Ensuring Digital Content is Accessible to People With Disabilities

RENO, NV / ACCESS Newswire / February 12, 2026 / As E-commerce continues to be the main source for how most people shop, work, and communicate, small businesses have the opportunity to tap into the important and frequently overlooked market of one in four Americans who are living with a disability. An inaccessible website puts businesses at meaningful risk legally and, more importantly, shuts out an important segment of their potential market.

For example, the lack of alt text on an image can prevent the assistive technology that a customer who is blind and uses a screen reader relies on from describing a product or service to the customer. A customer who has a mobility impairment and only uses a keyboard may abandon the checkout process if there is no accessible checkout path. These digital barriers are increasingly the subject of state and federal enforcement actions and private demand letters, as disability advocates continue to press for full application of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) online.

"While inaccessible websites pose a meaningful litigation risk, the main priority is to ensure that we aren't excluding any individuals from resources, ever. By prioritizing WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standards coupled with legal review, businesses reduce legal exposure while fulfilling their responsibility to provide a barrier-free experience for everyone," says Ken LaMance, LegalMatch's General Counsel.

Because the intersection of technical standards and legal liability can be quite complicated, a business's need for legal counsel can arise in the following areas:

• Triaging Audit Results: Transforming the technical findings and recommendations from a WCAG audit into a prioritization of legal risk, addressing the most meaningful barriers to access first.

• Strengthening Vendor Contracts: Ensuring that marketing firms and software developers understand accessibility standards and include accessibility requirements in their contracts, including warranties and indemnity clauses.

• Establishing a Defensible Record: Drafting formal accessibility statements and remediation timelines to show a good-faith commitment to regulators and the public.

To establish a sustainable accessibility program, small businesses may use WCAG-based auditing tools along with legal advice. They may add accessibility requirements to vendor contracts and publish an accessibility statement as part of a business's standard procurement process. If served with a demand letter, seeking counsel at the earlier stages allows a business to resolve the dispute in a timely and less disruptive manner, while also attaining legal privilege and ensuring that the business serves all customers.

Small business owners have wonderful legal tools at their disposal, like LegalMatch.com, the nation's first online attorney-client matching service. Users can access the confidential platform, submit details about their case, and receive free matches with ADA attorneys experienced in such legal disputes.

LegalMatch is also equipped with a sizable Online Law Library, filled with articles, FAQs, and helpful guides on a multitude of legal topics, including ADA accessibility. Have a LegalMatch member attorney review your website for ADA compliance today.

About LegalMatch.com

LegalMatch is the nation's oldest and largest online legal lead-generation service. Headquartered in Reno, Nevada, LegalMatch helps people find the right lawyer and helps attorneys find new clients. LegalMatch's service is free to individuals and small businesses looking for legal help. For more information about LegalMatch, please visit our website or contact us directly.

Media Contact

Ken LaMance
press@legalmatch.com
(415) 946-0856

SOURCE: LegalMatch.com