Compliance

How much does accessibility compliance cost?

Audit, fixes, statement, monitoring: the real cost items, and why waiting often costs more.

The cost question always comes first. The good news: accessibility compliance is nothing like the budget of a full redesign, especially if you start early.

The cost items

• The audit: identifying problems and their severity. An automated scan already covers a large part.
• The fixes: often CSS, ARIA attributes, text alternatives. Most are quick.
• The accessibility statement: a document to publish and keep up to date.
• Monitoring: avoiding regressions on every site update.

The false-economy trap

A paid yearly overlay gives the illusion of a cheap solution, but it fixes nothing and exposes you to litigation. It is spending that does not solve the problem.

Why waiting costs more

The later you build in accessibility, the more expensive it is to catch up. Conversely, handling problems as they appear, starting from the initial scan, spreads and reduces the effort. Not to mention the revenue lost every day to an inaccessible site.