There’s been a lot of discussion about Accessibility this week, we’ve decided to focus on those that discuss what can be done to avoid lawsuits. As usual 5 of the best are listed below. The summaries and links to the full articles can be found further down the page: 

• Valuewalk look at the increasing number of web accessibility lawsuits

  The number of web accessibility lawsuits in the US increased by 177% last year and the number is expected to continue to rise. SMBs need to protect themselves from web accessibility lawsuits.

  Web Accessibility lawsuits are no longer targeting just the big-name stores. Why are SMBs facing ADA lawsuits and what can they do to avoid them?

  https://www.valuewalk.com/2019/08/ada-lawsuit-web-accessibility/

• UK Central Government INDEX – Q3 2019 Results 

  The 2019 Q3 UK Local Government INDEX has been published showing that Accessibility needs to become a priority. Perhaps Brexit is a distraction.

  The results show that there is a long way to go to be compliant with the EU Directive on accessibility of public sector websites. Leading on Accessibility are the Student Loans Companyand the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. Sir John’s Soane’s Museum are the most improved showing that some organisations are taking Accessibility seriously.

  2019 Q3 UK Central Government INDEX

• TERMINALFOUR go through the web accessibility standards, but are they compliant themselves

  Universities have been facing fines in excess of $100,000. This article looks at what’s new in web accessibility standards and why 23 September 2019 is so important -  is it time to take notice?  

  This is another interesting example of sites talking about accessibility compliance but not practising what they preach, Take a look at this SMARTVIEW we ran on the page.

  https://www.terminalfour.com/blog/posts/web-accessibility-what-do-the-latest-standards-mean-for-your-university.html

• Domino’s and the web are failing the disabled.

  Domino’s is spending exorbitant legal fees to challenge the law rather than addressing the real issue of discrimination. Domino’s fight against a blind customer who was unable to order a custom pizza from the website continues to dominate the press. In this article, Wired suggests Domino’s view the disabled as insignificant . How will this affect their business?

  https://www.wired.com/story/dominos-and-the-web-are-failing-the-disabled/

• CustomerTHINK pose the question 'Is your website accessible to disabled customers? What can you do about it?'

  Unless we or a loved one are disabled, we may not consider how important accessibility is to those with an impairment. Yet, 23% of disabled Americans never go online compared to 8% of abled Americans.

  https://customerthink.com/is-your-website-accessible-to-disabled-customers/