Did you know that over 5,000 ADA-related lawsuits were filed in 2025 alone against companies with inaccessible websites? That number is not just a statistic; it's a wake-up call for every founder, especially in the early stages. I’ve been in the trenches, building companies from the ground up, and I can tell you that ignoring website accessibility is one of the most expensive mistakes you can make. This isn’t just about avoiding legal trouble. It’s about building a better product and a better company.
I remember back in the early days of MovieLaLa, we were so focused on growth and features that accessibility was an afterthought. We were a small team, moving at a breakneck pace, and the legalities of ADA compliance seemed like a problem for “later.” That was a mistake. A big one. We eventually had to scramble to fix our accessibility issues, which cost us a lot more time and money than if we had just built it in from the start. This is the guide I wish I had back then.
What Exactly is ADA Compliance for Websites?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities. While the law was passed in 1990, long before the internet as we know it, courts have repeatedly ruled that the ADA applies to websites. This means your website needs to be accessible to people with disabilities, including those who are blind, deaf, or have motor impairments.
Think about it this way: if your physical store had a sign that said “no wheelchairs allowed,” you’d be in big trouble. An inaccessible website is the digital equivalent of that sign. It’s a barrier that prevents a significant portion of the population from accessing your product or service.
Why Every Founder Needs to Care About This. Yesterday.
I get it. As a founder, you have a million things on your plate. You’re trying to build a product, find product-market fit, and raise capital. So why should you care about website accessibility? Here’s why:
The Legal Hammer is Coming Down Harder
The number of ADA-related lawsuits is exploding. It’s not just the big corporations getting sued anymore. Startups are increasingly becoming targets. And these lawsuits are expensive. We’re talking tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees and settlements, not to mention the time and distraction from building your business. And here’s a kicker: a 2025 report found that over 22% of lawsuits targeted websites that had those “accessibility widgets” or overlays installed. So, no, a simple plugin isn’t a magic bullet.
You’re Leaving Money on the Table
Globally, 1.3 billion people live with some form of disability. That’s a massive market that you’re ignoring if your website isn’t accessible. These are customers with purchasing power who want to use your product. By making your website accessible, you’re not just doing the right thing; you’re also expanding your addressable market. It’s just good business.
Better SEO and a Stronger Brand
Google and other search engines love accessible websites. Many of the best practices for accessibility, like using alt text for images and having a clear site structure, are also great for SEO. So, by making your site accessible, you’re also improving your search rankings. Beyond that, building an inclusive product from day one sends a powerful message about your company’s values. It shows that you care about all of your users, and that builds a stronger, more loyal customer base.
Your Actionable Roadmap to Accessibility
So, where do you start? Here’s a no-nonsense, founder-focused guide to making your website accessible. No legal jargon, just actionable steps.
1. Keyboard is King
Can you use your entire website with just a keyboard? Try it. Unplug your mouse and see if you can navigate through all the links, buttons, and forms. If you can’t, then people who rely on screen readers or have motor impairments can’t either. This is one of the most fundamental and important aspects of web accessibility.
2. Alt Text is Not Optional
Every image on your website needs to have descriptive alt text. This is the text that a screen reader will read aloud to a user who is blind. Don’t just stuff keywords in there. Describe the image as if you were describing it to someone over the phone. If the image is purely decorative, you can use an empty alt attribute (alt=””).
3. Use Your HTML Wisely
Semantic HTML is your best friend. Use the right HTML tags for the right job. Use <h1> for your main heading, <h2> for subheadings, <p> for paragraphs, and <ul> or <ol> for lists. This gives your website a clear structure that screen readers can understand. Don’t just use <div> for everything and style it to look like a button. Use a <button> element.
4. Don’t Make Your Users Squint
Choose readable fonts and make sure your color contrast is high enough. There are plenty of free tools online that can check your color contrast for you. A good rule of thumb is to have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text. And for the love of all that is holy, don’t use light gray text on a white background.
5. Forms That Don’t Frustrate
Make sure all of your form fields have clear labels. Use the <label> tag and associate it with the correct input field. This is crucial for screen reader users to understand what information they need to enter. And please, make your error messages clear and easy to understand.
6. Ditch the Overlays
I mentioned this before, but it’s worth repeating. Those accessibility widgets or overlays that promise to make your site compliant with one line of code are a sham. They don’t work, and they can actually make your site less accessible. Even worse, they can give you a false sense of security while still leaving you open to lawsuits. Do the work. There are no shortcuts.
My Two Cents from the Trenches
At RemoteTeam, we were building a product for a global audience from day one. We knew that accessibility had to be a core part of our product. We didn’t have a big budget, but we made it a priority. We trained our developers on accessibility best practices, and we made it a part of our design and QA process. It wasn’t always easy, but it was worth it. We built a better product, and we avoided the legal headaches that so many other startups face.
The Bottom Line
Building an accessible website is not a one-time project. It’s an ongoing commitment. It’s a mindset that needs to be baked into your company culture from the very beginning. Don’t think of it as a burden. Think of it as an opportunity. An opportunity to build a better product, reach a larger audience, and create a more inclusive company. The future of your startup may depend on it.
