Big (Brand Innovation Group) recently launched a redesigned
version of their website. The new website – at gotobig.com – has a greater emphasis on web
accessibility for people with disabilities.
While the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been around since 1990, website compliance
has not been a top priority for lawmakers or companies. Experts expect that to change in April
2016, when the U.S. Department of Justice rolls out specific compliance guidelines (WCAG Level AA
Compliance) for the visually impaired. The initial rulings will affect state and local government
websites, but are likely to impact many other sites within two years.
“We’ve already been approached by companies who have received legal notifications and are
looking for help meeting the WCAG 2.0 and Section 508 specifications, “says Ben Gregory, Director
of Strategy at Big. “We redesigned our site to test and demonstrate the process. We’ve also found
that following the guidelines improved our Search Engine Optimization (SEO). For companies,
there are a lot of good reasons to start the process now, rather than wait for it to become law.”
To test the ADA accessibility and functionality of their redesigned website, the Big team used
digital accessibility evaluation tools and Google analytics.
“We follow the same advice we give to clients,” said Chad Stuckey, Chief Creative Officer at Big.
“Smart analytics let us keep an eye on how people engage with our site. We constantly measure
how well each page meets a specific goal or measures against a call to action. If we see a problem,
we test a new solution. When we find a better way to engage our audience, we make those
changes across the entire site.”