallon, St. Charles, or anywhere in the St. Louis area, your website is often your first impression. Right now, a lot of small business sites quietly turn some visitors away. Here is what that means and what to do about it.
What Is Website Accessibility?
Website accessibility is the practice of designing your site so everyone can use it, regardless of vision, hearing, mobility, or cognitive differences. In practice, it comes down to a few things: text that is easy to read, images that are described, forms that are clearly labeled, pages you can navigate without a mouse, and videos that have captions.
It also helps everyone else. Good contrast is easier to read on a phone in sunlight. Clear headings help every visitor skim. Captions help people watching with the sound off.
Does the ADA Apply to Small Business Websites?
Yes, in practice. The Americans with Disabilities Act does not include a specific technical rule for private business websites, but courts and demand letters regularly apply it to them, and WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the benchmark most often referenced. Newer WCAG 2.2 AA is increasingly used as the forward-looking target.
The numbers explain why this is on owners' radar. Federal website-accessibility cases hit 3,117 in 2025, and combined federal and state filings topped 5,000, with nearly 70% aimed at e-commerce and retail sites. Demand-letter settlements are commonly quoted in the $5,000 to $15,000 range before legal fees or fixing the site.
This post is general information, not legal advice. If you receive a demand letter, talk to an attorney.
The 3 Problems Found on Most Sites
The WebAIM Million 2026 report found that 95.9% of scanned home pages had detectable accessibility failures. Three problems dominate:
Low-contrast text (83.9% of pages). Light gray on white looks sleek and is hard to read. Body text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1.
Missing image descriptions (53.1%). Images without alt text are invisible to screen readers.
Unlabeled form fields (51%). If your contact form has no proper labels, some visitors cannot tell what to type, or cannot submit it at all.
The good news: these three are usually quick to fix.
6 Fixes to Start This Week
Check your colors. Run your text and button colors through a free contrast checker and darken anything that fails.
Add alt text. Describe each meaningful image in a short, plain sentence. Skip decorative images.
Label every form field, including your search box and newsletter signup.
Test with only your keyboard. Press Tab through your homepage. Can you reach every link, menu, and button, and see where you are?
Fix your headings. Use one H1 per page and H2/H3 headings in logical order, not for styling.
Caption your videos. Captions help deaf and hard-of-hearing visitors and everyone watching on mute.
One caution: accessibility "overlay" widgets that promise one-click compliance are not a safe shortcut. One analysis reported that 22.6% of 2025 ADA lawsuits (456 cases) targeted sites that already had a widget installed. Treat them as a supplement at most.
Accessibility, SEO, and AI Search Go Together
Clear headings, descriptive alt text, and well-structured content also make your site easier for Google and AI search tools to understand. It is the same foundation behind showing up in AI Overviews and local search in St. Charles County. Fixing accessibility often improves your search visibility as a side effect.
Also, the IRS Disabled Access Credit can cover 50% of eligible accessibility expenses, up to $5,000 a year, for qualifying small businesses. Ask your tax professional.
Where to Go From Here
If your site was built a few years ago, or by a template without anyone checking these basics, start with the six fixes above. Our post on website mistakes that cost small businesses sales is a good companion checklist.
If you would rather not do this yourself, our website design service builds sites with accessibility, speed, and search in mind from the start. Prefer to learn it hands-on? Check our classes. Or reach out and we will take a look at where your site stands.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do small businesses have to make their websites ADA accessible? There is no ADA rule written specifically for private business websites, but courts regularly apply the ADA to them. WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the standard most commonly referenced, so it is the safest target for a small business site.
What is WCAG? WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, the international standard for accessible websites. Most legal and compliance conversations reference version 2.1 or 2.2 at Level AA.
How much does it cost to make a small business website accessible? Basic fixes like color contrast, alt text, and form labels are often inexpensive and can be done during a normal site update. Costs rise for complex or custom sites. For comparison, demand-letter settlements are commonly quoted at $5,000 to $15,000 before legal and remediation costs.
Does an accessibility widget make my website compliant? No. Overlay widgets do not guarantee compliance, and one analysis found 22.6% of 2025 ADA lawsuits targeted sites that already had a widget installed. Fixing the underlying site is what counts.
What are the most common website accessibility problems? Low-contrast text, missing image alt text, and unlabeled form fields. The WebAIM Million 2026 report found failures on 95.9% of scanned home pages.
