A Partner in Every Way

Popmenu is committed to helping you make your site more accessible so you can feel confident about your website being friendly to all your visitors and guests.

In recent years, restaurant websites have been major target of discrimination lawsuits filed under the basis that they do not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). While it is your responsibility to maintain an accessible website, Popmenu is here to support your efforts so you can protect your business. Read on to discover more.

Risks of having an inaccessible website

Makes your restaurant an easier target for legal action

Alienates and excludes valuable customers

Opens you up to costly website redesigns

How does Popmenu help you?

We are committed to helping you make sure ALL your customers and guests can successfully use and interact with your website.

Prioritizes accessibility during the product development process

Website components are built on an open-source library that provides continuous accessibility improvements, which are enhanced with additional efforts by Popmenu. Also, automated accessibility tests are performed for new features, which are prevented from being merged/deployed on failure.*

*Automated accessibility tests do not read certain dynamic interactions, embedded/framed content or consent from static documents such as PDFs that have not been designed for accessibility.

Provides the foundation for accessibility on your website

Popmenu websites are built from a base features template that is manually evaluated using a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT), which is used to analyze conformance to Section 508 standards for IT accessibility in U.S. government contracting. This allows for updates to features across all Popmenu websites as accessibility guidelines or best practices change. This, together with the Popmenu platform's conformance to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), provides the foundation for an accessible site.

Partners with eSSENTIAL Accessibility to provide guidance and support on accessibility guidelines and best practices

Popmenu is committed to helping you make sure ALL your customers and guests can successfully access and interact with your website. That's why we partner with an industry-leading team of digital accessibility professionals at Level Access to help us help you set up a site that conforms to WCAG, the leading voluntary consensus standard for web content accessibility.

Quick Facts

What does accessibility mean?

Having an accessible restaurant space or website means that people with disabilities can enjoy your space and use your website equally to counterparts without disabilities or impairments.

What are the requirements of an accessible website?

Unfortunately, the ADA does not outline a list of accessibility requirements, which can certainly make things difficult. However, conformance with Section 508 Standards and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 offers an accepted set of standards for web accessibility, and following these guidelines are best practice.

Who should I consider when making my website accessible?

- Blindness or those with low vision
- Deafness and hearing loss
- Limited movement
- Speech disabilities

See full list of FAQs here

1.8 billion

people living with disabilities globally

$13 trillion

disposable income of people living with disabilities and their friends and family

73% of the marketplace

percentage of people affected by disabilities who make buying decisions

10,700+

digital accessibility lawsuits between 2017-2021

Who is responsible for making a Popmenu site accessible to people disabilities?

While the responsibility is ultimately on you as a restaurant owner to ensure your website is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (just as it is in your physical space), Popmenu offers more support than any other technology partner within the restaurant industry to help you set up your website to be accessible to those with disabilities.

Just remember, maintaining a website that is accessible to people with disabilities is a journey, NOT a destination. In other words, it's a job that's never truly finished. Our commitment to your success, paired with our strategic partnership with Level Access, ensures Popmenu is here to help lighten your load.

Most common accessibility mistakes

There are some easy things you and your team could do to avoid the consequences of a discrimination lawsuit.
Here are some common mistakes people make in creating and maintaining an accessible website.

Insufficient contrast between text color and background

Website text should be easy to read. Avoid using a similar color shade for both a font and the background. Unsure about your color choices? We recommend a tool that our designers use called WebAIM. Before you change any colors on your website (especially button color), consult WebAIM first.

Not including detailed alternate text (ALT text) with images

All images on your website should include alternate text for screen readers to provide the proper context to a user with disabilities. It’s important to be descriptive and accurately represent what is in the photo.

Linking out to third-party websites or ordering platforms that are not accessible

It’s important to note that you are responsible for all links on your website—even if that means it leads to another vendor’s website. A common example is online ordering links that take users to a different domain that is not accessible.

Hosting videos without subtitles

All videos on your website should include subtitles by default or include an option for them for anyone with hearing disabilities.

Using static documents such as PDFs

Screen readers cannot read basic PDFs. Using promotional language directly in your website is the best form of communication on many levels. If you must use a PDF or flier on your website, create accessible PDFs and verify accessibility before uploading.

Spending money to guarantee accessibility

No matter what a vendor may tell you, no one can guarantee accessibility of your website. Maintaining a site that is accessible to people with disabilities is an ongoing journey that requires constant examination and rigorous diligence on the part of a restaurant owner. Steer clear of people or companies promising you 100% accessibility in exchange for a fee.

While Popmenu is here to help clients provide accessible websites that conform to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, ultimately accessibility and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are solely the responsibility of the restaurant owner. Popmenu makes no guarantees that your website on the Popmenu platform will comply with the ADA or that you will not be sued. Popmenu is not liable for any damages resulting from an inaccessible website or ADA lawsuit. The information made available on this webpage is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended as and does not constitute legal advice and should not be acted on as such.