THE IMPORTANCE OF SECTION 508 WEBSITE COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATION

Section 508 Website Compliance Certification

Section 508 website compliance certification summarizes a website's level of compliance on a specific date in accordance with Section 508 standards or the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Statement of Accessibility, Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) Statement, and WCAG Conformance Claim are the three types of certification that subsist.

A website's Statement of Accessibility (SoA) is a written document that summarizes the features of the website as well as the achieved levels of compliance as determined through review of both an illustrative sample of the website and a random sample of the website's pages. A SoA includes a list of the website's pages, sections of the pages, and the date the website 508 compliance checker was run on the website. Even if the website's 508 compliance checker is not performed on every page, SoAs provide reasonable confidence in the website's conformance with the accessibility standards and guidelines.

The VPAT Statement of a website reveals the level of accessibility as documented by the VPAT for the website. Federal government departments and agencies, and the procurement departments of various accessibility-conscious organizations use the statement to gauge vendor websites’ levels of accessibility.

The WCAG Conformance Claim of a website confirms that it meets the WCAG 2.0 or 2.1 success criteria at the A, AA, or AAA compliance level. When it is determined that all content on a website complies with the WCAG success criteria, a conformance claim is raised. The website 508 compliance checker, which is performed prior to filing the WCAG claim, includes a thorough exploration of every page of the website that will be included in the conformance claim. While the claim may be more expensive than other types of section 508 website compliance certifications, it is by far the most thorough type of audit for the delivery of a section 508 compliance website.

The Importance of Section 508 Website Compliance Certification

Section 508 website compliance certification is significant because it demonstrates your commitment to accessibility while also providing information to users with disabilities so that they can make informed decisions about your products and services. This allows you to expand your market pool and increase customer loyalty.

Section 508 website certification also assists you in understanding the level of accessibility of your website, allowing you to identify any accessibility barriers that exist and work to eliminate them in order to improve equal access to the site. It also enables you to cater to the ever-growing market of baby boomers, many of whom suffer from normal vision degradation, improve the usability of your website for all users, and expand your business opportunities with the federal government and its agencies. Section 508 website compliance certification also reduces your legal exposure to potential lawsuits and costly claims associated with non-compliance.

Getting Section 508 Website Compliance Certification

Section 508 website compliance website certification is simple to obtain by searching for, downloading, and filling out the 508 compliant website templates that are widely available on the Internet. When filling out the templates, it is recommended that you follow the following critical steps:

• Define the scope of the section 508 website compliance certification you want. This should include a list of all sites and sub-sites to be evaluated, as well as the minimum set of browsers and assistive technology that the website will support.
• Investigate the target website to learn about the various types of templates, functions, and content. The various technologies used on the website, such as JavaScript, Flash, and so on, should also be documented.
• Obtain a representative sample of the website's pages for the audit.
• Examine the selected webpages for any barriers to accessibility, such as limitations in the use of assistive technologies and browsers.
• Document the review's findings, as well as detailed recommendations for removing any identified barriers to access.
• Follow the recommendations for resolving the accessibility issues identified by the audit.
• Conduct quality assurance testing to ensure that the audit's recommendations have been implemented and that no new barriers to accessibility have been created.
• Conduct a final check of the website to ensure that no accessibility issues have been overlooked.