What Does a Compliant Municipal Website Actually Look Like?
Website accessibility isn’t just about good design, it’s the law. And for local governments, that means your site must work for all residents, including those using screen readers, assistive devices, or non-traditional browsers.
Small municipalities are often targeted in lawsuits over ADA non-compliance. But many don’t know what accessibility actually looks like or how to check if they’re meeting the standard.
Here’s what to look for in an accessible, legally compliant government website.
What Your Website Should Include
1. High Contrast Text
Dark text on light backgrounds (and vice versa) improves readability for users with low vision.
2. Alt Text for Images
Every photo or graphic should include descriptive alt text so screen readers can describe it to the user.
3. Keyboard Navigation
Your site must be fully usable without a mouse. Users should be able to tab through menus and forms.
4. Descriptive Links
Use links like “Download the 2024 Budget” instead of “Click here.”
5. Responsive, Mobile-Friendly Design
This improves usability across all devices and is required for full compliance.
6. PDFs That Can Be Read by Screen Readers
Many scanned PDFs are just images and aren’t readable.
…and many more
How Munibit Supports Website Compliance
All Munibit websites are built with WCAG 2.1 AA standards guidelines in mind, including:
Accessible templates
Keyboard navigation
Optimized color contrast
Proper use of HTML tags
Mobile accessibility
Clean, readable layouts
HTML web forms
Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
…and many more
Now is the time to make a plan for improving your website’s compliance and accessibility.
TL;DR: What Does a Compliant Municipal Website Actually Look Like?
Your government website needs to be accessible and compliant with ADA laws. That means:
High contrast
Screen reader support
Keyboard navigation
Mobile access
Searchable PDFs
and more
Need to improve your compliance and accessibility? Munibit can help →