# whatisADA.com

> Independent accessibility education and implementation resources published by Grow Wild Agency. Use the linked primary sources, scope and update dates when evaluating legal or technical claims.

The site separates legal applicability from technical WCAG conformance. Tools support limited checks or user-entered planning; they do not certify a website or predict litigation. Research-method pages identify their evidence and publication status.

Canonical domain: https://whatisada.com
XML sitemap: https://whatisada.com/sitemap.xml
HTML directory: https://whatisada.com/sitemap

## Resource directory
- [About](https://whatisada.com/about): Learn about whatisADA.com — our mission to make ADA education free, accessible, and accurate. Published by Grow Wild Agency.
- [Accessibility Audit Scope Builder](https://whatisada.com/tools/audit-scope-builder): Document templates, representative URLs, complete processes, test environments and exclusions.
- [Accessibility Audit Scope: What to Include Before You Buy](https://whatisada.com/guides/accessibility-audit-scope): Compare accessibility audit proposals by pages, user journeys, WCAG version, assistive technology testing, deliverables, and retesting. Includes a scope checklist.
- [Accessibility Budget Worksheet](https://whatisada.com/tools/remediation-cost): Use your own quantities, hours, rates and contingency to build a transparent budget estimate.
- [Accessibility Checklist Generator](https://whatisada.com/tools/checklist-generator): Create a starting checklist for your content and technical target. Record progress and review the limits of the selected scope.
- [Accessibility Coverage Guide](https://whatisada.com/tools/exemption-checker): Explore which legal frameworks may require further review based on your organization and activities.
- [Accessibility HTML Scanner](https://whatisada.com/tools/compliance-checker): Fetch a public page and inspect selected accessibility rules in its HTML. Includes a prioritized findings list and clear limits on the checks.
- [Accessibility Readiness Planner](https://whatisada.com/tools/lawsuit-risk-calculator): Mark documented accessibility work and download a practical next-step plan. No lawsuit prediction or settlement estimate.
- [Accessibility Statement](https://whatisada.com/accessibility-statement): whatisADA.com is committed to WCAG 2.2 Level AA conformance. Read our full accessibility statement including testing methods, known limitations, and how to report issues.
- [Accessibility workflows](https://whatisada.com/workflows): 80 practical testing, publishing and operational workflows.
- [Accessible interface patterns](https://whatisada.com/patterns): 40 patterns with implementation guidance and testing examples.
- [ADA & Web Accessibility FAQ (2026)](https://whatisada.com/faq): The definitive ADA website compliance FAQ — Title II IFR extension, WCAG 2.1 AA, lawsuit costs, overlay widgets, exemptions, deadlines, and more. Plain-English answers grounded in current law.
- [ADA & Web Accessibility Glossary](https://whatisada.com/glossary): Comprehensive glossary of ADA, WCAG, and web accessibility terms. Find clear definitions for accessibility concepts, legal terms, technical standards, and more.
- [ADA Compliance & Web Accessibility Guides](https://whatisada.com/guides): Free in-depth guides on ADA compliance, WCAG standards, web accessibility best practices, and digital inclusion. Written for developers, business owners, and legal teams.
- [ADA Compliance by Industry](https://whatisada.com/industries): Industry-specific ADA compliance guides covering regulations, common violations, lawsuit statistics, and actionable checklists for 14 industries.
- [ADA Compliance by Platform](https://whatisada.com/platforms): Whether a CMS or site builder is "ADA compliant" depends on the theme, the plugins, and the content on top of it. Platform-by-platform guides to what each one does and does not handle.
- [ADA Compliance Deadlines: April 2027 & 2028 (DOJ IFR)](https://whatisada.com/deadlines): Compare ADA Title II and HHS Section 504 web accessibility deadlines, the 2026 extensions, and which organizations each rule covers.
