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by August 05, 2020

How can I improve my real estate website accessibility for people with disabilities?

Congratulations on a desire to help make the world better for millions of people with disabilities! Here is a quick guide to how Virtual Results can help and additional background on this topic.

How Virtual Results Can Help?

  • Complimentary: 45-Minute consultation, education, and QA session.
  • Complimentary: 2-hour website audit for VR Members.
  • Complimentary: Creation and installation of a customized website Accessibility Statement on your website.
  • Complimentary: WP Accessibility software installed/configured 
  • Complimentary: Accessibility website content: Publish our custom content on your site to raise awareness on this important issue and call for legislation, and MLS implementation.
  • Complimentary: Optional website widget installed sitewide offering users control over font size and other items affecting accessibility.
  • Complimentary: Accessibility Action Checklist outlining accessibility efforts completed and ongoing, on your behalf.
  • PAID OPTION: Upgraded website widget (see above) enabling AI-powered automatic remediation of numerous accessibility items. (ie., Image identification and tagging). The vendor claims compliance of 60-90%  can be achieved, based on the subscription level selected. *Compliance not guaranteed by any Vendors.

FAQ:

  1. Is my website ADA Accessible?
    Virtual Results brings to bear many years of compliance testing and improvement in the creation and maintenance of all our websites. We utilize best practices whenever possible.
  2. Can you guarantee my website is ADA Accessible?
    No.

The Background:

Virtual Results has been studying, evaluating, and improving website accessibility for disabled people for more than 5 years.

In recent years, this important topic has risen to prominence as a result of numerous lawsuits in which disabled people sued website owners, claiming rights violations as a result of their inability to fully use the websites. The most prominent case involved a lawsuit against Dominos Pizza that was ultimately heard before the U.S. Supreme Court. The court ruled against Dominos Pizza and is still being challenged.

In recent years, numerous real estate website owners have received demand letters from lawyers representing disabled people. These events have made the news and caused many brokerages to send alerts to their real estate agents.

Some of the results have been positive, website owners have become aware of this important issue and some have made changes to their website in order to increase accessibility. However, a great deal of confusion and frustration have also resulted. Part of the issue is that it’s very easy for a brokerage or news article to recommend website owners ensure accessibility. Accessibility, however, is best defined as a spectrum (more or less accessible). But it’s often mistakenly assumed to be a clear demarcation, a yes or no.

Currently, the legislation doesn’t exist to protect website owners by defining exact accessibility standards. (The National Association of Realtors has been pressing the Justice Department on this for years). Currently, the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group of W3C provides the most recognized standards and recommendations to website owners.

Additional Resources: