Frequently Asked Questions

Straight answers about accessibility, compliance, and AI search visibility.

Does my small business website need to be ADA compliant?

Most private businesses that serve the public fall under ADA Title III, and courts have increasingly applied it to websites. (ADA Title II is separate — it covers state and local government entities like schools, courts, and public agencies.) While there's no single federal regulation specifying exact technical requirements for private businesses, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 and 2.2 Level AA are the widely accepted standard courts reference. Making your site accessible reduces legal risk and opens your business to more customers.

What happens if my website fails an accessibility audit?

A failed audit isn't a penalty — it's a starting point. It identifies the specific barriers preventing some visitors from using your site. The real risk comes from ignoring known issues: businesses with inaccessible websites can face demand letters or lawsuits under the ADA. The practical response is to prioritize issues by severity and remediate them, starting with the barriers that completely block access.

What is AEO and why does it matter for my business?

AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization. It's the practice of structuring your website content so that AI-powered search engines — like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews — can read, understand, and recommend your business when people ask questions. As more people use AI assistants instead of traditional search, businesses with well-structured, semantic, and clearly written content are more likely to be cited in AI answers.

Should I hire a consultant or use an accessibility overlay tool?

Accessibility overlay tools — widgets that claim to make a site compliant automatically — are widely criticized by the disability community and accessibility experts. They often fail to fix underlying issues and can even introduce new barriers. Genuine accessibility comes from fixing the site's actual code and content. A consultant identifies real issues and provides real fixes, rather than masking problems with a script.

What's the difference between an accessibility audit and ongoing monitoring?

An audit is a point-in-time assessment that identifies existing issues. Ongoing monitoring is continuous — it re-scans your site regularly to catch new issues that appear as you add content, update plugins, or change templates. Accessibility isn't a one-time fix because websites change constantly. An audit gets you to a baseline; monitoring keeps you there.

Are accessibility overlay tools better than real consulting?

Real accessibility consulting is more effective. Overlay tools apply a surface-level script that attempts to patch issues in the browser, but they don't fix the underlying code. Real consulting addresses root causes in your site's structure and content, producing durable accessibility that works with all assistive technologies. Overlays can create a false sense of compliance while leaving real barriers in place.

Still have questions?

Run a free scan of your website to see where you stand, or book a free consultation and we'll walk you through it — no pressure, no jargon.