- [ADA Compliance News & Analysis](https://whatisada.com/blog): Stay informed on ADA website compliance news, lawsuit roundups, regulatory changes, technical tutorials, and expert analysis.
- [ADA Employment Requirements: What Employers Need to Know](https://whatisada.com/guides/ada-employment-requirements): Learn about ADA employment requirements, including reasonable accommodations, the interactive process, and employer obligations under Title I. Covers hiring, workplace policies, and digital accessibility for employees.
- [ADA Laws & Regulations: Title II, Title III, Section 504/508, EAA, State](https://whatisada.com/laws): Comprehensive reference of ADA federal laws (Title II 2024 rule + April 2026 IFR, Title III + Robles/Winn-Dixie circuit split, Section 504 HHS, Section 508), WCAG standards, state accessibility laws (Unruh, NYCHRL, IL HRA, Florida), EAA, and key court rulings.
- [ADA Requirements for Websites: WCAG 2.1 AA (2026)](https://whatisada.com/requirements): All 50 WCAG 2.1 AA criteria behind ADA website requirements, who must comply, and a plain-English checklist — updated for the April 2026 DOJ rule.
- [ADA Title II Compliance: A Practical Guide for Government Agencies](https://whatisada.com/guides/ada-title-ii-government-compliance-guide): A practical guide for government IT and compliance officers on ADA Title II: the WCAG 2.1 AA deadlines under the April 2026 DOJ Interim Final Rule, self-evaluation and transition plans, VPATs in procurement, and where to start.
- [ADA vs. WCAG vs. Section 508: What's the Difference?](https://whatisada.com/guides/ada-vs-wcag-vs-section-508): Understand the differences between ADA, WCAG, and Section 508. Learn which applies to your organization, how they overlap, and which standard to follow.
- [ADA Website Compliance Statistics (Updated Monthly)](https://whatisada.com/statistics): Every sourced, dated statistic on ADA website lawsuits, WCAG failure rates, settlement costs, and compliance deadlines in one place — updated monthly, every number linked to its primary source.
- [ADA Website Compliance, Explained (2026)](https://whatisada.com/): ADA website compliance in plain English — who the law covers, the WCAG 2.1 AA standard, 2027 deadlines, lawsuit costs, and the six fixes that matter most.
- [ADA Website Exemptions (2026): Who Is Actually Exempt?](https://whatisada.com/exemptions): Most "I think I'm exempt" answers turn out to be "you're covered." The real ADA exemptions: 28 C.F.R. § 35.201 (Title II), Title III religious + private clubs, EAA microenterprise. Decision tree included.
- [ADA Website Guidelines (2026): The Standards That Define Compliance](https://whatisada.com/guidelines): The technical guidelines behind ADA website compliance — WCAG 2.0 / 2.1 / 2.2, Section 508, EN 301 549, and the four POUR principles that organize all of them.
- [ADA Website Lawsuits: Everything You Need to Know (2026)](https://whatisada.com/guides/ada-website-lawsuits): Learn about ADA website lawsuit trends, serial plaintiffs, average settlement costs, and how to respond if your business receives a demand letter in 2026.
- [Alt Text: The Complete Guide](https://whatisada.com/guides/alt-text-guide): Master alt text for web accessibility. Learn when to use descriptive alt text, when to leave it empty, see real-world examples, and avoid common mistakes.
- [Color Contrast Checker](https://whatisada.com/tools/color-contrast-checker): Compare a valid foreground and background color pair against WCAG contrast thresholds.
- [Common Accessibility Barriers Quiz](https://whatisada.com/tools/big-six-quiz): Review six common categories of accessibility barriers and identify topics for further testing.
- [Contact Us](https://whatisada.com/contact): Have a question about ADA compliance, found an error on the site, or want to contribute? Get in touch with the whatisADA.com team.
- [Contribute](https://whatisada.com/contribute): Share your accessibility expertise with thousands of readers. Learn about our guest contributor guidelines, content types, editorial standards, and submission process.
