What is CommonAccess Pro?

CommonAccess Pro is a cloud-based SaaS (Software as a Service) that enables website owners to create an accessible version of their existing website, without having to completely start over or engage in a costly redesign. CommonAccess Pro has been designed to provide a quick, easy and affordable accessibility compliant version of a business’s digital information that impaired individuals can use to engage content online as required by Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

How does CommonAccess Pro Work?

1. CommonAccess Pro scans the existing website and pulls the content into a version that is optimized specifically for use by accessibility technologies commonly used by impaired individuals to engage with digital content and business information online.
2. Then, in our easy-to-use visual editor, our support team customizes the content and optimizes the flow of information so that an impaired user can engage, understand and make decisions on why, how, when and where to do business with you.
3. After publishing the CommonAccess Pro site, an impaired web user visiting the existing website is immediately prompted that there is an accessibility compliant version of the site.
4. When they engage the accessibility authentication link, they are redirected to the accessibility compliant version of the website.

What do I need to sign up for CommonAccess Pro?

1. An existing website. Don’t have a website? Click here to see how easy it is to build your own accessible website. 
2. Access to your website CMS to place our accessibility code in your footer. 

How do users with disabilities access the CommonAccess Pro version of my website?

After publishing your CommonAccess Pro site, an impaired web user visiting your existing site is immediately prompted that there is an accessibility compliant version of the site. When they engage the accessibility authentication link, they are redirected to the accessibility compliant version of the website.

I tried the CommonAccess Pro preview tool and my content looks weird. What's happening?

CommonAccess Pro uses your current website code and content to create an accessibility compliant “version” of your current website. If your current website was built utilizing programming best-practices, then CommonAccess Pro will convert your current content optimized for accessibility. If your current website was not built with certain best practices, it will appear “less than optimized” or possibly not convert at all. If this is the case, you can begin building out your website manually.

What if I don't have an existing website?

Visit DigiPro Media, our  web builder that you can use to easily create an accessible website from the ground up. It’s loaded with tons of optimized, accessibility-ready templates to kick-start your new website.

Does having CommonAccess Pro help with ADA Title III compliance?

Short Answer:

Yes. By offering a reader-friendly version of your website’s information, you are providing access to consumers regardless of disability.

Long answer:

Title III of the ADA requires public accommodations providing equal access for persons with disabilities. Currently, The Department of Justice has delayed developing regulations and “standards” for making websites accessible to users with disabilities at a federal level. This inaction has created a considerable amount of ambiguity for business on how to proceed. In the absence of official government standards, the question of whether a business’s website is complying to Title III is left open to the State and local courts. At a minimum, by offering an accessibility compliant version of your website you are giving all users access to your relevant online content. CommonAccess sees the CommonAccess Pro platform as a “bridge” to eventual and complete accessibility, where all users have equal access to ALL digital information, without having to be redirected to a “version” of a website’s content.

Longer answer:

The Florida legislature has recently taken up the cause in an effort to assist Florida businesses:

Governor Rick Scott signed HB 727, which enacts Florida Statute § 553.5141, on June 23, 2017. Under the law, an owner of a place of public accommodation who requests a qualified expert (broadly defined in § (d)(1) of the law) to inspect that owner’s facility may submit the expert’s certification of conformity with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation indicating the place of public accommodation conforms to Title III of the ADA. If the facility does not conform to Title III, the owner, alternatively, may submit an ADA remediation plan.

If the property is compliant with the ADA, the certificate of conformity made by a qualified expert must include the date of inspection, the name of the expert, proof of the expert’s qualifications, and a statement by the expert confirming the conformity of the property.

If the property is compliant with the ADA, the certificate of conformity made by a qualified expert must include the date of inspection, the name of the expert, proof of the expert’s qualifications, and a statement by the expert confirming the conformity of the property.

If the property is not yet in compliance, the owner may submit a remediation plan approved by a qualified expert that indicates the place of public accommodation plans to conform to Title III within a specified time period. The remediation plan must detail how it will remedy any existing deficiencies. It also must state when the remediation will be initiated and completed (in no instance later than 10 years from the adoption of the plan).

An owner of a place of public accommodation may file a certificate of conformity or a remediation plan with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. That “serves as notice to the public that the place of public accommodation is in compliance with Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act or that such place of public accommodation is making reasonable efforts to comply with such act.”

The Department will develop and maintain a publicly accessible website that provides an electronic registry of such notices.

The law does not prohibit disabled plaintiffs from filing ADA lawsuits against public accommodations, nor does the law prohibit plaintiffs’ attorneys from seeking fees; such a law would fail, because a state law cannot invalidate a federal law.

However, the law provides that “a court must consider any remediation plan or certification of conformity filed in accordance with this section by a place of public accommodation with the department before the filing of the plaintiff’s complaint, when the court considers and determines if the plaintiff’s complaint was filed in good faith and if the plaintiff is entitled to attorney fees and costs.” This codifies existing law holding that remediation plans in existence before an ADA lawsuit is filed moots any such claim.