ADA website accessibility for restaurants: what to fix first

A guest who is blind, deaf, has low vision or cannot use a mouse still wants to check your hours, read your menu and book a table. If your website does not work for them, they cannot, and in the United States that can also become a legal problem. Restaurants are among the businesses that have received accessibility demand letters and lawsuits about their websites. Here is the law in plain terms, and a checklist you can act on. If you receive a letter, talk to an attorney.

What does the ADA say about websites?

The Americans with Disabilities Act bars discrimination against people with disabilities in places of public accommodation, a category that includes restaurants. The law was written before the web, and it does not mention websites. Courts have mostly treated the websites of businesses with physical locations as covered, though the details vary by court. The Department of Justice has not issued a rule setting a technical standard for private businesses under this part of the law, called Title III.

What changed with the 2024 rule?

In April 2024, the Department of Justice finalized a rule under a different part of the law, Title II, which covers state and local governments. It adopts the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, version 2.1, level AA, known as WCAG 2.1 AA, for government websites and mobile apps, with five exceptions. The original compliance dates were April 2026 for entities serving 50,000 people or more and April 2027 for smaller ones, but in April 2026 the Department of Justice issued an interim final rule that moved them to April 26, 2027 and April 26, 2028, and left the WCAG 2.1 AA standard unchanged. The rule does not apply to private businesses directly. But it names a clear technical standard, and that gives courts and plaintiffs a reference point for what a reasonable website looks like.

How common are lawsuits?

Website accessibility suits number in the thousands each year, and restaurants, online retailers and professional services are among the frequent targets. Many cases begin with a demand letter that asks for a settlement. An attorney can tell you what your own risk looks like.

What does WCAG 2.1 AA ask for?

The guidelines are organized around four ideas: content must be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. In practice, for a restaurant website that means:

1. Text alternatives for images. A photo of a dish needs a short description, and a decorative image needs an empty description so screen readers skip it.
2. Enough color contrast between text and background, so people with low vision can read it. Light gray text on a photo fails.
3. Everything works with a keyboard, without a mouse, and the focus is always visible.
4. Forms have labels, and errors are explained in text.
5. Video has captions, and audio has a transcript.
6. Pages have headings in order and clear link text. A link that says "click here" tells a screen reader user nothing.
7. Text can be enlarged without breaking the layout, and nothing flashes more than three times a second.

What about your menu?

Menus cause the most trouble. A menu that is a photo or a scanned PDF is invisible to a screen reader. Publish the menu as real text on a web page, or as a properly tagged PDF, with the same content. Keep prices, descriptions and allergen notes in text. If you update the menu in design software, export a text version too. Do not rely on a plugin that claims to fix this automatically; check the result with a screen reader.

What about booking, online ordering and third-party tools?

You are responsible for the experience your guests have, even if the booking widget or ordering page comes from a vendor. Ask each vendor in writing whether its product meets WCAG 2.1 AA and whether it can provide a conformance report. Test the key steps yourself: find your hours, choose a date and time, enter a name, pay a deposit and confirm. If a vendor cannot meet the standard, ask for a timeline, and offer another way to book, such as a phone number shown prominently.

Do accessibility overlays solve the problem?

Products that add a widget to your site and promise instant compliance are heavily marketed to small businesses. Accessibility experts and disability advocates have criticized them, and having one installed has not stopped lawsuits against businesses that use them. The reliable path is to fix the underlying site and test it. Spend money on an audit or a skilled developer, not on a promise.

How do you test?

Run an automated checker, which finds some problems, such as missing text alternatives and low contrast. Then test by hand: tab through the page with the keyboard, zoom to 200 percent, turn on a screen reader such as the one built into your phone, and try to book a table. Ask someone who uses assistive technology to try your site, and pay them for their time. Automated tools catch only part of the issues.

What should you publish and do next?

Add an accessibility statement that says you are working to meet WCAG 2.1 AA, and give a phone number and email for help. Keep a record of what you fixed and when. Respond to complaints quickly and politely. If you get a demand letter, do not ignore it and do not pay immediately; talk to an attorney who knows the subject, because many letters are sent in bulk. Build accessibility into every redesign and menu update, and the cost stays small.

More guides for your business:

• Card surcharge rules in five states: UT, PA, CT, NC and GA
• Tip credit rules in five states: UT, PA, CT, NC and GA
• Boston liquor license quota and costs: what a new restaurant faces

More in the US guides for food businesses.