Achieving Section 508 Compliance with the Enterpristore Ecommerce Platform

In today’s digital landscape, accessibility is not just a best practice – it’s a legal imperative for many organizations. Ensuring that your online presence is usable by individuals with disabilities is crucial for inclusivity, reaching a wider audience, and, importantly, meeting federal requirements. This is where Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act comes into play, and where the Enterpristore Ecommerce Platform offers robust solutions.

Understanding Section 508 Compliance

Section 508 is a federal law that requires U.S. federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology (EIT) accessible to people with disabilities. This includes websites, software, hardware, and electronic documents. The goal is to provide comparable access to information and data for individuals with disabilities as is provided for those without.

The scope of Section 508 extends beyond federal agencies themselves. It also applies to contractors, sub-contractors, and organizations who receive federal funding when they develop, procure, maintain, or use EIT.

Recent legislative action has reinforced the importance of this compliance. In December 2022, the US Congress passed HR 2617, a bill that mandates federal agencies to ensure their ICT meets Section 508 requirements and report on their compliance status within 225 days (by August 11, 2023). This underscores a renewed focus on digital accessibility at the federal level.

What's Required to Meet Section 508 Compliance?

While Section 508 sets the legal mandate, the practical requirements for web-based EIT are largely defined by internationally recognized standards. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) references the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA conformance as the best measure of web accessibility concerning federal law.

Meeting WCAG 2.1 AA involves addressing criteria across various principles:

Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive (e.g., providing text alternatives for non-text content, making content adaptable, making it easier for users to see and hear content).
Operable: User interface components and navigation must be operable (e.g., making all functionality available from a keyboard, giving users enough time to read and use content, not designing content in a way that is known to cause seizures, providing ways to help users navigate, find content, and determine where they are).
Understandable: Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable (e.g., making text readable and understandable, making web pages appear and operate in predictable ways, helping users avoid and correct mistakes).
Robust: Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies (e.g., maximizing compatibility with current and future user agents, including assistive technologies).

Beyond the core web content, Section 508 also addresses specific areas:

Document Remediation: Electronic documents, including PDFs, Word documents, and presentations, must be made accessible. This involves providing alternative text for images, properly structuring headings, and ensuring compatibility with assistive technologies.
Assistive Technology Compatibility: EIT should be compatible with assistive technologies, including screen readers, screen magnifiers, and alternative input devices.
VPAT/ACR: Federal agencies (and often their vendors) must meet additional reporting requirements under Section 508, including publishing a completed Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT), which is often presented as an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR). This document details how the product or service conforms to the Section 508 standards.

Enterpristore: Your Partner in Section 508 Compliance

The Enterpristore Ecommerce Platform is designed with accessibility in mind, providing a foundation and solutions to help your organization meet and even exceed Section 508 compliance requirements, aligned with WCAG 2.1 AA standards.

We provide an end-to-end approach to help you meet the highest accessibility standards recognized by the DOJ, focusing on source code level compliance.

Source Code Level Compliance: The Enterpristore Advantage

Many platforms rely on accessibility overlays or plugins that attempt to fix accessibility issues after the fact. While these can offer some immediate improvements, they often fall short of true compliance and can sometimes even create new barriers.

Enterpristore takes a different approach. Our commitment to accessibility is built into the platform’s core. We focus on source code level compliance, meaning the underlying HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are structured correctly from the ground up to be inherently accessible. This includes:

Proper semantic HTML markup for headings, lists, forms, and interactive elements.
Accessible navigation structures that are keyboard-friendly and screen reader compatible.
Appropriate use of ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) attributes where necessary to enhance semantics for assistive technologies.
Designing templates and components with sufficient color contrast and focus indicators.

This foundational approach ensures a more robust, reliable, and sustainable level of accessibility compared to surface-level fixes.

How Enterpristore Helps You Meet Specific Requirements:

Assistive Technology Compatibility: Because our platform is built with source code level compliance, it offers strong compatibility with various assistive technologies, including screen readers (like JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver), screen magnifiers, and alternative input devices. Our team of experts can test your specific implementation to ensure an intuitive and seamless user experience for all users.
Document Remediation Support: While the platform itself displays web content, we understand the need for accessible electronic documents. Our experts can assess your documents and provide recommendations or services to make them align with Revised Section 508 guidelines, ensuring that downloadable files on your site are also accessible.
VPAT/ACR Assistance: Navigating the reporting requirements can be complex. Our expert team can help you create a comprehensive and accurate Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) for your Enterpristore implementation. This report demonstrates your commitment to accessibility and provides the necessary documentation for federal contracts and reporting.

Take the Next Step To Section 508 Compliance

We recognize the importance of aligning your digital assets with legally required accessibility standards. The Enterpristore Ecommerce Platform provides not just a powerful e-commerce solution, but also the accessibility features and expert support to help you meet Section 508 compliance and WCAG 2.1 AA standards.

Don’t let accessibility be an afterthought. Choose a platform built with compliance in mind from the source code up.

Contact us today to discuss your Section 508 compliance needs and learn how Enterpristore can be your end-to-end accessibility solution.

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