Big picture: the ADA and digital access
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights law that, among other things, requires businesses and organizations that serve the public to provide equal access to their goods and services. Historically, that meant physical locations. Today, websites and mobile apps are how many people primarily interact with those same services—booking appointments, paying bills, ordering prescriptions, managing accounts. When a digital experience excludes blind or low-vision users, the impact is the same as a step at a doorway: access is denied.
In practical terms, “equal access” online means that core functions are perceivable (readable text and labels), operable (keyboard/screen reader compatible), understandable (clear instructions and errors), and robust (work with assistive technologies). These principles align with modern accessibility standards widely used by industry.
What kinds of digital experiences are covered?
If a business or organization opens its goods, services, or programs to the public, the digital channels it uses to deliver those offerings are expected to be accessible. That includes:
- Retail and service sites: shopping, reservations, subscription management, returns, and support portals.
- Healthcare and benefits: patient portals, appointment scheduling, refill and billing systems, plan information.
- Banking and financial tools: account dashboards, payments, statements, card management.
- Education and employment portals: applications, training platforms, grade or payroll systems.
- Public services and utilities: permits, payments, schedules, service requests, election and transit information.
- Mobile apps: when an app provides the same services as the website—or the only way to complete a task—accessibility obligations travel with it.
What “barriers” typically look like in practice
Barriers are specific, repeatable failures in design or code that prevent completion of a task. Common patterns include:
- Unlabeled controls: screen readers announce “button” with no context for actions like “Add to cart,” “Pay,” or “Schedule.”
- Keyboard traps & lost focus: you can’t reach or activate a menu, dialog, cart drawer, or “Place Order” without a mouse.
- Unreadable content: low-contrast text, small fonts, or text embedded in images without alt text.
- Inaccessible forms: missing labels and unclear errors (“Invalid”) that don’t say what to fix, or CAPTCHAs with no effective alternative.
- Media & documents: videos without captions or description; PDFs with no tags/headings, making them a wall of images to assistive tech.
- Zoom blocked or orientation locked: pinching to zoom is disabled, or content won’t display in a usable orientation.
How to recognize when your rights may have been violated
Signs often show up during everyday tasks. If any of the following led to a missed purchase, deadline, or appointment, your experience likely falls within the types of harm the ADA aims to prevent:
- You could not submit a form or complete checkout because a necessary button or field wasn’t accessible.
- You could not read critical information (instructions, warnings, prices, dates) due to poor contrast or image-only content.
- You were forced into a separate “screen reader mode” or overlay that didn’t actually make the task possible.
- Video or audio conveyed essential information with no captions or transcript.
- An untagged PDF contained required policy, billing, or application information that was otherwise unavailable.
Documenting the barrier: what to capture (step-by-step)
Precise, time-stamped documentation turns a frustrating moment into evidence that a team can verify and fix. Collect:
- Screenshots or a short screen recording of the problem in context. Include the control you tried to use, any error, and visible focus if relevant.
- Date and time of the attempt and the exact URL (or app name/version).
- Steps you took and the result (e.g., “Pressed Tab twice; focus disappeared and never reached ‘Place Order’”).
- Assistive tech (NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver/TalkBack) and browser/device.
- Consequence (missed deadline, inability to book medical care, closed promo window, late fee, inability to refill).
This level of detail helps engineers reproduce the problem and supports a clear path to remediation. It also helps legal advocates evaluate the impact and next steps.
What resolution typically looks like
Outcomes focus on fixes and access. In many cases, organizations correct the barrier, update components so it doesn’t recur, and provide appropriate remedies related to the access denied. Where the issue is systemic (e.g., a shared component defect), the remediation often updates the design system so every page that uses the component improves automatically.
The process can involve notifying the organization, explaining the barrier and harm, and setting expectations for remediation timelines. In some circumstances, formal action may be used to ensure the issue is addressed and does not repeat.
What “good” remediation includes
- Fixes to the specific barrier you encountered and to the underlying component or template.
- Verification that keyboard paths, labels, contrast, and media/docs are genuinely accessible—tested with assistive tech.
- Reasonable timelines and updates for progress, with interim alternatives if the task remains blocked.
- Clear, measurable acceptance criteria: e.g., “Checkout is fully operable by keyboard and reads correctly in NVDA/Firefox and VoiceOver/Safari.”
Frequently asked questions
“If a site offers a phone number, is that enough?”
A separate channel that isn’t equivalent in efficiency, hours, or availability typically does not substitute for accessible digital service. Equal access means you can complete the task through the same channel others use, without undue burden.
“What if the business installed an accessibility overlay?”
Overlays do not replace accessible design and code. If the underlying controls lack labels, have broken focus order, or videos lack captions, a toolbar on top rarely fixes those issues. If you still can’t complete the task, document that.
“Do I have to be a screen reader ‘expert’ to report a problem?”
No. Plain-language descriptions of what you tried to do and what happened—paired with screenshots or a short recording—are enough to show the barrier’s impact.
“What about mobile apps?”
If an app is how a business delivers services, accessibility obligations apply there too. App-specific barriers include tiny touch targets, blocked zoom, unlabeled tab-bar icons, and modals that trap focus. Document them the same way.
For organizations: practices that prevent barriers
- Design tokens & components: ship readable contrast, one consistent focus style, and accessible Button/Link/Input/Dialog/Menu primitives.
- Content templates: enforce headings, meaningful link text, purpose-driven alt text, and caption/transcript fields.
- QA guardrails: keyboard-only and quick screen-reader checks as “definition of done” for shared components and critical flows.
- PDF/media policy: prefer HTML for living content; require tagged PDFs and captioned/described media.
If you’ve encountered a barrier: immediate steps
- Capture evidence (screenshots/recording, steps, URL, date/time, device/browser, assistive tech, and consequence).
- If the task is urgent (healthcare, benefits, billing), look for alternate channels and save evidence of any additional burden (time, cost).
- Reach out for guidance on presenting the issue effectively so it gets fixed at the root, not just patched for one page.
How The Brensilber Law Firm helps (briefly)
Our focus is turning lived experience into action that improves access. We help document barriers precisely, articulate how they denied equal access, and pursue outcomes that lead to meaningful fixes—not surface-level band-aids. If you encountered any of the barriers described here, contact us to discuss your options, or explore more guides on our Resource Hub.
This guide is general information and not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.