A Story That Stuck With Me
I remember a specific incident from my time at MovieLaLa that really drove home the importance of accessibility. We received an email from a user who was blind and was trying to use our app with a screen reader. He was a huge movie fan and was excited to use our app to discover new movies. But he couldn’t. Our app was a mess for screen readers. He described the experience as trying to navigate a maze with a blindfold on. That email hit me hard. Here was someone who was passionate about our product, but we had completely failed him. It was a stark reminder that our work has a real impact on people's lives, and that we have a responsibility to make our products accessible to everyone.
The Financial and Legal Fallout of Inaccessibility
Let's talk numbers for a minute. The average cost to defend and settle an ADA lawsuit is between $25,000 and $100,000. And that's just the direct cost. It doesn't include the indirect costs, like the damage to your brand, the loss of customers, and the distraction from your core business. In 2024, a well-known e-commerce startup was hit with a class-action lawsuit that ended up costing them over $1 million in legal fees and settlements. The crazy part is that they could have avoided the whole thing if they had just invested a fraction of that amount in making their website accessible from the start.
And it's not just about lawsuits. Inaccessible websites also have a direct impact on your bottom line. A study by the WebAIM found that over 70% of users with disabilities will abandon a website that is not accessible. That's a huge number of potential customers that you're losing simply because you haven't made your website accessible. The business case for accessibility is clear. It's not just a cost; it's an investment that will pay for itself many times over.
Getting Technical: A Deeper Dive into Accessibility Features
Let's get a bit more granular on the technical side of things. Here are some code examples and more detailed explanations of how to implement some of the key accessibility features we've discussed.
ARIA Roles and Attributes
ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) is a set of attributes you can add to your HTML to make your web applications more accessible. For example, if you have a custom-built dropdown menu, you can use ARIA roles and attributes to make it accessible to screen readers. Here's an example:
<div class="dropdown">
<button aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false">
Select an option
</button>
<ul role="menu">
<li role="menuitem">Option 1</li>
<li role="menuitem">Option 2</li>
<li role="menuitem">Option 3</li>
</ul>
</div>
In this example, the aria-haspopup attribute tells the screen reader that the button opens a menu, and the aria-expanded attribute tells the screen reader whether the menu is open or closed. The role="menu" and role="menuitem" attributes tell the screen reader that this is a menu and these are menu items.
Focus Management
When you open a modal dialog, you need to make sure that the focus is trapped inside the modal. This means that the user should not be able to tab to elements outside of the modal. You can do this with a bit of JavaScript. Here's a simplified example:
const modal = document.querySelector('.modal');
const focusableElements = modal.querySelectorAll('button, [href], input, select, textarea, [tabindex]:not([tabindex="-1"])');
const firstFocusableElement = focusableElements[0];
const lastFocusableElement = focusableElements[focusableElements.length - 1];
function trapFocus(e) {
let isTabPressed = e.key === 'Tab' || e.keyCode === 9;
if (!isTabPressed) {
return;
}
if (e.shiftKey) { // if shift key pressed for shift + tab combination
if (document.activeElement === firstFocusableElement) {
lastFocusableElement.focus(); // add focus for the last focusable element
e.preventDefault();
}
} else { // if tab key is pressed
if (document.activeElement === lastFocusableElement) { // if focused has reached to last focusable element then focus first focusable element after pressing tab
firstFocusableElement.focus(); // add focus for the first focusable element
e.preventDefault();
}
}
}
document.addEventListener('keydown', trapFocus);
This is a simplified example, but it gives you an idea of how you can manage focus in your web applications.
Building an Accessibility-First Culture
Making your website accessible is not just a technical task; it's a cultural shift. You need to get buy-in from your entire team, from designers and developers to product managers and marketers. Here are a few tips on how to build an accessibility-first culture in your startup:
- Make it a part of your onboarding process: When you hire new employees, make sure they understand the importance of accessibility and that they are trained on accessibility best practices.
- Integrate it into your design and development process: Don't treat accessibility as an afterthought. Make it a part of your design and development process from the very beginning. This means creating accessible design systems, writing accessible code, and testing for accessibility throughout the development process.
- Appoint an accessibility champion: This is someone on your team who is passionate about accessibility and who can be a resource for the rest of the team. They can help to answer questions, provide guidance, and keep the team accountable.
- Celebrate your wins: When you make progress on accessibility, celebrate it. This will help to keep the team motivated and engaged.
The Journey, Not the Destination
I want to leave you with this final thought: accessibility is a journey, not a destination. You will never be “done” with accessibility. There will always be new technologies, new standards, and new challenges. But that’s okay. The important thing is to make a commitment to accessibility and to continuously improve. Start small, but start now. Your users, your brand, and your bottom line will thank you for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often is this guide updated?
I revisit and update my guides regularly as I learn new things and as the market evolves. The core principles tend to stay stable, but specific tactics and tools get refreshed based on what's working right now.
What if I disagree with some of the advice?
Good. That means you're thinking critically, which is exactly what a good founder should do. Take what resonates, test it, and discard what doesn't work for your specific situation. No advice is universal.
Is this guide based on real experience?
Every recommendation in this guide comes from direct experience, either from building and selling my own companies, or from patterns I've observed across 200+ angel investments. I don't write about things I haven't personally tested.