ADA Compliance and Accessibility for Showit Websites: What You Need to Know

If you have a website, or are thinking about getting a website, you might have been hearing more talk online recently about ADA compliance, website accessibility, and news of small businesses getting sued because of accessibility issues (scary stuff!).

It’s an important topic with lots of conflicting opinions and advice. Especially when it comes to website builders like Showit.

In this post, I’ll talk about what ADA stands for, why accessibility matters on websites, and what you can do to make sure your Showit site is safe to avoid any legal dramas.

What is ADA compliance?

So first, what even is ADA and why should you care?

ADA stands for the Americans with Disabilities Act. And it basically exists to ensure equal opportunities for people with disabilities (all about it! 👏).

When it comes to websites, it’s focuses on making sure people with disabilities can reasonably access and use your site. This includes people with:

Visual impairments
Hearing impairments
Motor disabilities
Cognitive or learning disabilities

There’s no such thing as a website being officially “ADA certified”. And sadly that means no cute little badge for your site footer. BUT if your site is found to be inaccessible, with no effort made to try and improve it, you could be at risk of legal action.

Now you’re listening, eh?

How does ADA measure website accessibility?

Website accessibility is usually measured against WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standards. These are best practices that help make digital content more usable for more people.

WCAG itself isn’t a law BUT it’s widely referenced as the benchmark for accessibility under legislation like the ADA in the US, AODA in Canada, and similar regulations across the UK and Europe when accessibility is assessed.

So it’s worth being aware of.

Why website accessibility matters?

Website accessibility matters for legal reasons, of course. But more than that, it matters because real people are trying to use your website.

Unless you’re a huge a-hole, I’ll guess you actually care whether disabled people can read your content, navigate your pages, and book or buy from you without stress.

Accessibility affects user experience, trust, and your reputation. So if someone lands on your site and can’t use it, that has a negative impact, even if it wasn’t intentional.

Not to mention 1 in 5 people live with some form of disability. Even if empathy isn’t your strongest trait, that’s 20% of your website visitors that you could losing due to poor accessibility.

Not good for business!

What’s considered accessible (and what’s not!)

At a basic level, accessible websites are just easier to use. They’re clearer, more readable, and less frustrating for everyone. But especially for those with disabilities.

Accessible websites will:

have good contrast between text and background
use readable font sizes and clear typography
include alt text for images
be structured logically with clear headings
have buttons and links that actually say what they do
not rely on colour alone to communicate information
be easy to navigate using a keyboard or voice commands

Accessibility issues include:

low contrast text
very small or hard-to-read fonts
important text saved as images
missing or vague alt text
buttons that aren’t labelled clearly
layouts that confuse screen readers

When these basics aren’t in place, people can’t use your site properly. They’ll get stuck, miss information, or most likely get frustrated and leave.

Not the kind of impression you want to make.

What does this mean for Showit?

Showit gives you a lot of creative freedom. It’s literally a blank canvas, which is why so many of us love it.

BUT that also means accessibility isn’t automatically handled for you. You’re left to go rogue and there’s no quick fix button that fixes it or flags anything up.

That means that, especially if you are designing the site yourself, that you need to make sure you design with accessibility in mind.

That doesn’t mean Showit sites can’t be accessible. They definitely can and should be.

It just means accessibility is something you intentionally design and build in.

Things you can control on Showit:

colour contrast
font choice and text sizing
heading structure
alt text for images
button labels and link clarity
mobile readability

Things Showit doesn’t currently handle perfectly:

full keyboard navigation
advanced screen reader behaviour
deeper technical accessibility features

This is why most Showit designers aim for reasonable accessibility, not technical perfection. Accessibility doesn’t mean your site has to be boring or devoid of personality (phew!). It just means clarity comes first.Accessibility isn’t about being perfect or stripping the personality from your brand. It’s about making your website usable, respectful, and easier for more people to engage with.

How to make your Showit website more accessible

If you want to be more intentional without overcomplicating things, start here.

Check your colour contrast

Make sure your text clearly stands out from the background. If it looks subtle or “aesthetic” but hard to read, it’s probably not accessible.

