If you are the owner of an e-commerce business website, then you must ensure that you have done everything possible to help you ensure that you can get the maximum benefits possible for your e-commerce website. One of the most crucial things to look into when you are the owner of a business website is to ensure that you are following all the legal requirements. Section 508 is one of the most important legal requirements in the United States for every website. It is basically a legal requirement that will ensure that sites are disabled friendly and that they have features and tools which can help them to be accessed by disabled people too. In this article, you will learn about why you should get your e-commerce website to become Section 508 compliant.
Why Section 508?
Section 508 is a legal rule which necessitates all websites to be disabled friendly. The ADA stipulates the internet as a public place where knowledge is shared between people. As per the law, all the public places in the United States need to be such that everyone can easily access them and that people should not be discriminated against. Thus, this makes the internet a place where people, of every race, color, creed, and even disabilities, should be able to freely access. Business websites can choose not to make their websites.
Section 508 compliant and they cannot be prosecuted for this. But it is not the right thing to do as it will end up in discriminating disabled people and not allowing or helping them to access certain websites which may have information that they require. Business websites which are working with Government contracts will, however, need to ensure that their websites are Section 508 compliant as that will make them eligible for working on government work.
There are certain specific rules regarding how websites can be made Section 508 compliant. Like:
- Video files: Ensure that video files have subtitles that help deaf people to understand what is being said.
- Picture files: Picture files need to have detailed descriptions of the subject matter of the photo so that people who are visually impaired can be able to understand what is being conveyed in the picture.
- Textual files: There must be text to speech tools enabled, which can help in ensuring that people who are visually impaired can understand what is being conveyed.
Why must e-commerce business owners have their websites to become Section 508?
As the owner of an e-commerce venture, you must always try to ensure two main things:
- Customer satisfaction
- Increase the customer base to increase your revenues
When you make your e-commerce business website compliant with Section 508, you will be automatically doing both of these things. You will be able to showcase to the world that you are a concerned and responsible business owner who cares about disabled people and wants to include them and make them reap the benefits of shopping form e-commerce websites also. This will earn a lot of goodwill and people will like you and would take a liking for shopping from your website.
For more information on how you can make your business website, you need to visit siteimprove.com. You can have all your queries answered by the most efficient and experienced professionals in the industry.
Author Info:
Evans Walsh is a freelance content writer. He has written many good and informative articles on different categories such as technology, health, fashion, beauty, education, career, travel, etc. He is very responsible for his job. He loves to share his knowledge and experience with his friends and colleagues.