EqualWeb
Making Web Accessible to All

Although accessing a website may seem easy for most users, a sizeable population finds it fraught with obstacles. According to reports, about 45 million people have limited internet access, not due to a lack of broadband but because of a disability, especially visual or auditory, and they need help to surf the internet. Organizations miss a huge target audience that can be approached if the website is made accessible to all users. Over the last few years, web accessibility—the ability to design websites and tools so that people with disabilities can also use them—has been widely accepted and incorporated by several nations. Organizations need to adhere to accessibility requirements according to the American Disabilities Act and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act to protect themselves from legal actions. Websites with accessibility limitations are highly prone to litigations and non-compliance risks. As a result, organizations need to remain compliant with accessibility regulations and legislation.

While digital accessibility solutions in the market vary, most firms focus on one solution, be it AI and machine learning solutions or manual code modifications. Co-CEO of EqualWeb Erez Bahat stresses that this does not provide the ultimate solution, far from attaining full compliance with the law. “Our approach is the ‘hybrid’ solution: automated and manual remediation,” Bahat says. “This way we enable clients to achieve the highest level of accessibility, fully compliant with regulations.”

With more than two decades of experience in advanced web and app developments, EqualWeb offers a cloud-based technology that works in an automated manner without interfering with the structure of the website. The changes incorporated by EqualWeb are on the end user’s level, meaning within their browsers. This includes the manual process as well.

In order to achieve full compliance as regulations update and websites undergo periodic changes, Bahat articulates, EqualWeb provides a four-step packaged solution. The company generates accessibility code for the client’s website for the AI-based technology to fulfill the required accessibility requirements. Then, “we make full manual remediation on top of the client’s website without changing it,” Bahat stipulates. The company makes adaptations in the widgets that are fully compliant with clients’ websites.

We enable client to achieve the highest level of accessibility fully compliant with regulations

For instance, if the color used on the website is red, EqualWeb can build similar colored widgets. To stay fully compliant, EqualWeb keeps auditing and monitoring the website through its automated monitoring system that recognizes new changes in terms of design or template on the website to remediate the widgets accordingly for accessibility. “We also provide quick and robust AI solutions for small businesses, tailored to their needs, but we make sure they understand that unless they have the full package they will most likely not meet 100 percent compliance requirements,” Bahat says.

EqualWeb’s technology in web accessibility is testified by Lenovo, a leader in manufacturing PC and smart devices. While incorporating web accessibility on their website, the company wanted to ensure that it does not impact normal user flow. EqualWeb enabled Lenovo to easily accomplish accessibility compliance without changing anything on the website or the underlying codebase. Lenovo uses EqualWeb’s managed accessibility plan, a hybrid approach that combines both the automated interface and meticulous manual remediation by the company’s accessibility experts. As a result, Lenovo was able to move from 0 to 100 percent web accessibility compliance while saving time, money, and resources and have more than 56,000 user activations. It is no surprise that EqualWeb’s clientele includes leading brands such as Bosch, Decathlon, Adidas, and Mac, among others.

With a growing client roster, EqualWeb is aiming to work with updated accessibility regulations to remediate organizations and help them comply with new norms. At the same time, the company constantly works with people with disabilities to get their feedback and improve the accessibility and user-friendliness of its widgets on websites. “We want to help clients achieve equal web access to everyone in a cost-effective manner while making all users happier in the process,” concludes Bahat.