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Consultant tells Weston website committee site must meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA for ADA compliance
Summary
At a May 29 meeting, web consultant Abby Childs told the Town of Weston Website Committee the town site should meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards; she outlined technical and non-technical features, estimated costs of $10,000–$50,000 and a 2–3 month rebuild timeline.
Abby Childs, the committee’s guest for a Q&A on website accessibility, told the Town of Weston Website Committee on May 29 that the town’s website will need to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards to be ADA-compliant. Childs said the town need not rebrand to meet accessibility standards, but it must implement specific technical and administrative changes to comply.
Childs listed the core technical requirements a compliant site should include: alt text for images; keyboard-only navigation; high color-contrast text; descriptive link text; closed captions for videos; and a clearly labeled site structure. She also described essential non-technical features to include in contracts and operations: an Accessibility Statement, a feedback mechanism for users, regular audits, ongoing maintenance, staff training, and third‑party content review. Childs emphasized that accessible digital services should extend to reporting forms, payments, public notices, emergency notifications and multimedia accessibility.
She provided cost and timing guidance: project fees commonly range from $10,000 to $50,000, with her typical retainer between $10,000 and $18,000 depending on the number and complexity of pages to be rebuilt; annual or monthly upkeep was estimated at $50 per hour and hosting should be included in vendor proposals. Childs estimated roughly 2–3 months to build a new, compliant site. The committee said it will use these details when soliciting bids and preparing contract language.
