The most common question I get from all of the talks I give is simply "How do I make my website ADA Section 508 compliant?". I think the best way to answer that question is to explain what ADA Section 508 is. After you understand what Section 508 is you should have a better understanding of how to be compliant.
- (Section 508) of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. § 794d) requires that Federal agencies' electronic and information technology is accessible to people with disabilities, including employees and members of the public.
If you're having trouble sleeping then follow this link I included to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d) it will put you right to sleep but be careful because it gives you nightmares to.
Here is a link to the actual ADA Section 508 Law (H.R. 5759) that became law in December of 2018. This law states that if you are a government agency or if you contrast in any way with a government agency, your website has to be 100% ADA Section 508 compliant. In a lot of cases if not all, the government agencies you are giving a bid to will not even accept your bid if you do not sign a piece of paper that says your website is ADA Section 508 compliant.
Put very simply, to be ADA Section 508 compliant you need to be WCAG 2.1 level A and AA compliant. So that means if you can satisfy all of the Level AA guidelines and standards of the W3C WCAG 2.1 guidelines you will be fully compliant with the ADA Section 508 standards.
I know it is easy for me to sit here tapping away at my keyboard claiming that all you have to do is be WCAG 2.1 compliant. But the purpose of this article is not to teach you how to be Section 508 compliant but instead explain what Section 508 compliance is. We would be here for days if I was trying to explain how to be compliant. Don't worry though because there is a ton of resources on this website that will help you understand how to be fully ADA Section 508 compliant and WCAG 2.1 compliant.
I hope this has helped you and remember, it is up to us to make the internet accessible, one website at a time.