When it comes to ADA website accessibility, most agencies assume the responsibility sits entirely on their side. It’s their website, their content, and their obligation to make sure everything meets the standard.
That’s only part of the picture.
Your website vendor plays a direct role in how your site is built, how it functions, and whether it can realistically meet accessibility requirements. If those things aren’t handled correctly from the start, the responsibility may be yours—but the root of the problem isn’t.
Accessibility Starts With How the Site Is Built
Structure, navigation, forms, and overall usability are all controlled by the way the site is developed. If those elements aren’t designed with accessibility in mind, issues show up immediately when the site is used. In many cases, those problems can’t be fixed with small adjustments later.
This is where a lot of agencies run into trouble. The site looks complete, but the underlying structure wasn’t built to support accessibility from the beginning.
Once that foundation is in place, everything added on top of it follows the same pattern. New pages, updates, and documents all inherit the same limitations, which is why accessibility issues tend to spread across the entire site rather than stay isolated.
Content Is Only One Piece of It
It’s common to hear that accessibility comes down to content. While that’s true to a point, it leaves out everything happening behind the scenes. Navigation behavior, form functionality, heading structure, and interactive elements all depend on how the site was developed.
If those pieces aren’t handled correctly, even well-written content won’t solve the problem. The site may still be difficult to navigate or use, especially for someone relying on assistive technology.
This is also why assigning accessibility entirely to internal staff doesn’t work in most cases. Content can be managed internally, but the structure that supports it usually isn’t.
Where Vendor Responsibility Comes In
Your vendor controls the technical side of your website. That includes how pages are structured, how navigation behaves, how forms function, and how updates are implemented over time.
If accessibility wasn’t part of that process, the site is likely going to have gaps—regardless of how much effort goes into maintaining it.
This doesn’t mean vendors are intentionally ignoring accessibility. In many cases, it simply isn’t part of their standard process. But for public agencies, it needs to be.
Under ADA expectations, the responsibility still sits with the agency. That’s what makes this a problem. You’re accountable for something that may not have been built correctly in the first place.
And when accessibility issues are tied to how the site was developed, fixing them isn’t always straightforward. It often requires reworking sections of the site or rebuilding them entirely.
That’s why the vendor relationship matters more than most agencies realize. It’s not just about keeping the site online. It’s about whether the site can actually meet the standards it’s required to follow.
If there’s any uncertainty around how your site was built or whether accessibility was considered at that level, it’s worth taking a closer look. We can help you understand where things stand and what it would take to fix it properly.