Does ADA apply to your website? Short answer: yes.
Most US business websites are subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act. Here's why, what triggers liability, and what to do about it.
If you run a business that serves the public — and your business has a website — the Americans with Disabilities Act almost certainly applies to that website. This is not a hypothetical. Over 4,600 ADA web accessibility lawsuits were filed in 2023 alone, and the number is climbing every year.
The legal basis in one paragraph
ADA Title III prohibits discrimination "on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation" (42 U.S.C. § 12182). Federal courts have repeatedly extended this to commercial websites — most influentially in Robles v. Domino's Pizza (9th Circuit, 2019), where the court ruled Domino's website and app were subject to the ADA because they offered the same goods and services as Domino's physical restaurants.
Who is exposed
You are exposed if any of these are true:
- You have a physical storefront in the US and a website (under the 9th Circuit's "nexus" requirement)
- Your customers can buy, book, schedule, or interact with you online (under the 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th, and 11th Circuit case law)
- Your business serves customers in California, New York, or any state with its own accessibility statute
Why California is the highest-risk state
California's Unruh Civil Rights Act layers $4,000 in statutory damages on top of any ADA violation — per violation, per visit. A non-compliant site visited 50 times by a plaintiff (real cases have alleged exactly this) is $200,000 in statutory damages before attorney's fees. California courts also do not require a physical "nexus" — pure e-commerce sites are exposed.
What "compliant" actually means
Courts have consistently treated WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the technical standard. The DOJ's 2024 Final Rule for Title II (government entities) explicitly codified WCAG 2.1 AA, and the Title III private-business rule is forthcoming. In practice: if your site passes WCAG 2.1 AA, you have a strong defense. If it doesn't, you're a sitting duck for the next demand letter.
The cheapest defense is a free scan
Before lawyers, before remediation budgets, the first step is knowing where you stand. Run a free instant scan on our homepage — it takes 10 seconds and tells you within ~50% accuracy whether your site is exposed. If the result is anything below 90, you have real risk to mitigate.
Common myths
"My website doesn't sell anything, so the ADA doesn't apply." Wrong in most circuits. Information-only sites that promote a public-accommodation business have been held liable.
"We have an accessibility widget." Widgets do not establish ADA compliance. The DOJ has explicitly warned that overlays are insufficient. Several plaintiff firms specifically target sites with widgets as easy wins.
"We're a small business." ADA Title III applies to any business that operates a place of public accommodation, regardless of revenue. There is no small-business exemption.
What to do this week
- Run an automated scan (from the homepage)
- Read the compliance guide so you know what every WCAG criterion means in plain English
- If your score is below 85, request a manual audit — automated tools catch only ~40% of real violations
Don't wait for the demand letter.