An Equal Internet Experience: ADA Compliance in Software

Exactly what type of service are you getting from your software-as-a-service providers? In this article, GeoFli explores one specific box you should make sure your third-party providers check, and that’s ADA compliance. At GeoFli, we built our software to make sure anyone and everyone can have a more relevant website experience.

Why is ADA Compliance Important?

It’s important because it provides an equal playing field for internet users. The experience navigating a website should be similar in entertainment or educational value for someone on an iPhone or a screen reader. Oh, and it’s also important because it’s required by law. Beginning in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act has existed to prohibit discrimination and ensure equal opportunity for persons with disabilities in a large number of areas, including public accommodations. This includes hotels, transportation services, dining, education institutions, and care providers, as well as many other “places of public accommodation”. What the heck does that mean? Well, though the process to explicitly write it into law isn’t complete, it means that the ADA applies to online presence! The successful conveyance of information to all users is so essential to the entire goal of any operation. We agree with this notion and took the initiative to build it into our software.

GeoFli and ADA Compliance

Here you see a quick example of a university website, and how GeoFli is ADA compliant. If we select an image of the page to change - for example, the university logo - we can change the alt-text. This means that when a website user accessing the site from your GeoFlied region is using a screen reader, they can easily decipher what’s happening in the image.The alt-text is important because it provides a way for non-humans to identify the contents of that image. In the example below, the logo has been described as “Barnaby Logo”. This allows tools like search engines and screen readers to identify the image and describe it to the person on the other side of the screen as needed. Here are a few quick tips on writing effective alt-texts for ADA Compliance:

1. Keep it concise - don’t use words or phrases that are confusing and unnecessary.
2. At the same time, the description should be informative and give context.
3. The description should be written for a human, not for a machine’s interpretation. Think: if I had to describe this photo to someone in a few words, how would I do it?

Because GeoFli is about enhancing the experience for all website visitors, accessibility is a cornerstone in its development. Without a way for colleges and universities to surface website content specific users, including users with different communication requirements, we wouldn’t have accomplished this goal. GeoFli continues to evolve into version 3.0 with new features, targeting options and customers all over the world. As we grow, we’ll continue to be committed to providing a personalized and relevant website experience. If you have any questions about GeoFli’s ADA compliance and software, just ask!