Acquia Simplifies Website Accessibility Compliance, Increases Focus on Enabling Teams to Equitably Support Users With Disabilities

Monsido platform now supports WCAG 2.2 digital accessibility guidelines

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Acquia, the leader in open digital experience software, today announced that its Monsido web optimization platform offers support for WCAG 2.2, the latest web content accessibility guidelines recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Using the Accessibility Module in Monsido, customers can automatically scan their websites, obtain an accessibility score, and receive actionable recommendations to help ensure the accessibility of their digital content for individuals with disabilities.

“WCAG 2.2 stands as the globally recognized benchmark for digital accessibility, and marks a pivotal step toward a more accessible and inclusive digital world,” said Jennifer Griffin Smith, Chief Market Officer at Acquia. “Keeping pace with the latest guidelines as they emerge is a major challenge but a necessary one: ​​51% of consumers are willing to pay more to companies committed to digital accessibility and 41% are willing to pay up to 10% more¹. Monsido simplifies this process, making it easy to identify and proactively fix accessibility issues, avoid penalties for non-compliance, and most importantly maximize the return on marketing investments by improving the digital experience for all users to ensure wider reach and more audience engagement.”

WCAG 2.2 expands on WCAG 2.1 – which addressed accessibility issues for individuals with blindness, deafness, and mobility requirements – with new criteria to make the web more productive for those with low vision and cognitive disabilities, as well as those using tablets and other mobile devices. The Monsido platform addresses common accessibility issues against these latest guidelines, and enables errors to be filtered by the desired level of compliance (e.g. A, AA, or AAA) for easy prioritization. Comprehensive reports explain how to resolve issues, and the Accessibility Fast Track™ feature empowers teams to instantly fix repetitive errors across multiple pages. For additional support, teams can access the Accessibility Help Center, which breaks down the more technical WCAG 2.2 checks in plain language.

Spotlighting the importance for digital accessibility

Acquia’s mission is to help customers build a better digital future that is more inclusive, accessible, and sets new benchmarks for performance and innovation. With Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) on May 16th, Acquia is making May “Digital Accessibility Month” to spotlight digital accessibility as a critical element of every organization’s digital practices.

Throughout the month, Acquia will offer opportunities for technology and marketing professionals to learn about the state of digital accessibility and get inspired to make meaningful improvements through:

• Informative webinars on The Hidden Cost of Ignoring Digital Accessibility, The Digital Accessibility Dilemma, and Achieving Near Perfect Web Accessibility.
• Collaborative workshops at Acquia Engage London and Paris, as well as DrupalCon Portland, where attendees will learn accessibility fundamentals, how to apply them in website design and development, and more.
• Educating and engaging their communities with accessibility facts shared daily on Acquia’s social channels, and downloadable animated American Sign Language emojis for Slack and social media.

For more information, please visit www.acquia.com/gaad or see https://www.acquia.com/products/monsido for additional details regarding the Monsido platform.

About Acquia

Acquia empowers ambitious digital innovators to craft the most productive, frictionless digital experiences that make a difference to their customers, employees, and communities. We provide the world's leading open digital experience platform (DXP), built on open source Drupal, as part of our commitment to shaping a digital future that is safe, accessible, and available to all. With Acquia Open DXP, you can unlock the potential of your customer data and content, accelerating time to market and increasing engagement, conversion, and revenue. Learn more at https://acquia.com.

1. CapTech Ventures, Inc.; Inclusivity, Accessibility, and Social Responsibility Survey

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