- [Does the ADA Apply to Mobile Apps? Compliance Guide](https://whatisada.com/guides/mobile-app-ada-compliance): Native mobile apps are increasingly treated the same as websites under the ADA. Learn the public-accommodation legal theory, why WCAG 2.1 AA is the practical benchmark for apps, and how VoiceOver, TalkBack, and platform accessibility APIs fit in.
- [Does Your Website Need to Be ADA Compliant?](https://whatisada.com/guides/does-my-website-need-ada-compliance): Who ADA Title II and Title III cover, the current 2027/2028 government deadlines, what WCAG 2.1 AA means in practice, and how to check your own site.
- [Free Accessibility Tools: Testing, Planning and Evidence](https://whatisada.com/tools): Use 12 free accessibility tools for contrast, headings, WCAG criteria, HTML scanning, audit scope, budgets and ACR preparation.
- [Free ADA Website Audit](https://whatisada.com/free-ada-audit): Get a free preliminary WCAG 2.1 AA scan of your website, focused on the WebAIM Big Six failure types, plus a fixed-scope remediation quote from Grow Wild Agency.
- [Grow Wild Agency — ADA Web Accessibility Research](https://whatisada.com/research): Accessibility planning methods from Grow Wild Agency: prioritizing repairs, estimating budgets and a clearly labeled proposed overlay study.
- [Heading Structure Validator](https://whatisada.com/tools/heading-validator): Inspect heading markup and review its hierarchy, labels and potential structural problems.
- [How Much Does ADA Website Compliance Cost?](https://whatisada.com/guides/ada-compliance-cost): Understand the real costs of ADA website compliance, from initial audits to remediation and ongoing monitoring, broken down by business size and website type.
- [How to Check If Your Website Is ADA Compliant (Self-Service Guide)](https://whatisada.com/guides/how-to-check-website-ada-compliance): A step-by-step self-check for non-technical site owners: run a free automated scan, test keyboard navigation, try a screen reader, check color contrast, alt text, and form labels. Honest about what this does and doesn't prove.
- [How to Make a Website ADA Compliant: The 7-Step Process (2026)](https://whatisada.com/guides/how-to-make-website-ada-compliant): A practical 7-step process for making a website ADA compliant under WCAG 2.1 Level AA — audit, remediation priorities, manual testing, accessibility statement, and ongoing monitoring.
- [Is WordPress ADA Compliant? A Builder's Guide](https://whatisada.com/platforms/wordpress-ada-compliance): Whether WordPress core, your theme, your plugins, or your content decides accessibility, what 'accessibility-ready' really covers, and how to check your site.
- [Keyboard Accessibility: Building a Mouse-Free Web](https://whatisada.com/guides/keyboard-accessibility): Learn how to build keyboard-accessible websites with proper tab order, visible focus indicators, skip navigation, and focus trapping for modal dialogs.
- [PDF Accessibility: How to Make PDFs ADA/WCAG Compliant](https://whatisada.com/guides/pdf-accessibility): A practical guide to PDF accessibility: why PDFs are commonly inaccessible, what tagged PDF and the PDF/UA standard require, how to check a PDF's accessibility, and a step-by-step remediation workflow for ADA and Section 508 compliance.
- [Section 508 vs ADA: The Definitive Comparison (2026)](https://whatisada.com/section-508-vs-ada): Compare federal ICT requirements under Section 508 with ADA Titles II and III. Understand funding, procurement, technical standards and overlapping obligations.
- [Shopify ADA Compliance: Test the Complete Purchase Journey](https://whatisada.com/platforms/shopify-ada-compliance): Check your Shopify theme, product options, apps, cart, and checkout. Use this practical audit scope to assign fixes and retest the customer journey.
- [Target Size Explorer](https://whatisada.com/tools/target-size-checker): Explore target dimensions against WCAG size thresholds, with spacing and exception limits explained.
