ADA Title II · WCAG 2.1 AA
ADA compliant websites for the folks who run a town.
The DOJ's ADA Title II rule requires state and local government websites to meet WCAG 2.1 AA. Mainfolk builds that conformance into the page markup itself and verifies it with automated audits, so your website is evidence of compliance instead of a liability.
Free plan, no credit card. Or go Civic for the department features: you approve it before you pay.
- WCAG 2.1 AA by construction
- No overlay widgets
- Verified with automated audits
- No contract, cancel anytime
ADA Title II · The clock is running
The deadlines are federal law, and they name you.
The rule was adopted April 24, 2024. The DOJ extended the compliance dates by one year in April 2026 and says it fully anticipates implementing the regulation at the new deadlines. Existing ADA obligations continue to apply in the meantime.
Public entities serving 50,000 or more residents.
Entities under 50,000 and every special district government: fire protection, park, library, water districts.
We engineer to the standard; your counsel advises on your entity's specific obligations.
Plain English
What WCAG 2.1 AA actually requires.
The standard sounds like a legal document. In practice, it's a short list of things a website should have always done.
Color contrast
Text needs at least a 4.5:1 contrast ratio against its background, readable in bright sun and low vision alike.
Full keyboard operability
Every link, button, and form works without a mouse, and shows a visible focus ring while you tab through it.
Semantic structure
Real headings and landmarks so a screen reader can announce the page's structure, not just read it top to bottom.
Text alternatives for images
Every meaningful image gets alt text that describes it, so it's understood even when it can't be seen.
Real labels and clear errors
Forms with actual labels tied to their fields, and error messages that say what's wrong and how to fix it.
Reduced-motion respect
Animation backs off when a visitor's device says they prefer less motion: no forced parallax, no forced autoplay.
The shortcut that isn't one
Why overlay widgets fail.
Overlay and toolbar widgets promise compliance with one line of JavaScript. Courts and accessibility experts consider them insufficient, and they typically cost thousands a year on top of the website itself. Accessibility has to live in the markup: a script bolted on top can't fix headings, forms, or contrast that were never built right in the first place.
The engineering
How Mainfolk builds it in.
Not a checklist we run once. Accessibility is part of the platform every site is built on.
- Contrast-aware theming. The rendering engine computes WCAG-passing text colors for every brand color a site chooses, in light and dark modes, automatically.
- Semantic HTML. Real headings, landmarks, buttons, and labels on every block.
- Keyboard and focus. Every interactive element is keyboard operable with visible focus.
- AI-written alt text. Every image uploaded to the media library gets descriptive alt text generated for it, editable by staff.
- Continuous verification. Automated axe-core WCAG 2.1 AA audits run across the platform and our own marketing site; our latest full audit (July 20, 2026) covered 18 pages including live customer sites and found zero violations.
See for yourself
"Run any accessibility scanner on this page."
We publish our standard and our results: see our accessibility statement. Every site we ship inherits the same engineering.
The honest price
Under the bid threshold, and accessibility isn't an add-on.
Civic plan pricing is public: no demo-gated quote, no RFP process required.
Everything above, plus hosting, security, updates, and get-found-by-Google-and-AI optimization. About $990–$1,188 a year, under every state's competitive-bid threshold, so no RFP.
★ Civic includes free white-glove migration: we move your current site over for you. Month-to-month, export anytime.Straight answers
The questions counsel and IT actually ask.
What is the ADA Title II website deadline?
April 26, 2027 for public entities serving 50,000 or more; April 26, 2028 for smaller entities and all special districts. The DOJ extended these dates once, in April 2026, and says it anticipates enforcing at the new dates.
Does an accessibility overlay widget make my site compliant?
No. Courts and accessibility experts consider overlays insufficient because they do not fix the underlying markup. WCAG 2.1 AA conformance has to be built into the pages.
What standard do government websites have to meet?
WCAG 2.1 Level AA, covering web pages, online forms, documents, and multimedia.
How does Mainfolk make our website ADA compliant?
Accessibility is engineered into the platform: contrast-checked colors for any brand palette, semantic HTML, keyboard navigation, generated alt text, and automated WCAG audits. It is included in the price, not an add-on.
Is Mainfolk's own website accessible?
Yes. Our July 2026 axe-core audit of 18 pages, including live customer sites, found zero WCAG 2.1 AA violations. Our accessibility statement documents the methodology.
See your site rebuilt before you pay a dollar.
Accessible by construction. Live in days. No contract, no RFP. Start free: you approve it before you pay a dollar.