Digital accessibility means designing and maintaining your website so that everyone can use it — including people with visual, hearing, or mobility disabilities.
For years, many businesses treated website accessibility as optional. But that’s changing fast. In 2023 alone, over 250,000 demand letters were sent to businesses across the United States for website inaccessibility. These letters often come from law firms representing individuals with disabilities — and they’re becoming one of the most common legal risks small businesses face online.
Accessibility isn’t just about compliance — it’s about protecting your business, your reputation, and your customers.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), businesses open to the public — such as restaurants, retailers, service providers, and eCommerce stores — must provide equal access to their goods and services. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and federal courts have consistently interpreted this to include websites and mobile applications.
Although the government enforces website accessibility through the ADA and related laws, it does not provide specific steps or technical instructions on how to achieve compliance—leaving business owners responsible for interpreting broad legal standards on their own.
👉 Read Local Business Sued for Inaccessibility → View Case Study
While federal law is the foundation, several states have added additional layers of enforcement.
In California, the Unruh Civil Rights Act allows individuals to sue businesses directly and collect damages for digital accessibility violations. Because Unruh incorporates the ADA by reference, a single ADA violation can result in state penalties as well.
This is one reason California consistently leads the nation in accessibility lawsuits. Even small businesses have been targeted, and the costs of settlement often range from $5,000 to $25,000 per case.
With over 250,000 demand letters sent in 2023 alone, the risk is now widespread — and ignoring it is no longer an option.
For years, the standard for digital accessibility has been the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) — a technical document written by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). While WCAG established the foundation for accessibility, it was designed for developers building websites in plain HTML, not for modern builders like Wix, Squarespace, Shopify, or WordPress.
For most businesses, WCAG is difficult to apply, costly to implement, and nearly impossible to maintain. The guidelines are written for engineers, not business owners. Translating more than 70 pages of developer instructions into real changes on a commercial website can take dozens of hours and thousands of dollars.
Even after investing heavily to “meet WCAG standards,” businesses are left with a major gap — there is no WCAG certification. Once the work is complete, there is no document, proof, or protection. If your business is later targeted by an accessibility lawsuit, you face the legal and financial burden entirely on your own.
This cycle repeats every time the website is updated. New content, new plugins, and new designs can all create accessibility issues that undo prior work. WCAG provides rules — but no accountability and no protection.
That’s why DAPEN.org created a new standard: the Website Builder Accessibility Guidelines (WBAG).
WBAG (Website Builder Accessibility Guidelines) is a modern accessibility framework designed by DAPEN.org specifically for how websites are actually built today.
Instead of using dense developer language, WBAG translates accessibility into clear, actionable steps that fit seamlessly within website builders like Wix, Squarespace, Shopify, and WordPress.
The WBAG framework focuses on what matters most — the features and configurations that prevent nearly all accessibility-related legal claims. It addresses essentials such as:
By aligning accessibility with the way modern websites are created, WBAG makes compliance achievable, affordable, and maintainable.
For business owners who want more than guidance — who want peace of mind — DAPEN.org offers WBAG Certification, the most comprehensive digital accessibility protection available.
Through this program, a DAPEN Accessibility Developer personally audits and updates your website to meet every WBAG requirement. Once your site meets the framework standards, it becomes WBAG Certified, meaning DAPEN.org officially certifies its compliance and assumes full legal responsibility for its digital accessibility.
If your business receives a demand letter or lawsuit related to accessibility, DAPEN.org covers all related legal expenses, settlements, and judgments under the certification agreement.
In other words, WBAG Certified is not simply compliance — it is complete digital accessibility protection. Your website’s accessibility is guaranteed, maintained, and legally defended by experts who stand behind their work.
👉 Explore certification: What is WBAG Certified?
Digital accessibility is a legal requirement for businesses under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related state laws. Every website that serves the public is expected to provide equal access to individuals with disabilities, and failure to do so can lead to costly legal action.
The most effective way to protect your business is to follow the Website Builder Accessibility Guidelines (WBAG) — a modern, practical framework developed by DAPEN.org that translates accessibility standards into clear, actionable steps for today’s website platforms.
By becoming WBAG Certified, your website is professionally configured for accessibility, verified for compliance, and fully protected under DAPEN.org’s certification agreement — providing you with comprehensive digital accessibility protection and lasting peace of mind.
👉 Get WBAG Certified Today → Get WBAG Certified
