Website accessibility has been an important practice for years, but in 2026, it becomes a clear legal requirement for many public-sector organizations.
The U.S Department of Justice has formally adopted Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA as the standard for websites and mobile applications under its updated Title II rule. WCAG focuses on making your website perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust, so that people with a wide range of abilities can access, navigate, and use your content effectively. This change directly affects public entities, including economic development organizations (EDOs), and introduces firm compliance deadlines.
For organizations that haven’t addressed accessibility yet, now is the time to start.
What's Changing
Under the DOJ’s updated rule, public-sector websites and mobile apps must meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards. This means digital content must be usable by people with a wide range of disabilities, including those using screen readers, keyboard navigation, or other assistive technologies.
The rule introduce firm compliance deadlines based on jurisdiction size:
Large jurisdictions (50,000+ population) must comply by April 24, 2026
Smaller jurisdictions and special districts must comply by April 26, 2027
Why Accessibility Matters
Accessibility plays an important role in how people experience your organization and your community. For EDOs, a website is often the first place businesses, site selectors, residents, and partners go to learn who you are and how you operate. When that experience isn’t accessible, it can unintentionally limit who is able to engage with your content and use your resources effectively.
An accessible website supports clearer communication, better usability, and greater transparency. It ensures that critical information, such as data, reports, tools, and updates, is available to everyone, regardless of how they access the web. In many cases, accessibility improvements also enhance the overall user experience, making websites easier to navigate and understand for all audiences.
While compliance deadlines are still ahead, accessibility is most effective when approached proactively. Many EDO websites include years of accumulated content, documents, and tools that take time to review and improve. Addressing accessibility early allows organizations to plan thoughtfully, prioritize high-impact updates, and integrate accessibility into ongoing website management rather than treating it as a last-minute requirement.
Waiting to act can introduce additional challenges or risks, including:
Increased complexity and cost as accessibility issues accumulate over time
Limited flexibility as deadlines approach
Greater strain on internal teams managing updates and remediation
Potential legal, reputational, and credibility risks once compliance dates pass
Taking steps now helps ensure our website continues to support your mission, reflect your values, and serve all audiences effectively.
What Organizations Need to Do
Meeting compliance standards doesn’t happen by accident, and it’s not something most organizations can fully address in one quick update. Accessibility is a process, and the most successful organizations approach it in clear, manageable steps. Here’s what that process typically looks like:
Step 1: Understand Where you Stand
Before making changes, it’s important to know what’s actually happening on your website today.
A formal accessibility audit evaluates your site against WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards and identifies issues related to:
Navigation and keyboard access
Color contrast and readability
Screen reader compatibility
Forms and interactive elements
PDFs and downloadable documents
Embedded tools and third-party integrations
This step creates a clear picture of risk areas and prevents wasted time fixing the wrong things first.
Step 2: Prioritize What Matters Most
Not every accessibility issue carries the same impact.
Once issues are identified, organizations should prioritize fixes that:
Prevent users from navigating or accessing content
Create barriers for assistive technologies
Affect high-traffic or mission-critical pages
Pose the greatest compliance risk
This allows teams to focus on the changes that matter most, rather than feeling overwhelmed by a long checklist.
Step 3: Remediate Identified Issues
Remediation is where accessibility improvements can actually happen.
This may include:
Updating navigation structures and menus
Improving contrast, typography, and layout
Fixing heading structure and page hierarchy
Making PDFs and reports accessible
Adjusting interactive tools and maps
Ensuring videos include captions or transcripts
For many organizations, this step is where having an experienced partner is most helpful because accessibility fixes often require both technical and content-level adjustments.
Step 4: Verify Improvements
Accessibility won’t work shouldn’t end once updates are made.
After remediation, websites should be re-audited or re-tested to confirm that issues were properly resolved and that new problems weren’t introduced in the process. Verification helps ensure confidence as deadlines approach and reduces uncertainty around compliance status.
Step 5: Plan for Ongoing Accessibility
Accessibility is not a one-time project.
As websites evolve, new content, design updates, documents, and integrations can introduce new accessibility challenges. That’s why ongoing monitoring is essential.
Best practices include:
Regular accessibility scans
Reviewing new content before publishing
Periodic audits to catch emerging issues
Internal awareness so accessibility stays top of mind
Organizations that plan for accessibility long-term are far less likely to face last-minute scrambles or costly fixes later.
Step 6: Assign Ownership
Finally, accessibility works best when it’s clearly owned.
Whether that responsibility sits with communications, IT, marketing, or a trusted partner, having a defined process and point of contact ensures accessibility remains part of everyday website management.
How EDSuite Helps
EDSuite supports EDOs through each step of the accessibility process with services designed specifically for economic development websites.
Audit Coordination
We source and manage an objective third-party or third-party system to assess your site against the WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard.Remediation
We fix issues identified in the audit.Verification
We re-audit the website to validate the remediation project.Ongoing Monitoring
We rescan your site on a quarterly basis and remediate any critical or serious violations discovered.
Accessibility is an ongoing obligation, and EDSuite helps organizations stay aligned as their websites update without adding extra stress. If you’re unsure where your website stands or wants help preparing for upcoming DOJ deadlines, now is a good time to start the conversation.
