Web accessibility compliance: the practical guide to selling
The laws, the deadlines, and what your site really needs to do to be accessible to everyone, based on your market.
Web accessibility, and why it became a legal requirement
Web accessibility means designing sites that everyone can use, including people with visual, motor, hearing, or cognitive disabilities. Nearly one in four people lives with some form of disability. An inaccessible site means a significant share of your visitors can't read, navigate, or buy.
Long seen as a best practice, accessibility is now governed by law in major markets. The requirements vary depending on where you sell, but the technical reference is the same everywhere.
This guide pulls together what matters: the laws that apply to your site, the dates to know, what's at stake, and above all what your site needs to actually do. It also answers, without dodging, the question many people are asking: is a simple widget enough?
Which laws apply in the United States?
In the United States, there's no single federal law setting a technical web accessibility standard for private businesses. Several laws nonetheless govern the matter.
The deadlines to keep in mind
On the public-sector side, the compliance timeline is now set.
The Department of Justice adopts WCAG 2.1 level AA as the standard for the public sector (ADA Title II).
Compliance deadline for governments serving 50 000 residents or more.
Deadline for smaller governments and special districts.
What's at risk in the United States?
The main risk isn't an administrative fine, it's a lawsuit. A business whose site is deemed inaccessible can be sued under the ADA, since the Department of Justice considers the law to apply to sites open to the public.
Some states raise that risk further. In California, the Unruh Act provides for damages of at least 4 000 dollars per violation, which can add up to significant financial exposure.
So the absence of a federal technical standard doesn't protect you: to assess whether a site is accessible, courts rely on WCAG level AA.
What an accessible site really requires
Whatever your market, compliance rests on WCAG, published by the W3C. Level AA is the target: it's required by law in Europe and serves as the reference for U.S. courts. WCAG is built around four principles (the POUR model).
Does an accessibility widget make a site compliant?
This is a key point, and we'd rather be straight with you than sell you an illusion. A widget, or "overlay," is a software layer added on top of a site. It doesn't fix the underlying code: if your images have no alt text, if your HTML structure is broken, or if your site can't be navigated by keyboard, the problem is still there under the overlay.
This isn't just a technical debate: it's a view shared by accessibility experts. No tool added on top of a site is enough, on its own, to make it WCAG-compliant. Poorly built, an overlay can even get in the way of assistive technologies instead of helping them.
So should you give up on adaptation tools? Not that either, as long as you understand their dual role. On one hand, Daelys lets your visitors adjust the display to their own needs (enlarge text, boost contrast, turn on a dyslexia-friendly font, add line spacing). On the other, its Essentiel and Pro plans analyze your pages and tell you exactly what to fix in your code to move toward compliance.
The right way to look at it: Daelys is an adaptation layer that complements a properly built site, never a substitute for accessible code. Compliance is won in the code, and that's exactly where Daelys's diagnostic and reports help you: they show you what to fix.
Wondering where your site stands?
Run a free diagnostic and get an accessibility score in seconds.
The compliance checklist
A realistic approach, in order. The first steps matter the most.
Fix the code
This is the foundation. Alt text, heading structure, contrast, keyboard navigation, properly labeled forms: these fixes happen in the source code. Daelys's reports tell you what to fix first.
Add visitor adaptation tools
Once the base is solid, a tool like Daelys lets each visitor adjust the display to their needs. It's a complement, not compliance on its own.
Publish an accessibility statement
State your level of compliance, the content that isn't accessible yet, and a way to report a problem to you. It's mandatory for the entities concerned.
Set up ongoing monitoring
Accessibility isn't a one-time project. Every new page or feature can introduce regressions: keep an eye on it over time.
Train your team
Designers, developers, and writers need to build in the right habits. That's what keeps you from piling up accessibility debt again after every fix.
How Daelys helps you become compliant
Daelys works on both sides of your accessibility. On the visitor side, the widget installs in 30 seconds and lets everyone adapt your site to their needs. On the code side, the diagnostic and reports in the Essentiel and Pro plans pinpoint the accessibility issues on your pages and guide you in fixing them.
More than 22 adaptation features
Zoom, enhanced contrast, dyslexia-friendly font, text spacing, reading mask, reading guide, and much more, all one click away for the visitor.
Multilingual by default
The accessibility panel shows up in each visitor's language, so the help makes sense to everyone.
Anonymized usage stats
You see which adaptations your visitors actually turn on, so you can focus your accessibility efforts on what matters.
Built-in diagnostic and reports
Daelys analyzes your pages, spots accessibility issues (images without alt text, contrast, heading structure, unclear links), and gives you concrete ways to fix them in your code.
Help with your accessibility statement
Support for writing the statement the law requires, with your level of compliance and the content that isn't covered.
Installs in 30 seconds
A script to paste, or a WordPress and Shopify plugin. No technical skills required, no site rebuild.
Frequently asked questions
In most cases, yes. The exact rules depend on the market where you sell, your line of business, and sometimes the size of your company. Select your market at the top of the page to see the requirements that apply to you.
No. Compliance rests first and foremost on the quality of the site itself: structure, navigation, forms, content, and compatibility with assistive technologies. A widget improves the visitor experience, but it doesn't replace the fixes your code needs.
The first step is to assess your site's current accessibility to identify the main issues. Once you know those, you can prioritize the most important fixes and track your progress over time.
An audit surfaces the most obvious issues, but also the less visible barriers for people with disabilities. It's usually the starting point of a compliance effort.
No tool can guarantee full compliance on its own. Accessibility is an ongoing process that combines best practices, regular checks, and gradual improvements to the site.
Test your accessibilityfor free.
Get an instant diagnostic, see what to fix in your code, and turn on Daelys to improve the experience for every visitor.