What to promise clients about accessibility (instead of "ADA compliant"): proposal wording for web designers

More web designers are telling each other the same thing this autumn: stop promising clients "ADA compliance". The reason is simple. WCAG is a technical standard you can design and test against. The ADA is a law, and whether a business meets it isn't something a designer can sign off on. Clients still ask, though, so you need wording that is honest, useful and easy to paste into a proposal. Here it is.

Why "ADA compliant" is the wrong promise

• There's no detailed federal web rule for private businesses. The Department of Justice says Title III of the ADA applies to businesses open to the public, including what they offer online, and points to WCAG as helpful guidance, but it hasn't set a technical standard for them (DOJ guidance on web accessibility and the ADA). So no one can certify a small-business site as "ADA compliant".
• Regulators act on over-promising. In April 2025 the FTC approved a final order requiring accessiBe to pay $1 million over claims that its AI tool could make any website WCAG-compliant (FTC press release). That case was about a vendor's advertising, but it shows how compliance promises are judged.
• Sites change after launch. Your client adds images, blog posts, pop-ups and booking widgets. A launch-day result doesn't hold for ever, which is why a fixed promise about the whole site is risky.
• Some clients do have a dated rule. Health practices and other recipients of HHS funding, such as providers that take Medicaid or Medicare, must meet WCAG 2.1 AA under Section 504 by May 11, 2027 (15 or more employees) or May 10, 2028 (fewer than 15), after HHS extended the dates in May 2026 (45 CFR 84.84). Even there, your job is to build and test to the standard; whether the practice complies is a question for its lawyer. See our Section 504 guide for health practices.

What to promise instead

Promise things you control and can show: a target standard, a test method, a list of what you checked and fixed, and what happens when content changes. Those are concrete, honest and easier to sell than a guarantee.

Proposal wording you can copy

Adapt the brackets to your project. This is example wording, not legal advice; if a contract matters, have your own lawyer review it.

Accessibility
We will design and build the pages in this proposal to target the
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Level AA.

How we test: before launch we will run an automated accessibility
check on [the home, contact, booking and service pages], test each
of those pages with a keyboard only, and spot-check them with a
screen reader on [desktop and phone]. We will fix the issues we find
in the code and content we provide, and give you a short summary of
what we checked and what we changed.

Not included: content, plugins and third-party tools you or other
vendors add or control (for example booking, chat, review or payment
widgets), PDFs we don't create, and changes made after launch.
We will tell you about problems we notice in those.

After launch: new content can introduce new issues. [Optional: Our
care plan includes a monthly accessibility re-check of up to
10 pages.]

This work aims to reduce barriers for people with disabilities. It is
not legal advice and is not a guarantee or certification that the
website complies with the ADA or any other law.

Phrases to avoid, and better ones

• Avoid "fully ADA compliant" or "100% accessible". Say "built and tested to target WCAG 2.2 AA".
• Avoid "lawsuit-proof" or "protects you from demand letters". Say "reduces common barriers our tests found". No one can promise the second.
• Avoid "our plugin makes your site accessible". Say "we fix issues in the code and content". Overlays don't fix the underlying page; see overlays vs real fixes.
• Avoid "passes an automated scan, so it's accessible". Automated tools find only part of the issues; say what you tested by hand too.

Questions clients will ask, and honest answers

• "Will this stop us getting sued?" "No one can promise that. What we can do is find and fix common barriers and show you what we checked. For legal questions, talk to a lawyer."
• "Can't we just add a widget?" "Widgets don't change the page's code, and regulators have acted on claims that they make sites compliant. We'd rather fix the page itself."
• "What does WCAG 2.2 AA mean?" Point them to our WCAG 2.2 explained guide, or send them the questions to ask your web designer page so they know what good answers sound like.

Turn it into a care-plan line

Because sites change, a recurring re-check is the honest way to keep the promise. Many agencies add it to their monthly care plan. Our maintenance plan guide has a simple monthly routine you can offer.

Related: white-label accessibility audits for agencies, what an accessibility audit includes, accessibility statement template, audit cost.

Need a report to back up the proposal?

Our agency 5-pack gives you five white-label Fix-Pack reports for $499 ($99.80 per site): WCAG 2.2 AA technical checks with the axe-core engine, issues ranked by impact and copy-paste fixes for each client's platform, written by our AI agent, under your agency's name, each with one re-scan. 14-day refund promise. A single site? Start with a free homepage snapshot or the $149 Fix-Pack. See a sample report first. Reports are technical guidance, not legal advice, and don't certify compliance with the ADA or any law.

Related guides

• Accessible social media icons and Instagram, Facebook and YouTube embeds: a 5-minute test and fixes
• My website passed an accessibility checker. Is it accessible? 7 checks a scan can't do
• WCAG 2.2 explained for small-business websites
• Squarespace accessibility fixes: alt text, contrast, forms and more

All guides

This guide is general technical information, not legal advice. Following it does not certify ADA or any legal compliance. Automated checks find only part of accessibility barriers.