Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Key Takeaways If you’re building or maintaining a website in 2025, accessibility isn’t optional. Early investment saves money, time, and legal exposure.
This step-by-step guide will teach you how to build an ADA-compliant website and walk you through the tools, timelines and costs you need to be aware of.
Three months ago, a founder contacted me in a panic. His ecommerce company had just received a demand letter alleging that his website violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. He had 30 days to respond with a remediation plan. “I thought we just needed to add that accessibility widget,” he told me. “Now our lawyer says we need to rebuild significant portions of the site. What do I actually need to do?”
I’ve had this conversation dozens of times. Between navigating my own website projects and consulting with businesses ranging from three-person startups to municipal governments, I’ve developed a clear understanding of what it actually takes to build and maintain ADA-compliant websites.
This guide is the resource I wish existed when I started: a practical, actionable roadmap that cuts through the confusion and gives you exactly what you need to know about tools, timelines and real costs.
Related: Ignoring This Website Essential Can Hurt Your Search Ranking — and Bring Legal Consequences
Understanding the standard: WCAG 2.1 Level AA
Before diving into implementation, let’s establish what “ADA compliant” actually means for websites.
The Americans with Disabilities Act doesn’t explicitly mention websites because it was enacted in 1990 — before the modern web existed. However, courts have consistently ruled that websites are covered under Title III as places of public accommodation. In April 2024, the Department of Justice published a final rule under Title II establishing WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the technical standard for state and local government websites.
... continue reading