By: Mia Tripi and Aaron Stern
Until you can’t access the information you need, website accessibility may not be top of mind.
But when someone can’t pay a utility bill, find a public meeting agenda, register a child for school, or apply for a permit because a website isn’t usable, accessibility becomes the only thing that matters.
In those moments, a website does more than deliver information. It shapes trust. When a site is easy to use, users feel considered and valued. A site that creates barriers can leave people frustrated, excluded, and less confident in the institution they’re trying to reach.
That’s always been true, for businesses and for public entities. Now, online accessibility is a federal requirement for state and local governments — including cities, villages, counties, school districts, public colleges, technical colleges, and special district governments.
Those public entities must ensure their websites and mobile applications meet updated accessibility standards under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Larger communities (those serving populations of 50,000 or more) must comply by April 26, 2027. Smaller communities, school districts, and special district governments have until April 26, 2028. Achieving compliance takes time. The organizations that start now will have the opportunity to make thoughtful improvements instead of racing to meet a regulatory deadline.
Accessibility Is Good Public Service
Roughly one in five Americans lives with a disability, and many more benefit from accessibility features like captions, larger text, higher contrast, or keyboard navigation.
Designing online platforms with accessibility in mind makes it easier for everyone to find information and complete tasks, whether they’re using assistive technology, accessing a website from a mobile device, or simply trying to navigate quickly.
The impact extends beyond usability. According to CivicPlus’ Digital Trends for Government in 2026, 88% of residents who find their local government website easy to navigate report higher trust in their local officials. Among those who find it difficult to use, that number drops to 43%.
For public entities, accessibility isn’t simply about checking a compliance box. It’s about making sure every resident can engage with government services confidently and independently.
What Online Accessibility Looks Like in Practice
The updated standards require websites to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA, the internationally recognized standard for accessible digital content.
For residents, that means they should be able to:
- Read content with sufficient color contrast and clear organization.
- Navigate pages using a keyboard or assistive technology—not just a mouse.
- Understand where links and buttons will take them.
- Access captions for videos and transcripts for audio.
- Use forms and interactive features without unnecessary barriers.
- Read PDFs and other documents with screen readers.
Accessibility also extends to social media. Images should include alternative text, videos should include captions, and important information should never exist only as text embedded in a graphic.
The Best Place to Start
Many organizations simply don’t know where they stand today. That’s why an accessibility assessment is the best first step.
Our free website accessibility scan evaluates your site against WCAG 2.1 Level AA and provides a plain-language report highlighting common accessibility issues on your core pages.
From there, organizations can prioritize the improvements that make the biggest difference:
- Address site-wide template issues such as navigation, heading structure, and color contrast.
- Focus next on the pages residents use most, including bill payment, permits, enrollment, agendas, and other high-traffic services.
- Review PDFs and downloadable documents, which are among the most common sources of accessibility problems.
- Complete a manual accessibility review to identify issues automated tools can’t detect.
The goal isn’t simply to eliminate errors. It’s to create a digital experience that everyone can use.
Looking Beyond Compliance
Website accessibility isn’t a one-time project. Every new agenda, meeting packet, photograph, video, and PDF should be created with accessibility in mind. Training the team and building those practices into everyday processes makes long-term compliance significantly easier while improving the experience for residents.
The upcoming ADA deadlines make accessibility an immediate priority for public entities. But the larger opportunity is to strengthen trust by making information and services available to everyone, regardless of ability.
Organizations that begin this work now won’t just be better prepared for compliance. They’ll be better equipped to serve the people who rely on them every day.
