Guides for government web compliance
Practical articles, checklists, and guides to help your agency meet accessibility, security, and compliance requirements.
The 10 Most Common Accessibility Failures on Government Websites
A data-driven look at the 10 most common WCAG failures on government websites - missing alt text, inaccessible PDFs, poor contrast, missing labels, and more - and how to fix each one.
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Does Your Government Website Need a Cookie Banner?
Most government websites collect some cookie data. Whether you need a cookie banner — and what it must say — depends on what data you're collecting and from whom.
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State Privacy Laws and Government Websites: What Agencies Need to Know
Do state consumer privacy laws like the CCPA, CDPA, and CPA apply to government agencies? A practical guide to which state laws cover government websites and what they require.
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Government Website Redesign: An Accessibility and Compliance Checklist
How to bake accessibility and compliance into a government website redesign from day one - design system, development, content migration, vendor selection, UAT, launch, and post-launch monitoring.
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How to Write a Privacy Policy for a Government Website
Government websites must tell visitors what data they collect and how it's used. Here's what a compliant, readable government privacy policy must include.
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ADA Title II and State Government Websites: What the 2026 Rule Requires
State governments face the same April 2026 deadline as large local governments under the DOJ's ADA Title II rule, but with very different portfolio complexity. Here is what state CIOs, CISOs, and ADA Coordinators need to do.
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The 21st Century IDEA Act: What It Requires for Federal Agency Websites
What the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (2018) requires for federal websites: modernization, mobile-friendliness, accessibility, search, analytics, and digital service delivery.
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Core Web Vitals for Government Websites: LCP, CLS, and INP Explained
What Core Web Vitals mean for government websites, how to measure LCP, CLS, and INP, the most common performance failures in the public sector, and how to fix them.
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Color Contrast Requirements for Government Websites: WCAG AA Explained
WCAG 1.4.3 requires 4.5:1 contrast for normal text and WCAG 1.4.11 requires 3:1 for UI components. Here is how to measure contrast, why government brand palettes commonly fail, and how to remediate.
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VPAT Explained: What Government Agencies Need to Know When Buying Software
A VPAT is the document vendors use to claim accessibility conformance. Here is how to read one, what the language actually means, and how to write accessibility requirements into government RFPs.
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Security Headers for Government Websites: A Technical Implementation Guide
A technical implementation guide to HTTP security headers for government websites: HSTS, Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options, Referrer-Policy, and Permissions-Policy.
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What Happens When a Government Website Gets an ADA Complaint
A walkthrough of the DOJ Title II complaint process — from the initial complaint through investigation, letter of findings, and resolution agreement — and what agencies typically end up required to do.
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CISA Cybersecurity Recommendations for Government Websites: What Agencies Need to Know
CISA provides binding directives and advisory guidance for government cybersecurity. Here's what your agency's website should do to meet CISA's recommendations.
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How to Conduct a Government Website Accessibility Audit
A step-by-step methodology for auditing a government website against WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 Level AA — combining automated scanning, manual testing, and assistive technology verification.
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Video and Audio Accessibility for Government Websites: Captions, Transcripts, and Audio Description
A complete guide to making government videos and audio accessible: when you need captions, transcripts, or audio description, how to caption videos correctly, and what WCAG 1.2 requires.
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PDF Accessibility for Government Websites: A Practical Guide
PDFs are the single largest accessibility liability for most government websites. This guide covers how to create accessible PDFs, remediate scanned documents, and decide when to use HTML instead.
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WCAG 2.2 vs. 2.1: What Changed and What Government Websites Need to Update
WCAG 2.2 added nine new success criteria and removed one. Here is what changed, what it means for government websites, and how it interacts with the DOJ's 2026 ADA Title II deadline.
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Keyboard Accessibility for Government Websites: What You Need to Know
A practical guide to keyboard accessibility for government websites: skip links, tab order, focus indicators, focus traps, and the WCAG 2.2 success criteria that matter most.
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How to Write an Accessibility Statement for Your Government Website
A complete guide to writing an accessibility statement that meets the DOJ ADA Title II final rule — including a template, required elements, and common mistakes to avoid.
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Government Website Compliance Checklist: ADA, WCAG, Section 508, Privacy, and Security
A comprehensive checklist covering every major compliance area for government websites — accessibility, privacy, security, and performance — in one place.
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OCR Web Accessibility Complaints Against Universities: What Institutions Need to Know
The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights actively investigates web accessibility complaints against colleges and universities. Here's what triggers complaints, what the process looks like, and how to protect your institution.
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WCAG 2.2 Level AA Checklist for Government Websites
A practical WCAG 2.2 Level AA checklist for government web teams — covering the 50 success criteria that matter most for public-sector compliance.
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How to Fix Missing Alt Text on a Government Website
Missing alt text is one of the most common WCAG failures on government sites. Here's what it is, why it matters, and how to fix it — including for PDFs and CMSs.
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Web Accessibility for Small Cities and Towns: Where to Start
Small local governments face the same ADA Title II requirements as larger agencies — but with smaller teams and budgets. Here's a practical starting point.
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ADA Title II 2026 Compliance Deadline: A Guide for Cities and Counties
Cities and counties with populations over 50,000 must meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA by April 24, 2026. Here's what local government web teams need to do — and how much time is left.
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Section 508 vs. ADA Title II: What's the Difference for Government Websites?
Section 508 and ADA Title II both require accessible websites, but they cover different entities and have different enforcement mechanisms. Here's how to know which applies to you.
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ADA Title II Web Accessibility: What Government Websites Must Do by 2026
The DOJ's 2024 final rule sets hard deadlines for state and local government website compliance with WCAG 2.2 Level AA. Here's exactly what's required and when.
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What Is WCAG? A Plain-Language Guide for Government Web Teams
WCAG — the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines — is the international standard government websites must follow. Here's what it means, what it requires, and why it matters.
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What Is Web Accessibility and Why Are Government Websites Required to Be Accessible?
Web accessibility means everyone can use your website — including people with disabilities. For government agencies, it's also the law. Here's what that means in practice.
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