Could your web site get you sued?

A precedent setting legal case this week should make all web site owners sit up and take notice.  A federal district court judge in California has allowed a suit brought by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) against Target Corp. to go forward, despite Target's claims that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not apply to web sites. From the NFB's press release:

"This ruling is a great victory for blind people throughout the country," said NFB President Dr. Marc Maurer. "We are pleased that the court recognized that the blind are entitled to equal access to retail websites."

What does this mean for the average web site owner?  Businesses may soon need to make efforts to accomodate disabled users of their web sites, similar to more familiar accomodations in the offline world such as wheelchair ramps and handicapped parking spaces.

Despite fears that these accomodations may be costly for web site operators, building accessible web pages is not terribly difficult, and can actually benefit your business in unexpected ways.  Many of the same techniques that allow disabled users to access your site are also beneficial to search engines, and are also commonly used for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). 

In many ways, a search engine's software is not unlike a blind user.  A search engine cannot view text placed in images, nor can it navigate through most Flash based sites. Because accessible sites are more visible to search engines as well as the disabled, businesses that make the extra effort to accomodate blind users may find that their sites rank higher in the search engines.  For that reason alone, accessible web sites should be a priority for any business.  Avoiding a lawsuit like the one Target is facing is just a fortunate side effect.