Talking about ADA compliance makes small business owners nervous.
And it's not because they don't want to help their disabled customers. It's because they're not sure exactly what the law requires – and the consequences of getting it wrong can be huge!
In this article, we’ll tackle the basic requirements of the ADA, how to stave off predatory lawsuits, and digital accessibility requirements so you can better serve your customers (and sleep a little bit easier).
Key Points:
The ADA, or Americans With Disabilities Act, is the primary law that deals with accessibility for small businesses. People also use “ADA” as shorthand for any similar legislation.
The original ADA was passed in 1990, though updates in 2010 made it much more relevant to self storage facility owners.
The good news is that the typical self storage facility is very accessible from the start. You probably won’t need to rip out your bathrooms or build new hallways!
Per Janus International, the ADA requires self storage businesses to comply with several specific regulations. Here's a look at those regulations:
The ADA also outlines larger restroom turning spaces to accommodate wheelchairs, new workspace requirements for disabled employees, as well as new reach ranges for pull ropes and light switches.
At first glance, this may seem like a lot to comply with, but the self storage industry is naturally in a good position to quickly meet ADA regulations.
Storage facilities typically already have wide hallways and spacious rooms, given that they are used to store heavy furniture and stacks of boxes.
Federal law establishes minimum standards, but states can (and have) added to that. Join your state storage association to get expert advice on what exactly your facility needs!
Just like your facility, your website needs to be accessible – but most operators don’t know exactly what that means. There’s a lot of technical detail that goes into making a website accessible, like color ratios, screen readers, and keyboard interactivity.
Somewhere around 96% of websites don’t meet WCAG compliance standards. DIY websites almost certainly won’t meet the standards, which puts our industry especially at risk because storage operators are used to tackling problems on their own!
Accessibility tools only catch about 30% of WCAG issues. The rest need to be tested and verified by a human, which is tricky when you don’t even know what you’re looking for!
These elements were most commonly targeted in the lawsuits:
The first answer is obvious: if you’re 100% compliant with ADA requirements, you are unlikely to see any lawsuits in the first place.
Plus, if you do face a challenge, you’ll be able to fight it pretty easily.
Of course, 100% compliance is not always easy. Your facility might be accessible without matching every requirement of the ADA, and some locations might have a really hard time meeting the standards for a variety of reasons.
Start with the parking lot – be certain you have the correct number of handicap parking spots that are of the right size and shape. Here are some suggestions:
Digital accessibility is harder to check for yourself. There are tools that will check your website for accessibility, and widgets that promise to make your site more accessible – but we don’t recommend you use those.
Websites using accessibility plug-ins can be specifically targeted by lawsuits because they highlight operations that aren’t fully compliant on their own. Plus, the added tech can’t cover everything, so high-volume litigants can figure out specific vulnerabilities to target.
The best way to ensure your website meets WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards is to have a professional website company create it for you.
StoragePug is one such option, and we’ve even helped a client beat charges like these!
We recently helped a client defeat a lawsuit by creating a video recording of how their website:
1. Was easy to navigate with a keyboard
2. Had menus that were clearly labeled
3. Had buttons that were labeled and clickable with a keyboard
4. Had rental and payment tools that worked with a screen reader
After the client provided this video, the case was dropped! A lot of these cases aren’t looking to win over a judge – they just want to get a quick settlement check. If you can prove that you know what’s going on and that your website DOES in fact meet all the criteria, they’re not going to waste their time.
Of course, an actual complaint by someone who wants to do business with you is different. A good website (and accessible facility) is good for business in more ways than just preventing a lawsuit!
The primary benefit of an accessible website (and accessible facility) is obvious: you can do business with all your neighbors!
A happy new tenant will recommend you to anyone they know who needs storage. A welcomed tenant is more likely to leave a good review (especially if you ask!)
On top of that, Google prefers accessible websites. If your website doesn’t have alt text, has a confusing structure, is hard to read, or doesn’t function well with keyboard navigation, Google might bump you down the rankings in favor of a site that does.
A genuine effort towards accessibility is good for you, good for your customers, and good for Google.
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StoragePug is a modern marketing company for self storage. We create intelligent marketing websites that allow you to rent units & take payments through your facility's website.