Choose readable fonts

Avoid super thin fonts or overly decorative styles for body text. Save those for accents and headlines if needed. And as hard as it may be, try to limit script and handwritten fonts too.

Add meaningful alt text

Describe what’s in the image or its purpose. Decorative images can be left blank so screen readers skip them.

Use clear buttons and links

“Click here” doesn’t help anyone. “Book a consultation” or “View services” does.

Structure pages logically

Use headings in a clear order so both users and screen readers can follow the page easily.

For Showit specifically, you’ll need to order text content from the bottom to the top. It’s a Showit quirk that screen readers and search engines read Showit content upside down.

Honest Showit accessibility flaws

Now, Showit isn’t perfect when it comes to accessibility. No platform is.

That said, Showit is constantly improving and actively working on platform updates, including addressing accessibility issues. Accessibility on Showit is about making reasonable improvements where you can, while the platform continues to evolve.

Here’s some known issues to be aware of:

You can’t reliably navigate the site or links using the Tab key

This can make navigation difficult for users who don’t use a mouse.

Showit’s canvas-based layouts aren’t keyboard-friendly

The visual layout doesn’t always translate clearly for keyboard or screen reader users.

Showit’s native forms don’t always label fields clearly

This can make forms harder to understand for people using assistive technology.

No built-in skip links or logical tab order

Keyboard users may have to tab through every element on a page.

Reversed reading order (DOM order)

Content may be read in a different order than it appears visually, which can feel confusing.

Some limits come from how the platform is built

Certain accessibility improvements aren’t fully possible, even with custom code.

Helpful tools to check accessibility

You don’t need to an army of tools to check accessibility. It’s important to remember tools won’t magically make your site compliant, and they don’t replace good practices. But they’ll help you identify any issues you might currently have and stay ahead of the game.

Here’s few accessibility tools I recommend:

WAVE Accessibility Tool – Great for spotting contrast issues, missing alt text, and structure problems.
Headings Map –
Color Contrast Checker – For testing color combinations before committing to them

AccessiBe Accessibility widget

You might have seen accessibility widgets on certain websites that and let users adjust things like text size, contrast, or navigation. One tool that’s great for this and compatible with Showit is AccessiBe.

AccessiBe is a paid subscription tool, but it’s been really easy to use with Showit. You’re given an embed code to add to your site, and once it’s live, it updates automatically in the background.

What I like most is that it’s very low maintenance. Once it’s set up, it just stays on your site and runs without you needing to manage it constantly. Their support team are also really helpful.

If you’re a website designer youself, they offer free access for agencies too. Bonus!

Can I really get sued if my website is not accessible?

Accessibility lawsuits exist. But the biggest issues tend to come up when businesses make no effort at all or rely on misleading “instant compliance” claims.

Making reasonable improvements, documenting your efforts, and continuing to improve over time goes a long way.

Accessibility is not a one-time thing. It’s an ongoing process, just like SEO or website maintenance.

How do accessibility lawsuits actually happen?

Most accessibility lawsuits don’t come from random spot checks or government agents browsing small business websites.

They usually happen in one of two ways:

1. A real user can’t access a website

Say someone with a disability tries to use a site and can’t.

For example, they can’t read the text, navigate the page, or use key features.

In some (rare but real) cases, they or their legal representative raise a complaint.

2. Legal firms actively look for accessibility issues

In some places, especially the US, there are law firms that look for websites with obvious accessibility problems. If a site shows little to no effort toward accessibility, it may be targeted.

This is why you sometimes hear about small businesses getting sued.

Unlucky but it does happen.

Final thoughts before you go

You don’t need a perfect website to be responsible.

Accessibility isn’t about ticking a single box and you’re good to go. It’s about showing effort, intention, and ongoing improvement. Especially on a platform like Showit, small changes really do make a difference.

And at the end of the day, if you make it easier for everyone to use your website, you’ll give them a better experience, they’ll feel included by you, and that builds trust.

If you’re unsure where your site stands, a website audit can help you find out how your site measures up to the ADA rules, and if you should make any changes. Contact me here if you need support!