Building ADA-Compliant Municipal Websites: Best Practices for Meeting Accessibility Guidelines

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights law that protects the rights of people with disabilities and helps ensure they have equal access to services and opportunities.

This extends to the internet too — and as a result, government agencies must have ADA-compliant municipal websites that everyone can access.

In this ADA compliance guide, we’ll share common accessibility barriers, legal risks of non-compliance, and inclusive website design tips to ensure that everyone in your community can stay informed and engaged.

What is ADA Compliance and Why Does it Matter?

Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a final rule on web-based accessibility standards, clarifying what agencies needed to do to remain compliant.

These guidelines are meant to ensure that everyone, including the 28.7% of adults in the U.S. who have a disability, is able to access the information on government web pages, taking into account alt text for images, color contrast issues, keyboard navigation, and more.

Many public entities have until 2026 to comply, and failure to do so can result in lawsuits and costly fees. Perhaps more importantly, it can weaken communities. In a 2023 CivicPlus® study, 82% of residents said that transparency and access to administrative decisions are essential, and people who engage with their city’s website more than once a month exhibit nearly five times higher trust in their officials.

If residents are unable to use their local government’s website due to accessibility issues, trust and engagement can plummet, and it’s much more difficult for neighborhoods to maintain close-knit connections.

RELATED READ: How to Get Buy-In for Web Accessibility

POUR Principles of Web Design and Common Accessibility Barriers

To ensure the internet remains fully accessible to people with disabilities, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) developed the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) — a set of standards categorized by the core POUR principles of web design: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. This means that to be fully accessible, information must be easy to find and websites must be usable, clear, and capable of supporting assistive technologies.

Unfortunately, compliance issues are common. A 2024 study showed that across one million home pages, there were about 56.8 million accessibility errors detected, or about 56.8 per page. This is up 13.6% from 2023.

Many times, these issues have simple fixes. For example, they might lack text alternatives for images, have poor color contrast, or inaccessible navigation. In addition, complex content types, such as portable document formats (PDFs) and integration of third-party tools can make it especially complicated for municipal websites to remain fully accessible.

RELATED READ: The Complete ADA Compliance Checklist for 2025

Municipal Website Best Practices: 8 Steps to Achieve Continuous ADA Compliance

Taking a strategic approach to accessibility can help your website maintain legal compliance. Here are several municipal website best practices to keep in mind:

1. Include Alt Text for Images: People who are visually impaired often use screen readers to navigate the internet. By using alternate text for images, screen readers can dictate what’s on the page. Alt text for audio is critical for people with hearing impairments, too.
2. Use Headings and Titles Strategically for User Navigation: Headings and titles help break up content and make your website easier to navigate with a screen reader. Don’t use them decoratively, as this can interrupt the user experience and cause confusion for residents with vision impairments.
3. Be Thoughtful About Text: Consider how you format information; large chunks of text can be difficult to read.
4. Ensure Proper Data Table Usage: Do not use data tables for page layouts, as they’re difficult for assistive technology to interpret. If tables are necessary for displaying information, be sure to use proper HTML markup.
5. Avoid Issues With Color: If the color of text doesn’t contrast with its background, people might have trouble reading it. All text should have a ratio of 4.5:1 to remain legible. In addition, don’t use color to differentiate information, as this can also create readability issues for people with low vision or blindness.
6. Focus on Navigability: Some people with disabilities rely on a keyboard to navigate websites. Create an intuitive user experience by keeping information in consistent locations and remember that screen readers move from top to bottom.
7. Use PDFs Remediation: Screen readers cannot easily read image-based formats like unremediated PDFs, making them a source of frustration for people with visual impairments. Use PDF remediation to make them accessible or avoid using PDFs altogether.
8. Remember to Include “Skip Navigation”: Screen readers will dictate to users exactly what a website says. Empower people who rely on this technology to skip the navigation menu and go directly to the content.

RELATED READ: How Local Governments Build Trust Through Accessibility

Benefits of ADA Compliance for Communities

In a 2024 CivicPlus survey, 77% of respondents said that improving web accessibility would benefit their entire community, and for many people, this is personal. About 41% of respondents said that they have a disability or they know someone who does, and 19% added that they use a state or local government website or mobile application weekly — a reminder of how important it is to ensure those channels are accessible to everyone. After all, when everyone is able to navigate websites with ease, they can become more involved with their local government — and with their community. In addition, by making it easier for people to self-service their own needs online, public officials have more time to focus on other priorities.

In the city of Parkland, Florida, fixing online accessibility issues was critical, as so many residents rely on the internet for information about local events. “Our Parkland Day page gets a lot of hits leading up to the event because we direct all the residents to go there for information. So, the website has been a great source of information for Parkland residents,” said digital media and communications specialist Melissa VanKannel. “Most people don’t really do billboards or signs or print ads. It’s more digital. Everyone has an iPhone or smartphone. Kids have one; it’s the new normal; that’s how people find information now, on the web, online.”

Nicholas Kruger, a digital product manager for the city of Orlando, Florida, added that web accessibility compliance is “the bare minimum first rung toward inclusion.” He added that it’s important to continually account for new technologies and be aware of any potential compliance issues that may come with them. “We are constantly checking our website,” he said. “[The] CivicPlus Web Accessibility [tool] is helping us make sure that any technology we bring under our umbrella meets compliance. It also helps me for sites that we own and evaluate vendors who may not understand that ADA compliance is not just alt texts.”

Building Trust Through Accessibility: ADA Resources for Web Design

Understanding the importance of digital accessibility is one thing; ensuring that every resident in your community can navigate your website is another.

The CivicPlus Web Accessibility Checker can help you detect broken links, typos, and other errors — and more importantly, it offers remediation recommendations to help you boost engagement and trust. In addition, you’ll be able to enhance the website’s performance and user experience, all while ensuring equitable access to online resources.

For additional information, get the Local Government Website Accessibility Checklist, which can help you understand what your agency needs to do to boost accessibility and maintain legal compliance.

If you haven’t prioritized accessibility yet, it’s time to start — and CivicPlus can help. Give us a call today, and let’s transform your website (and your community) together.