Making Websites More Accessible: How Cities Are Enhancing Digital Inclusion and Why It Matters

By Andrew Tellijohn

Cities across the country are working to make their websites more accessible, ensuring all residents can easily find information and access services online. With new federal regulations requiring local governments to meet updated Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II accessibility standards by 2026 or 2027, many cities are taking proactive steps to improve digital inclusion.

Lynn Wehrman, founder and CEO of Digital Accessibility by WeCo, has been working with several municipalities to help them meet these requirements. Her firm specializes in digital accessibility and is staffed by technologists who live with disabilities to assess and improve websites.

“There are a lot of unique challenges that city governments have, particularly smaller city governments, in that they don’t have a team of coders to help make their websites accessible,” Wehrman said. “They’re usually purchasing their website from a service and then have a communications person managing the content.”

One city that completed accessibility upgrades early is Columbia Heights. Will Rottler, the city’s communications and engagement coordinator, said Columbia Heights partnered with WeCo in early 2024 to conduct an accessibility audit.

“It was honestly fantastic,” he said. “It was eye-opening to learn what your website is lacking and in what ways it might not be meeting ADA guidelines.”

Following the audit, city staff spent six months addressing accessibility issues, focusing on high-traffic pages and ensuring compliance. They cleaned up PDFs, added alternative text to images, corrected mislabeled headers, and adjusted color contrast for readability.

“You have 20,000 people that live in your city; you want to do the best you can to make sure the website is accessible for everybody,” Rottler said. “It should be a focus for your entity, whether there are federal guidelines or not.”

Proactive change in Fridley

The City of Fridley also took a proactive approach, recognizing the need for website improvements even before the Department of Justice published the ADA Title II Web and Mobile Applications Accessibility Rule for city governments in April 2024.

While accessibility complaints were minimal, city staff had received feedback that the old site was difficult to navigate, information was hard to find, and the search function was ineffective.

“We are always looking for ways to improve how we provide service and program information,” said Brooke Hall, Fridley’s communications coordinator. A biannual resident survey helped city leaders identify areas for improvement.

In 2023, Fridley secured funding for a new website and spent 2024 gathering resident input. They partnered with a company specializing in government websites and sought public feedback on proposed structures. The new website, launched in November 2024, significantly streamlines navigation, reduces content clutter by 50%, and meets accessibility standards.

Accessibility at the forefront

Accessibility was a key focus of Fridley’s redesign. The new platform adheres to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at the midlevel standard, ensuring usability for individuals with visual, hearing, cognitive, motor, and speech disabilities.

Simple but impactful changes included replacing vague “click here” links with descriptive text, consolidating related information onto single pages, using structured headings, and adding alternative text for images.

These changes are especially meaningful for residents like Kelly Harrison. Harrison, who is blind and relies on a screen reader, previously faced challenges registering for the city’s Citizen’s Academy — a program that educates the community on the Fridley Police Department — because the PDF form was not accessible.

“I needed to get some assistance with getting registered for the class,” she said. “Everybody was willing to help out and do what they could.”

While she ultimately completed the process, the experience highlighted areas for improvement. With the city’s updated website, future interactions should be much smoother.

“It seems pretty good,” said Harrison, who hasn’t had a specific reason to use the new site yet but has reviewed it for some of the features she looks for and found it much improved. “They’re obviously following accessibility guidelines.”

As cities work to meet the upcoming federal deadlines, these efforts ensure that all residents, regardless of ability, can fully access the digital services their communities provide. By prioritizing accessibility now, cities like Columbia Heights and Fridley are setting a standard for inclusivity in local government.

“Accessibility,” Harrison said, “is good for everyone.”

Andrew Tellijohn is a freelance writer.