Making your website ADA compliant isn’t just a technical requirement; it’s a commitment to accessibility, inclusion, and legal protection. With more users relying on digital platforms for essential services, accessibility has become a non-negotiable requirement. An ADA-compliant website ensures that people with disabilities can fully engage with your content, whether using a screen reader, keyboard navigation, or other assistive technologies. But how long does it take to make a website ADA compliant?
The answer depends on several factors, including your website’s size, existing level of accessibility, and the method you use to identify and fix issues. In this guide, we’ll walk through what affects the timeline, how the process works, and what to expect from start to finish.
ADA Compliance Timeline: What to Expect
The timeline for making a website ADA compliant can range from a few days to several months. Basic updates may take 1 to 4 weeks for a small website with minimal accessibility issues. Larger websites with more complex functionality and deeper accessibility gaps can take 3 to 6 months or longer to remediate fully.
Your timeline will depend heavily on your approach. Automated accessibility tools can scan a site in minutes and identify surface-level issues. However, these tools often miss deeper problems related to user experience and context, such as missing form labels or improper focus order. That’s why most organizations use a hybrid approach, combining quick automated scans with more comprehensive manual audits conducted by accessibility specialists.
The sooner you start the process, the easier it will be to integrate accessibility into your workflow and avoid delays. The following section will explore what “ADA compliant” means in practice.
ADA Compliant Website Requirements
To make a website ADA compliant, you must ensure it meets the standards outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), specifically Level AA of WCAG 2.1. These guidelines serve as the benchmark for digital accessibility, covering how content is presented, structured, and interacted with across various devices and platforms.
Key ADA compliance requirements include:
- Alternative text (alt text) for images and non-text content
- Keyboard accessibility, allowing full navigation without a mouse
- Screen reader compatibility, including semantic HTML and ARIA labels
- Sufficient color contrast between text and background elements
- Descriptive link text that explains the destination or action
- Captions and transcripts for videos and audio content
- Consistent structure, such as properly ordered headings and clear labels
Meeting these requirements protects your business from legal exposure and enhances the user experience for all visitors, including those using mobile devices or those with temporary limitations.
Website Accessibility Audit: Your First Step
Every ADA compliance project starts with a website accessibility audit. This audit identifies where your site falls short of accessibility standards and helps prioritize the necessary fixes. Think of it as a roadmap that guides your remediation efforts.
There are three main types of audits:
- Automated scans using tools like axe, WAVE, or Siteimprove can quickly detect common ADA compliance issues such as missing alt text or low color contrast. These scans are fast and usually completed within a day, but are not comprehensive.
- Manual audits involve experts using assistive technologies, such as screen readers and keyboard-only navigation, to test the real-world accessibility of websites. Depending on the complexity of your site, these tasks can take anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks.
- Hybrid audits combine both methods for a more accurate and efficient assessment. This approach is often the most effective, especially for organizations with legal or industry compliance requirements.
Once the audit is complete, you’ll have a clear picture of your current accessibility gaps and the time and effort needed to close them.
ADA Website Remediation: Fixing the Issues
Once you’ve completed your accessibility audit, the next step is remediation, making the actual fixes that bring your site into compliance. This stage varies significantly depending on the size, content types, and platform of your website.
Common remediation tasks include:
- Adding or correcting alt text for all images
- Ensuring proper heading hierarchy and semantic structure
- Updating color schemes to meet contrast requirements
- Making forms fully keyboard-navigable and screen reader-friendly
- Rewriting ambiguous or missing link descriptions
- Adding captions and transcripts to videos
- Adjusting CMS or plugin settings to enhance accessibility
For a basic marketing site with fewer than 20 pages, remediation might take 1 to 4 weeks. In contrast, a large eCommerce site or enterprise platform may require 3 to 6 months to resolve accessibility barriers across thousands of elements fully.
The key to success is a structured plan. Prioritize high-traffic pages and essential features first, then expand your efforts to ensure complete coverage.
WCAG Compliance: Standards That Define the Process
The foundation of ADA website compliance lies in meeting the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Currently at WCAG 2.1 Level AA, these internationally recognized standards define how digital content should be structured and presented to ensure accessibility for users with disabilities.
