Accessibility Information Pages Show Corporate Commitment to all Customers
An important component of any Structured Negotiations settlement agreement addressing web accessibility is a company’s commitment to maintain an Accessibility Information Page, or AIP. The ideal page has details about the company’s web accessibility policy, details about other accessibility services, and a phone and web-based method for the public to forward accessibility concerns, both positive and negative. These pages are also found on sites where there has been a litigation-based settlement, or where a company has simply decided that accessibility information is important to its customers. The page should be easy to find on the site, preferably linked from the home page and all page footers, available through the Help section, and searchable through the site search engine.
One page on a website cannot of course guarantee that the full site will meet established access standards, or that the site will be usable by every site visitor. But Accessibility Information Pages usually demonstrate a commitment to accessibility and to the needs of all site users. If you discover something good on a site with an Accessibility Information Page, use the contact information to let the site owners know. And if you uncover an area that needs improvement, or worse, let them know that too. Feedback helps keep the page current, and shows the site owner that accessibility matters to its customers, clients and site visitors.
Below is a list of links to the Accessibility Information Pages of some of the largest entities operating on the web. (Visiting these links will take you away from LFLegal.) Do you know of a page that should be added to this list? Please use the contact page and let us know.
Accessibility Information Pages
- American Cancer Society
- Bank of America (You may have to first chose your state before being directed to the Accessible Banking page.) Bank of America also offers screen reader tips to its customers.
- BBC Accessibility Portal (Web My Way) includes links to best practices, how to guides, and the BBC accessibility policy.
- Charles Schwab
- Chase
- CVS Pharmacy
- ebay (Includes information such as Using a Screen Reader to Buy an Item.)
- Hitachi
- Major League Baseball (MLB). MLB also offers its fans Accessibility FAQs for more in depth accessibility information. MLB Accessibility FAQs
- Monster
- NBC Learn
- Royal Bank of Canada
- Walgreens (Adoption of WCAG 2.0 Level AA as web standard and contact form to report accessibility issues.
- Wells Fargo
Facebook does not have an easily findable Accessibility Information Page, but does have a dedicated Facebook feedback form for Accessibility and Assistive Technologies
In addition to these sites, other companies have Accessibility Pages that focus on their manufactured products, technology, systems and services. Again, the presence of these pages does not mean every product made by the company will be accessible, but it does mean there is an understanding that a diverse customer base includes people with disabilities. Companies with robust accessibility information on their websites include the following: