5 Accessibility Mistakes That Can Get Your Business Sued

The majority of ADA website lawsuits target the same handful of accessibility failures. These aren't obscure, technical edge cases — they're common mistakes that exist on millions of websites. The good news: every one of them is fixable.

Here are the five mistakes most likely to result in a demand letter, how to detect them, and how to fix them.

Mistake 1: Missing Alt Text on Images

Why it matters: Screen readers rely on the alt attribute to describe images to visually impaired users. Without it, images are invisible or announced as meaningless file names like "IMG_3847.jpg."

How common it is: Missing alt text is the single most-cited violation in ADA website lawsuits. WebAIM's annual analysis of the top 1 million websites found that 54% of all images are missing alt text.

What good alt text looks like:

Context	Bad	Good
Product image	alt="" or missing	alt="Men's blue running shoe, size 10, side view"
Team photo	alt="photo1.jpg"	alt="Customer support team at the Chicago office"
Chart	alt="chart"	alt="Revenue growth chart showing 40% increase from Q1 to Q4 2025"
Decorative border	alt="decorative swirl"	alt="" (empty is correct for decorative images)

How to detect it: Run an automated accessibility scan. Every scanner flags missing alt text. You can also right-click images in your browser → Inspect → check for the alt attribute.

How to fix it: Add meaningful alt attributes to all informational images. For decorative images that don't convey information, use alt="" (empty string, not missing). Your CMS likely has an alt text field for every image upload — use it.

Mistake 2: Inaccessible Forms

Why it matters: Forms are how users complete critical actions: purchasing products, signing up, submitting inquiries, making appointments. If your forms aren't accessible, you're blocking users from doing business with you.

Common form accessibility failures:

• Missing labels: Input fields without associated <label> elements. Screen readers can't tell users what information to enter.
• Missing error messages: Forms that silently reject submissions without explaining what went wrong.
• No focus management: After an error, focus doesn't move to the problem field, leaving screen reader users searching.
• Placeholder-only labels: Using placeholder text as the only label. When the user starts typing, the label disappears — they can't remember what field they're filling out.
• Inaccessible CAPTCHAs: Image-based CAPTCHAs without audio alternatives block blind users entirely.

How to detect it: Try completing every form on your site using only a keyboard (no mouse). Can you Tab to every field? Do you know what each field expects? Does the form tell you specifically what's wrong when you make an error?

How to fix it: Ensure every <input> has a visible, associated <label>. Add clear error messages that identify the field and describe the problem. Move focus to the first error after a failed submission. Replace image CAPTCHAs with accessible alternatives.

Mistake 3: Insufficient Color Contrast

Why it matters: Low contrast text is difficult or impossible to read for people with low vision, color blindness, and even users viewing screens in bright sunlight. WCAG 2.2 specifies minimum contrast ratios to ensure readability.

The requirements:

• Normal text (under 18pt): Minimum 4.5:1 contrast ratio
• Large text (18pt+ or 14pt bold): Minimum 3:1 contrast ratio
• UI components and graphics: Minimum 3:1 contrast ratio

Common failures:

• Light gray text on white backgrounds (#999 on #fff = 2.8:1 — fails)
• White text on light-colored buttons
• Placeholder text with insufficient contrast
• Links that aren't distinguishable from surrounding text

How to detect it: Use the WebAccessibility.co Color Contrast Checker. Enter your foreground and background colors to see if they pass AA requirements. Automated scans also flag contrast violations.

How to fix it: Darken your text or lighten your backgrounds until the ratio meets the threshold. Small adjustments often suffice — going from #999 to #767676 crosses the 4.5:1 line for normal text on white backgrounds.

Mistake 4: No Keyboard Navigation

Why it matters: Many users cannot use a mouse — people with motor impairments, tremors, paralysis, repetitive strain injuries, or temporary injuries. They navigate entirely with keyboard (Tab, Enter, Space, Arrow keys). If your site requires a mouse, these users are locked out.

How many users need this: An estimated 15–20% of web users rely on keyboard navigation at some point, including power users who prefer keyboard shortcuts and users of assistive devices that emulate keyboard input.

Common keyboard navigation failures:

• No visible focus indicator: Users can't see which element is currently focused. Many sites remove the default focus outline with outline: none for aesthetic reasons without providing an alternative.
• Keyboard traps: Modal dialogs, dropdown menus, or embedded content that trap keyboard focus — users can Tab in but can't Tab out.
• Non-interactive elements receiving focus: Or the reverse — interactive elements that can't be reached by Tab.
• Missing skip navigation: Without a "Skip to main content" link, keyboard users must Tab through the entire navigation menu on every page.
• Custom components that ignore keyboard: JavaScript-heavy components (carousels, accordions, date pickers) that only respond to mouse clicks.

How to detect it: Put your mouse aside and navigate your entire site using only the keyboard. Can you access every feature? Can you always see where focus is? Can you always get back to where you started?

How to fix it: Never remove focus outlines without providing a visible alternative. Add tabindex appropriately to custom components. Implement skip navigation links. Ensure all interactive elements are keyboard-operable. Test every custom JavaScript component with keyboard-only navigation.

Mistake 5: Auto-Playing Media Without Controls

Why it matters: Auto-playing audio and video creates barriers for multiple user groups:

• Screen reader users can't hear their screen reader over auto-playing audio
• Users with cognitive disabilities find unexpected media disorienting
• Users with vestibular disorders can experience dizziness from unexpected motion
• Users in shared environments are disrupted by unexpected sound

The WCAG requirement (SC 2.2.2 — Pause, Stop, Hide):

Any moving, blinking, scrolling, or auto-updating content that starts automatically must have a mechanism to pause, stop, or hide it. Any audio that plays automatically for more than 3 seconds must have controls to pause/stop or adjust volume independently of the system volume.

Common failures:

• Background videos on landing pages that auto-play with sound
• Auto-rotating carousels with no pause button
• Animated banners that can't be stopped
• Background audio on portfolio or restaurant websites

How to detect it: Load every page on your site. Does anything move, blink, or make sound without your explicit action? If so, is there an immediately visible control to stop it?

How to fix it: Set video and audio elements to muted and don't auto-play, or provide prominent pause/stop controls. For carousels and animations, add a visible pause button. Respect the prefers-reduced-motion media query for CSS animations.

Prevention: Catch These Before They Become Lawsuits

All five of these mistakes are detectable by automated scanning tools. The most effective prevention strategy:

1. Run an initial scan to identify existing violations across your site
2. Fix critical issues first using the prioritized violation report
3. Set up continuous monitoring with scheduled scans (weekly or monthly)
4. Enable alerts so your team is notified when new violations appear
5. Use AI fix guides to generate code-level remediation for each violation

The cost of prevention is a fraction of the cost of a lawsuit. A single demand letter can cost $10,000–$25,000 to settle. Continuous monitoring and AI-guided fixes cost under $10/month.

Don't wait for a demand letter. Scan your site today and start fixing the issues that put your business at risk.