WCAG is organized around four key principles:
- Perceivable – Information must be presented in a way that all users can perceive (e.g., text alternatives for images, captions for videos).
- Operable – The interface must be usable with different input methods, such as a keyboard or assistive technology.
- Understandable – Content should be readable, predictable, and error-tolerant.
- Robust – The site must be compatible with current and future assistive technologies.
Achieving compliance isn’t a one-time event. As your website grows, with new pages, forms, and media, ongoing testing and updates are required to maintain accessibility. Adhering to WCAG provides a consistent framework for making and keeping your site inclusive.
ADA Accessibility Tools: Speed Up or Slow Down?
Accessibility tools can dramatically reduce the time it takes to identify compliance issues, but they have limitations. When used correctly, they enhance efficiency, but when used alone, they can leave critical gaps.
Popular ADA accessibility tools include:
- axe DevTools – A browser extension that helps developers detect accessibility bugs in real time.
- WAVE – A visual evaluation tool that highlights issues on the page, like contrast errors or missing alt attributes.
- Siteimprove – Offers ongoing monitoring and accessibility scoring across large websites.
- accessiBe and UserWay – Overlay solutions that provide user-facing enhancements, like adjustable fonts and contrast toggles.
While these tools can catch many common issues, they’re not a complete solution. Automated scans often miss contextual errors, like whether link text makes sense out of context or if a form is logically grouped. Worse, relying solely on overlays may create a false sense of compliance and even expose you to legal risk.
Utilize these tools to expedite detection, but supplement with manual checks and expert remediation to ensure complete ADA compliance.
Factors That Affect How Long ADA Compliance Takes
The timeline for making your website ADA compliant depends on several key variables. Understanding these can help you set realistic expectations and plan your project efficiently:
- Website Size and Structure: A 10-page brochure site will take far less time to audit and remediate than a 500-page eCommerce platform or a site with interactive dashboards and custom modules.
- Type of Content: Sites with multimedia elements, such as videos, downloadable documents, or interactive forms, require more thorough remediation. Transcripts, captions, and keyboard functionality must also be addressed.
- Current Accessibility Level: Your timeline could be shorter if your site already meets some WCAG standards. An entirely inaccessible site, on the other hand, will need a ground-up approach.
- Internal vs. Outsourced Remediation: In-house teams may lack accessibility expertise, which can slow down the process. Partnering with experienced agencies or consultants typically yields faster and more accurate remediation.
- Team Experience with Accessibility: Teams familiar with WCAG, screen readers, and accessibility testing tools can move more quickly and avoid common pitfalls.
These factors can significantly influence whether your project takes weeks or several months.
Ongoing ADA Compliance: Monitoring and Maintenance
Achieving ADA compliance isn’t a one-and-done task; it’s an ongoing responsibility. As your website evolves, so do the risks of unintentionally introducing new accessibility barriers.
You’ll need to establish a continuous monitoring and improvement system to maintain long-term compliance. This includes:
- Regular accessibility audits (quarterly or biannually)
- Automated monitoring tools that alert your team to new issues
- Content governance processes that ensure new pages and media meet WCAG standards
- Developer and content team training to embed accessibility best practices into daily workflows
- Documentation of fixes and policies to stay accountable and meet legal requirements
Staying compliant is far easier when accessibility is built into routine operations, rather than being treated as a one-time project. With a proactive approach, your site remains usable, inclusive, and compliant with legal requirements over time.
How Oyova Helps Make Your Website ADA Compliant
At Oyova, we simplify the path to ADA compliance with a proven, practical approach tailored to your site’s needs. Our team starts with a thorough accessibility audit, combining automated tools and manual testing to identify both visible and hidden issues.
Once we’ve identified what needs attention, we create a clear remediation plan, prioritizing fixes based on legal risk, user impact, and site traffic. From updating code and design elements to advising on CMS configurations and content adjustments, we help you efficiently meet WCAG standards.
Oyova also offers support beyond remediation. Our team helps you set up monitoring systems, train staff, and implement accessibility into your long-term strategy. Whether starting from scratch or maintaining ongoing compliance, Oyova delivers expert guidance every step of the way. Contact us today!
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