Project Guides - ADA Overview

This page was last updated June 2023

Responding to the Monsido® ADA Marketing Campaign/Tactics

Monsido® is just one of MANY companies that provide a Javascript-based ADA compliance monitoring tool for websites. We used to offer Monsido years ago as a reseller until we found better ADA solutions at a lower cost for our customers. We also had issues with Monsido's® ethics regarding our partnership agreement (never paying us to help with bringing them customers and integrations).  Our experience was that the Monsido® solution, and the solution of AudioEye® (who some of our competitors still integrate) was very lacking.  Monsido® was just recently sold to a private equity firm, which is the same firm that now owns CivicPlus® - one of our main competitors. They have a big marketing campaign going on now where they are marketing to every city in the USA, telling them that their websites are not ADA compliant. This is a common marketing ploy called FUD (to spread Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) to sell a product. 

Here are some quick facts to help you:

  • We assist customers with ensuring that their websites are ADA/WCAG compliant. We do this by running scans of the content, and making design-related code changes to ensure that the design is level 2 compliant for most attributes. These scans may be requested at any time.
  • Please note that ADA compliance is no longer a pass/fail as it was a decade ago, as there are multiple levels of compliance for HUNDREDS of content attributes with the new WCAG recommendation (not a law, a recommendation).
  • Compliance is easily defeated when your staff updates your website content, so you need a SERVICE to monitor your website and fix it on the fly.
  • Presenting a compliance mission statement on your website is one of the easiest ways to prevent ADA legal liability. ALL Javascript-based ADA solutions generate a compliance statement automatically.
  • We recommend Accessibe.com as an alternative to Monsido, AudioEye, Userway, and SiteImprove.
  • We are an Accessibe® reseller and we pass the discount to our customers as this service is not meant to be a profit center for us.
  • Integration with any popular ADA compliance suite takes about an hour and the integration is no charge. 
  • Accessibe starts at $49 for sites under 1000 pages and that starting point does not include remediation reports (PDFs emailed to you showing what needs repair).
  • The next tier of Accessibe is $149/month for 10,000 pages and comes with remediation reports. This is far less expensive than most other providers.
  • SiteImprove is by far the most expensive ADA solution and we only see very large city customers use them. The cost of SiteImprove is much more than our hosting fees.
  • Userway charges by page views, and doesn't have anti-bot technology so we don't recommend it. Your fees would vary and it is only a good solution for very small websites.
  • For the reasons above we don't recommend Monsido® to our customers. If you really want Monsido, howerver, we will install it for you happily.
  • To get started with Accessibe, please contact your EvoGov project manager and we will install it (usually same day) and there is a 7 day free trial as well. 

Bottom line - you should budget for a quality monthly ADA monitoring service that handles the age-old question "am I compliant" while offering real-time usability tools for your website. These soluitions are NOT free, and they are no longer just part of everyday website hosting or web design. They require a live service installed into your website.

Will EvoGov ensure that our website is ADA compliant?

While not a law, WCAG Level AA compliance is something all government websites should strive for, and offer remedies for.
Compliance testing is usually included with our website development projects.
Assistance with correction of ADA issues that are created post-launch are typically included free with our hosting support.
Since WCAG/ADA is an ongoing effort, compliance checking should not end after the website is launched.

We recommend that our customers (especially larger ones) add a compliance monitoring service to their website services.
Ask your EvoGov salesperson about these 3rd party services. 

Note: EvoGov can not and will not accept any legal liability for ADA/WCAG accessibility compliance of your website.
This is covered in our legal agreements that all customers sign.
EvoGov will, as indicated in our agreements, perform a best effort to ensure the most accessible website possible (Level AA WCAG).
As with any website, your staff may easily create new website content that does not mean compliance.

Where can I read about the WCAG 2.0 Recommendation?

What is EvoGov's stance on guarantees of compliance?

This is covered in Section 5 of our Terms of Service Agreement (https://www.evogov.com/tos), which all customers agree to when using our software and services. 

How can we improve our levels of compliance and help protect against lawsuits?

We are not attorneys, so we cannot provide you legal advice. There is no technology solution that prevents lawsuits.
Below are some of the strategies that we see municipalities implementing, and that we assist you with at varying degrees.

  1. Read and have an overview understanding of the WCAG 2.0 specifications 
    Since ADA has been replaced by WCAG, you MUST read the specifications to have an understanding of the levels of compliance to develop your accessibility strategy. Please review the specifications at  https://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag  and the compliance guide at  https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/  . so that you understand the specification.
    You will quickly see how in-depth they are, and why    there is not a simple pass-fail for accessibility compliance    .
  2. Statement of Compliance 
    Your attorney should assist you in creating a statement of compliance that you can post on your website.
  3. Add a reporting form to your website 
    We recommend that you create a form on your website where the public can report accessibility issues that they find on your website.
  4. CMS User Training 
    It is possible for your CMS users to defeat your accessibility goals, so adequate CMS training is needed for the easiest issues to fix.
  5. Purchase a Compliance Checking Service
    There are a number of companies that provide online services and software tools to review your website real-time continually to identify compliance issues so that they can be resolved. This is beyond the scope of our CMS software, as it requires a web-based service running, along with training and reporting tools. Contact your project manager or salesperson for more information.

What specifically, can EvoGov do to help us with website accessibility?

  1. Help cover important WCAG topics in our CMS training meetings.
  2. Work with your compliance vendor to install, monitor, and use tools (what you should be using) to maintain a more compliant website.
  3. Work with your staff and your compliance vendor to remedy issues found in the website. 
  4. Assist with integration of paid 3rd party reporting service mechanisms in the website. 
  5. Assist with creating the compliance statement pages. 
  6. Create a reporting form mechanism to report issues. 

Built-In CMS Compliance Checker

We now have a basic WCAG compliance checker built into our CMS for on-page content. The compliance checker is free of charge.
When editing a page or other content, you can click the compliance checker icon:

We also recommend using the WAVE tool for testing: https://wave.webaim.org/

Need Further Assistance?

Please contact us using our contact form here on the website and let us know how we can help.