1 of 25

Jeremy Fremont�Director of Business Development�Multidots

Amber Hinds�Founder & CEO�Equalize Digital

Accessibility:

Your Competitive Edge in 2025

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

2 of 25

What is website accessibility?

An accessible website is one that can be used by everyone.

People of all abilities and disabilities using a variety of devices and assistive technology.

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

3 of 25

Market size and buying power

  • Percent of population with disabilities:
    • WHO: more than 1.3 billion people – about 16% of the global population.
    • CDC: 1 in 4 U.S. adults.
  • Spending power of people with disabilities and their families: ~$13 trillion

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

4 of 25

Accessibility laws around the world

  • United States
    • Americans with Disabilities Act
    • Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504 and 508)
    • Affordable Care Act
  • Canada
    • Accessible Canada Act
    • Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities
    • Accessibility for Manitobans Act
  • Europe
    • European Accessibility Act
    • United Kingdom Equality Act 2010

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

5 of 25

Risks of non-compliance

  • Fines
    • AODA: up to $100,000 (corporations) or �$50,000 (individuals) per day
    • EAA: €5,000 to €500,000
  • Loss of federal funding or tax breaks
  • Jail time
  • Lawsuits

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

6 of 25

Lawsuits in the US

4,605 lawsuits in 2023

82% eCommerce�7% Food Service

933 were against businesses using an accessibility overlay or widget.

Top states: NY, CA, FL

Usablenet

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

7 of 25

Cost of an accessibility lawsuit

Small Business: $19,000 - $45,000

  • $5,000-$15,000 plaintiff’s law firm fees
  • $5,000 your defense attorney fees
  • $5,000-$20,000 website audit and remediation
  • $4,000 minimum damages in California

Big Business: $350,000+�Real-world legal fee numbers from an accessibility-related lawsuit �(not including settlement fees).

Kris Rivenburgh, Deque

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

8 of 25

Benefits of accessibility

Code and content optimizations that improve experience for everyone.

  • Better SEO and greater reach
  • Increased conversions
  • Reduced operational costs
  • Live your organizational values

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

9 of 25

Case study:

Accessibility remediation (no significant design or content changes).

+15.1%

+1 min

​

average session duration

unique users

+1.7%

Apply Online �page views

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

10 of 25

Case study:

Accessibility-first redesign and rebuild.

+300%

+40%

​

average session duration

page views

97%

Customer satisfaction

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

11 of 25

Is your website accessible?

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

12 of 25

Where problems come from

  • Inaccessible branding
  • Incorrectly entered content
  • Code:
    • Theme
    • Plugins
    • Third-party embeds

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

13 of 25

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

  • Internationally agreed upon testable standards created by volunteers in the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
  • Current version is 2.2. Most laws require a minimum of 2.1 conformance.
  • Levels of conformance:
    • A (lowest)
    • AA (best practice, legally required)
    • AAA (highest)

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

14 of 25

How to test for accessibility

  1. Run an automated bulk scanning tool like Accessibility Checker
  2. Manually test a representative page of every type (home, archives + singles, and any pages with special features):
    1. With keyboard only
    2. With a screen reader
    3. With OS reduced motion on
    4. Zoomed to 200% and 400%
  3. Bonus: bring in screen reader users �or other users with disabilities.

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

15 of 25

Testing resources

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

16 of 25

Approach to Remediation

  1. Set up a foundation for making accessibility improvements and maintaining the site over time.
  2. Outline remediation process.

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

17 of 25

Approach to Remediation

  • Identify priorities:
    1. Global elements
    2. Critical blockers
    3. Pages where conversions happen
    4. High-traffic pages
  • Strategically roll out fixes over time.

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

18 of 25

Ensuring ongoing accessibility

  • Establish accessibility governance policies and practices.
    • Who is responsible?
    • How restrictive of publishing?
    • What happens if problems go live?
  • Test at regular intervals, including with users of assistive technology.
  • Offer regular training opportunities.
  • Restrict editing with appropriate user roles.

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

19 of 25

Don’t only be reactive

Running a monthly or weekly scan or performing manual audits of live content, then fixing problems found is reactive remediation.

  • There may be inaccessible content published to the web before you can fix it.
  • Remediation is always more costly than doing things right the first time.

Include accessibility tools in your WordPress site for proactive accessibility.

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

20 of 25

Beware of “quick fix” AI solutions

  • Accessibility professionals do not recommend the use of tools that promise to make websites accessible with a single line of code, such as:
    • AccessiBe
    • UserWay
    • Accessibility Enabler
    • Equalweb Accessibility
  • Read the fine print: they don’t guarantee 100% compliance or accessibility.
  • Increasing number of lawsuits against websites using these types of tools. See example (PDF)

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

21 of 25

Partner with a subject matter expert

Is memorizing WCAG the best use of your time?

Find a partner who can provide:

  • Accessibility, UX, and governance expertise.
  • User testing with real-world users of assistive technology.
  • Reports that show how to prioritize fixes and provide CMS-specific recommendations.
  • Guidance on when to remediate versus rebuild.

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

22 of 25

Building Enterprise WordPress Solutions

Multidots is a globally recognized WordPress development agency. Trusted by Fortune 500 companies and global organizations, Multidots leads the way in scalable, secure, and performant WordPress solutions.

​

​

Trusted by:

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

23 of 25

About Equalize Digital

Your WordPress Accessibility Partner

We’re a mission-driven organization and corporate member of the IAAP, focused on WordPress accessibility. Specialties include audits, remediation, user testing, and training. Winner of a 2023 Gaady Award.

​

Trusted by:

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

24 of 25

Start your accessibility journey

$997 Micro Audit

  • Manual audit of your header, footer, and home page content.
  • Call to discuss findings and recommendations.
  • 20% discount on Accessibility Checker Pro with code CompetitiveEdge

Book a micro audit

‘Three for Free’ Consultation

Get expert insights on your website!

  • 1-on-1 call with one of our experts to discuss your website.
  • Three hours of free strategy, accessibility fixes, design, or development services.

Book a free consulting call

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com

25 of 25

Thank you!

Feel free to follow up with us if you have any questions.

Amber Hinds

amber@equalizedigital.com

linkedin.com/in/amberhinds

@HeyAmberHinds�

​

https://equalizedigital.com

Jeremy Fremont

jeremy@multidots.com

linkedin.com/in/jeremyfremont

@Multidots�

​

https://multidots.com

EqualizeDigital.com | Multidots.com