- [The ADA Web Audit Process: What a Good Audit Looks Like (2026)](https://whatisada.com/guides/ada-audit-process): A practical breakdown of the ADA web audit process. Tooling, methodology, manual vs automated coverage, deliverables, and what to demand from any vendor proposing to audit your site.
- [The Complete WCAG 2.2 Checklist](https://whatisada.com/guides/wcag-2-2-checklist): A plain-English checklist of all WCAG 2.2 Level A and AA success criteria organized by POUR principle. Understand every requirement for web accessibility.
- [VPAT and ACR Readiness Planner](https://whatisada.com/tools/vpat-readiness): Organize product identity, reporting requirements and evaluation evidence before preparing an ACR.
- [WCAG and ADA: How a W3C Spec Became U.S. Law (2026)](https://whatisada.com/wcag-and-ada): WCAG is a W3C technical specification. The ADA is a U.S. civil rights statute. Here is exactly how WCAG 2.1 Level AA became the legal benchmark courts and the DOJ apply for ADA web accessibility.
- [WCAG criterion reference](https://whatisada.com/wcag): All 86 active WCAG 2.2 criteria and the legacy Parsing reference.
- [WCAG Quick Reference](https://whatisada.com/tools/wcag-quick-reference): Search criteria by version, principle and level, then open examples and testing worksheets.
- [Web Accessibility & the ADA: How They Relate (2026)](https://whatisada.com/web-accessibility-and-ada): Web accessibility is the practice of building sites everyone can use; the ADA is the U.S. law that makes much of it mandatory. Here is exactly how the two fit together — and what to build.
- [Webflow ADA Compliance: A Practical Site Audit Guide](https://whatisada.com/platforms/webflow-ada-compliance): Plan a Webflow accessibility review covering CMS content, shared components, forms, menus, motion, and embeds, with clear ownership and retesting.
- [Weekly Accessibility Digest — Free Newsletter](https://whatisada.com/newsletter): Stay current on ADA compliance, web accessibility, and WCAG standards. One weekly email covering lawsuits, deadlines, and practical fixes — no spam.
- [What Is a VPAT? Accessibility Conformance Reports Explained](https://whatisada.com/guides/vpat-guide): A practical guide to VPATs (Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates) and Accessibility Conformance Reports: the four editions, how conformance levels are scored, who requests them, and why a vendor-completed VPAT is not proof of an independent accessibility audit.
- [What Is ADA Compliance? The Complete Guide](https://whatisada.com/guides/what-is-ada-compliance): Learn what ADA compliance means for websites, apps, and digital content. Covers legal requirements, WCAG standards, and practical steps to become compliant.
- [What Is WCAG? Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Explained](https://whatisada.com/guides/what-is-wcag): Learn what WCAG is, how the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines work, the POUR principles, conformance levels A through AAA, and how WCAG relates to ADA law.
- [Why Accessibility Overlay Widgets Don't Work — and Why the FTC Fined accessiBe $1M](https://whatisada.com/guides/overlay-widgets-warning): The FTC fined accessiBe $1 million in April 2025 for falsely claiming its overlay made sites WCAG-compliant. 22.64% of sued sites had an overlay installed. Here is why overlays fail and what to do instead.

## Implementation libraries
- [WCAG reference](https://whatisada.com/wcag): 86 active WCAG 2.2 criteria plus legacy Parsing guidance, with original examples and testing worksheets.
- [Accessible interface patterns](https://whatisada.com/patterns): 40 component patterns with primary sources and testing guidance.
- [Accessibility workflows](https://whatisada.com/workflows): 80 focused testing, publishing and operational tasks.

Expanded summaries and reference guidance: https://whatisada.com/llms-full.txt

## Attribution and support
Published by Grow Wild Agency: https://growwildagency.com/
About: https://whatisada.com/about
Accessibility feedback: https://whatisada.com/accessibility-statement
General information, not legal advice. These text files support discovery and do not guarantee inclusion in search or AI answers.