The landscape of digital government is changing.
The compliance timeline for the ADA Title II web and mobile app accessibility rule has been extended, giving smaller governments and special districts additional time to prepare. But the extension is an opportunity to build sustainable accessibility practices, not a reason to wait until the deadline approaches.
For smaller public entities, the biggest challenge may not be the sheer volume of digital content. It is often capacity. Small cities, townships, counties, and special districts may have fewer staff members, limited budgets, shared responsibilities, and significant reliance on outside vendors.
The good news is that accessibility readiness does not have to begin with a massive website overhaul. It can begin with understanding what you have, identifying what matters most, and building better practices into the work your staff already does.
Mark Your Calendar
The compliance date for the ADA Title II web and mobile app accessibility rule depends on the size and type of your public entity.
April 26, 2028: State and local government entities with a total population of less than 50,000, as well as special district governments.
The technical standard required by the rule is Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA.
It is also important to understand what the extension does, and does not, mean. The later compliance date applies to the rule’s specific technical requirements. Existing ADA Title II responsibilities related to effective communication, reasonable modifications, and equal access to government programs, services, and activities remain in place.
So while your organization has more time to meet the new technical standard, accessibility should already be part of how you think about serving residents.
Look Beyond Your Homepage
Digital accessibility involves much more than the main pages of a government website.
Residents may interact with your organization through:
- Website pages
- PDFs and downloadable documents
- Meeting agendas, minutes, and packets
- Public notices
- Forms and applications
- Emergency alerts
- Election information
- Images, maps, and graphics
- Videos and recordings
- Payment portals
- Permitting systems
- Recreation or program registration systems
- Mobile apps
- Third-party platforms
- Social media graphics and linked documents
If residents use digital content to access a service, participate in government, make a payment, complete an application, understand a deadline, or exercise a legal right, accessibility needs to be part of the conversation.
Organize Your Team
In a small city or district, accessibility cannot live with just one person, or be entirely outsourced to a vendor or technology.
You do not need a large accessibility committee, but you do need clear ownership.
Start by identifying:
A lead person. Who will coordinate accessibility efforts and keep track of progress?
A backup. If your accessibility lead is unavailable or leaves the organization, who else understands the process?
Content creators. Who creates agendas, notices, forms, flyers, website updates, PDFs, videos, or social media content?
Approvers. Who reviews information before it is published?
Vendor contacts. Who manages relationships with your website provider, payment processor, agenda software, permitting platform, or other technology vendors?
Accessibility response contacts. Who will respond if a resident encounters a barrier or asks for information in an accessible format?
The goal is not to turn every employee into an accessibility expert. It is to make sure everyone understands the part they play.
Inventory What You Have
Before you can decide what needs attention, you need a basic understanding of your digital environment.
Your inventory does not need to be perfect. A spreadsheet or shared document can be enough to get started.
For each major piece of content or system, ask:
- What is it?
- Where does it live?
- Who manages it?
- How often is it used?
- Is it current, outdated, or archived?
- Do residents need it to access a service, program, benefit, payment, meeting, deadline, or legal right?
An inventory also helps prevent your team from assuming every file created over the past decade must immediately be remediated.
The rule includes limited exceptions for certain archived and preexisting digital content. Those exceptions have specific requirements, so your organization should evaluate older content carefully rather than assuming it is automatically exempt.
The inventory process helps you determine what still serves the public, what may need remediation, what can be converted to a more accessible format, and what may no longer need to be online.
Prioritize What Matters Most
You do not have to tackle everything at once.
Start with the digital content residents depend on most to access services, participate in government, and understand their rights and responsibilities.
High-priority content may include:
- Emergency alerts and public safety information
- Public meeting notices, agendas, and materials
- Election information
- Forms and applications
- Permits and licensing information
- Payment systems
- Public benefits information
- Frequently used website pages
- Current public notices
- Content related to deadlines or legal rights
Ask yourself: If this content were inaccessible, how significant would the barrier be for a resident trying to use our services?
That question can help a small team determine where its limited time and resources will have the greatest impact.
Train Staff Before They Publish
One of the most effective ways to reduce accessibility problems is to stop creating new ones.
Instead of treating remediation as something that happens after content is published, teach staff how to create accessible materials from the beginning.
Small teams can start with a handful of practical skills:
- Use proper heading structures in Word documents and webpages.
- Write meaningful link text instead of phrases such as “click here.”
- Add appropriate alternative text to meaningful images.
- Check color contrast in documents and graphics.
- Create accessible Word documents before converting them to PDFs.
- Use accessible templates for agendas, minutes, notices, and reports.
- Avoid relying on image-only flyers or notices to communicate important information.
- Caption video content and provide transcripts when appropriate.
- Consider whether information really needs to be a PDF or could be presented more accessibly as a webpage.
These are not simply technical skills. They are communication practices that make public information easier for more residents to use.
Ask Better Questions of Your Vendors
Small governments often rely heavily on third-party vendors for technology.
Your website, agenda management system, payment portal, recreation registration platform, permitting software, or other public-facing systems may be managed almost entirely outside your organization.
That does not make accessibility irrelevant to your organization.
When purchasing software or renewing contracts, ask vendors:
- Does your product meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA?
- Can you provide current accessibility documentation, such as a VPAT or accessibility conformance report?
- How do you test your product for accessibility?
- How are accessibility problems reported and corrected?
- What support is available if a resident encounters a barrier?
Accessibility conversations are much easier to have before signing or renewing a contract than after residents discover they cannot use the system.
Give Residents a Clear Way to Ask for Help
Even organizations with strong accessibility practices may encounter barriers.
Residents should have an easy-to-find way to report an accessibility issue or request information in an accessible format.
That might be an accessibility contact form, email address, phone number, or another clearly identified process.
Internally, staff should know:
- Who receives the request?
- Who is responsible for responding?
- How quickly should the request be addressed?
- How will the accessible information be provided?
- Will requests be tracked so recurring accessibility problems can be identified?
A request process is not a substitute for accessible digital content. It is an important part of providing responsive public service while your organization continues improving its systems.
Build Accessibility Into Everyday Work
Preparing for 2028 should not be viewed as a one-time remediation project.
The real goal is to develop simple practices that help your organization maintain accessibility after the deadline passes.
That might mean:
- Using accessible document templates
- Adding accessibility checks to publishing workflows
- Training new staff members
- Including accessibility requirements in vendor contracts
- Periodically reviewing high-use digital content
- Tracking accessibility requests and recurring barriers
- Keeping a simple record of remediation and training efforts
For a small government, this does not necessarily require sophisticated software or an elaborate accessibility program.
A checklist, shared spreadsheet, set of templates, and clear staff responsibilities can create a strong foundation.
Three Steps You Can Take Now
If the 2028 deadline still feels far away, start small.
1. Inventory your digital systems and content.
Understand what residents use and where accessibility risks may exist.
2. Prioritize high-impact information and services.
Focus first on content connected to safety, public participation, payments, applications, benefits, deadlines, and legal rights.
3. Train the people who create and publish content.
Building accessible practices now can dramatically reduce the amount of remediation your organization faces later.
The additional time provided by the deadline extension can be valuable, but only if you use this time to build better systems.
Digital accessibility is not simply a technical requirement. It is part of providing clear, usable, and equitable access to public services.
If your organization is unsure where to begin, WeCo can help you assess your current digital accessibility practices, identify priorities, train your team, and develop a practical path toward ADA web rule readiness.