If the term “ADA compliance” makes you anxious, you’re probably not alone. Many credit unions approach accessibility with a checklist mentality, but we recommend an opportunity mindset instead.

Yes, website accessibility is a legal imperative, and we know you don’t want to get sued. But fear of lawsuits shouldn’t be the driving factor behind creating a truly accessible digital experience. It’s the right thing to do, and it can help more people across a wide spectrum of abilities access your products and services. 

Understanding web accessibility

Web accessibility refers to the design and development of websites, tools, and technologies in a way that takes into account the needs of people with visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological disabilities. These people should be able to perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with your website and any accompanying tools.

ADA compliance

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandates that all public accommodations, including websites, be accessible to individuals with disabilities. For credit unions, this means considering not only the accessibility of your physical branch locations, but also of your digital branch. All credit union websites should adhere to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which offer a framework for ensuring an inclusive online experience.

Implementing digital accessibility standards

To achieve digital accessibility, credit unions should adopt and implement recognized standards such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These guidelines provide a framework for creating content that is accessible to people with a variety of disabilities, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological disabilities.

There are many automatic scanning tools (we use DubBot) to help you evaluate accessibility-related improvements you can make to your current website. We recommend conducting an ADA scan at least annually; some clients with larger websites conduct them quarterly or even monthly. Once we run an automatic scan, we: 

• Annotate issues that are false positives and/or false negatives, which we manually review to determine whether or not they need to be addressed
• Implement coding fixes to comply with WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards
• Build a list of content related issues and/or third party issues (if applicable) that the client team will need to address to be fully compliant
• Provide training and supporting documentation on maintaining compliance

Key elements of an accessible website design

1. Strong text color contrast for readability 
2. Compatibility with screen readers 
3. Clear and descriptive labels for forms and interactive elements
4. Large and easy-to-tap buttons 
5. Scalable text that users can resize
6. Comprehensive keyboard navigation 
7. Meaningful alt tags for all non-decorative images and infographics 
8. Closed captioning options or transcripts for video/audio
9. Unique and descriptive calls to action for all links (i.e. “Open a Savings Account,” not “Click Here.”)
10. “Title” field metadata included in any PDFs before uploading them to your website 
11. Title tags for any iframes used (i.e, YouTube videos)
12. Text that can be resized without assistive technology up to 200% without loss of content or functionality

Key accessibility considerations during a credit union website redesign

You can always take steps to make your current website more accessible; website accessibility should be an ongoing project since websites are constantly evolving. That said, a website redesign is a golden opportunity to bring an opportunity mindset to the accessibility of your digital branch. 

Designing for users with specific needs can challenge designers to think creatively, leading to innovative solutions that ultimately improve usability for everyone. For example, clear labels and simplified navigation, which are essential for screen readers, reduce cognitive load and make for a better user experience regardless of your abilities. It’s of course imperative to account for the aforementioned elements of accessible website design, but here are some considerations to keep in mind:

1. Simplify and streamline. As we mentioned above, a cluttered navigation or page layout is not only going to make for a miserable audio experience for your visitors using screen readers, but also a poor user experience for everyone. See our guide to UX best practices for credit union websites for a deeper dive.
   
   
2. Aim for fewer generic decorative images and more images specific to your credit union. Again, this will make for a better user experience for everyone but if you feature photos of real members and local landmarks, you have an opportunity to tell short stories in your alt text for those who can’t see the images. See our tips for building trust and credibility for more tips on imagery and visual appeal. 
   
   
3. Engage with the community: User test your staging site before launch with members who have disabilities to gather feedback and make a list of potential pre-launch and post-launch priorities. You may even want to consider asking staff to test drive the site using a screen reader or keyboard navigation so they can understand the user experience from the perspective of someone with disabilities.

Conclusion

It’s up to you to show your team and members that accessibility is not just a legal requirement but a reflection of your core values and mission. If you approach it with a grudging checklist mentality, your members with disabilities will be able to tell. On the flip side, if you center their needs and concerns, you can create a delightful user experience that will help them feel seen and accounted for. Yes, this might help you attract and retain loyal members, and it’s also the right thing to do — because everyone deserves access to the digital tools and resources they need to financially thrive.