How does it help residents?
- Text size and Contrast make notices and forms easier to read for people with low vision and older adults.
- Read aloud reads any paragraph a resident clicks, using their browser's built-in voices.
- Page structure lists a page's headings, so residents can jump to the section they need.
- Focus outline shows clearly where keyboard focus is, for people who don't use a mouse.
- The panel comes in English, Bengali, Hindi, Spanish, French and German, and picks the page or browser language on its own.
The widget sets no cookies and has no visitor accounts. Each resident's settings stay in their own browser.
What do accessibility laws ask of government websites?
In the United States, state and local governments are covered by the ADA, and federal agencies by Section 508. Both point to technical guidelines for the site's own code and content. The ADA guide and the Section 508 guide explain them in general terms. Other places have their own rules, such as Ontario's AODA.
A widget does not make a government website meet these laws. Describe it in your accessibility statement as an extra option for visitors, not as your accessibility solution.
What should your team fix first?
- Label every form field and make error messages say what to fix.
- Make every page work with a keyboard alone. See the keyboard accessibility guide.
- Add text descriptions to images and captions to videos.
- Make PDFs and forms accessible, or offer the same content as a web page.
- Check text colors with the color contrast checker.
- Publish an accessibility statement with a way to contact you. Report a problem in the widget is a useful extra channel, not a replacement.
Work through the website accessibility checklist and test with people who use assistive technology.
How do you set it up?
Add your site's domain in the dashboard and paste one line of code into your site template, or add it through Google Tag Manager. See the guide for any website. Each subdomain, such as permits.example.gov, is added as its own site.
Frequently asked questions
Does an accessibility widget make a government website ADA or Section 508 compliant?
No. These rules are about your site's own code and content, such as headings, form labels, image descriptions and keyboard access. A widget gives visitors extra tools but does not change that code.
Does the widget collect data about residents?
It sets no cookies and has no visitor accounts, and each visitor's settings stay in their own browser. If a visitor sends a report, their message, the page address and any email they choose to add go to your dashboard.
Can we choose which tools appear?
Yes. In the dashboard you choose which tools appear, the button color, whether it sits on the left or right, and the panel language.
Does it work on our subdomains?
Each subdomain is its own site. The widget runs on the domain you register and its www version, so add each subdomain, such as permits.example.gov, separately. Your plan sets how many sites you can add.