Accessibility
We audit, fix and rebuild public websites to WCAG 2.1 AA, then keep them there every month.
Audits from $4,500. Fixed prices for formal bids.
The rule
The Justice Department's rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires state and local governments to make their websites and mobile apps meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA. WCAG, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, is the W3C's standard for pages that people can use with a keyboard alone, a screen reader or low vision.
It covers what you publish yourself and what someone else provides for you, such as a contractor or a vendor. A payment portal, a permit system or an agenda tool run by a vendor counts as yours. Our guide to the Title II deadlines and what to fix first covers the exceptions. We checked the rule's wording on ada.gov in October 2026.
Deadlines
Find your band, see the months left and what fits in that time. Months counted from October 2026.
50,000 people or more
| Who | Larger cities and counties, and state agencies |
|---|---|
| Months left | 6 |
| What fits | An audit and fix, starting with the services people use most. Start a new site by January 2027, or issue the RFP by December 2026 if you buy through one. |
Fewer than 50,000 people
| Who | Smaller cities, towns and counties |
|---|---|
| Months left | 18 |
| What fits | An audit, then a fix or a new accessible site, with time to test both before the date. Start a new site by January 2028, or issue the RFP by December 2027 if you buy through one. |
Special district governments
| Who | Water, fire, park and transit districts, whatever their size |
|---|---|
| Months left | 18 |
| What fits | An audit, then a fix or a new accessible site, with time to test both before the date. Start a new site by January 2028, or issue the RFP by December 2027 if you buy through one. |
Dates from the rule as amended in April 2026 (ada.gov, checked October 2026). What fits uses our own times in “How long does it take?” below. It's a plan, not legal advice.
What we found
In October 2026 we checked the home page and up to six key pages on 256 US city and county websites for places of 50,000 to 250,000 people, then looked closely at 30 of them. These are the counts for those 30.
We started from 1,284 sites. 383 refused automated checks and 403 run on large government platforms, so we set them aside. The 30 are sites we chose to look at closely, not a random sample. The counts come from the page code only: color contrast, keyboard use, screen readers and content built by JavaScript weren't tested, so the real totals are likely higher.
Packages
Start with an audit. Its fee counts in full toward a fix or a new site signed within 60 days.
Where your site stands, and what to fix first.
From$4,500one time
$4,500 under 200 pages, $9,500 for 200 to 1,000 pages, from $18,500 above that.
We find the problems and fix them in your site's code.
From$12,500one time
$12,500 under 200 pages, $27,500 for 200 to 1,000 pages, from $49,500 above that.
A new site built to WCAG 2.1 AA from the first page.
From$59,500
Pay half to start and half at launch, or in 24 monthly payments with care and the compliance program included.
$59,500 for places of 50,000 to 100,000 people, from $89,500 for 100,000 to 250,000.
Your site kept at WCAG 2.1 AA, month after month.
From$1,250a month
Or 12 months up front for the price of 10: $12,500.
Pages are the pages we can reach on your public site. We confirm your band on the first call and quote a fixed price before any work starts.
Audit
A scan finds part of the problems. People find the rest, by using your site the way disabled residents do.
Process
How we build
We build custom sites on Next.js, a modern web framework. Every change runs automated checks, including a color contrast check, then an independent review by a second AI model, and a person at Whitelam Media approves it before it goes live. Your site gets the same routine, with accessibility checks added, so a new page can't quietly break what the audit fixed.
We also build for readers in more than one language. We rebuilt iknow.us, a consultancy whose clients include governments and UN agencies, in English, Spanish, French and Arabic, with Arabic laid out right to left (what we learned building it).
Overlays
An overlay is a toolbar or script added to a site that claims to fix accessibility with one line of code. It leaves the code underneath as it was, and that code is what WCAG 2.1 AA tests. In 2025 the Federal Trade Commission ordered accessiBe, a well-known overlay maker, to pay $1 million over claims that its tool could make any website WCAG compliant.
15 of the 30 city and county websites we looked at closely in October 2026 had one installed, and the basic problems were still in their page code. We fix the site itself, so it works with the screen readers and keyboards people already use.
Promises
RFPs
Send us your RFP or request for quotes. We answer every question in full, including hosting, where the data lives, security and the products we would use, and quote a fixed price for each package you ask about, with a monthly option beside it.
Writing the RFP yourself? Our guide to writing a website RFP covers the accessibility questions to ask every bidder.
Questions
April 26, 2027 if you serve 50,000 people or more. April 26, 2028 if you serve fewer than 50,000 people, and for every special district government. An interim final rule published in April 2026 moved both dates back a year. The standard, WCAG 2.1 AA, stayed the same.
State and local governments and the bodies they run: cities, counties, towns, special districts, public schools and colleges, libraries, courts and transit. It covers their websites and mobile apps, including content that a contractor or vendor provides for them.
No. An overlay adds a toolbar or script on top of your site and leaves the code underneath as it was, and that code is what WCAG 2.1 AA tests. In 2025 the Federal Trade Commission ordered accessiBe, a well-known overlay maker, to pay $1 million over claims that its tool could make any website WCAG compliant.
Documents you post after your deadline do. Older documents are an exception only if nobody uses them to apply for or take part in a service, so a form people download today has to be fixed (the exceptions, in our guide). We often turn the most used documents into web pages, which costs less and is easier to keep right. The compliance program includes an allowance of PDFs made accessible each month.
The rule counts it as yours when it's on your site under a contract or license. We test each tool, tell you what fails and ask the vendor for its Accessibility Conformance Report. We can't change a vendor's code, so for the tools that fail we help you put WCAG 2.1 AA into the contract at renewal.
An Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) sets out, criterion by criterion, how a website or product meets a standard such as WCAG 2.1 AA. A VPAT, the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template, is the form most ACRs are written on, so people often use the two names for the same document. Every audit we do comes with one.
An audit takes 2 to 3 weeks. An audit and fix takes 4 to 8 weeks. A new accessible site takes 8 to 12 weeks for a site of about 500 pages. Larger sites and large PDF libraries take longer. The time mostly depends on how fast your team approves content, and we move as fast as you do. Your quote comes with a dated plan that works back from your deadline.
An audit is $4,500 under 200 pages, $9,500 for 200 to 1,000 pages and from $18,500 above that, credited in full against a fix or a new site signed within 60 days. An audit and fix is $12,500, $27,500 or from $49,500. A new accessible website starts at $59,500 for places of 50,000 to 100,000 people and $89,500 for 100,000 to 250,000. The compliance program starts at $1,250 a month, or $12,500 for 12 months paid up front.
No. We build and test to WCAG 2.1 AA and give you the evidence: the report, the test results and the conformance report. Whether your city or county complies with the law is a legal call for your ADA coordinator and your counsel. We aren't lawyers and we don't give legal advice.
Yes. We answer every question in full, including hosting, where the data lives, security and the products we would use, and we quote a fixed price for each package you ask about.
Contact
Book a call. We'll look at your site together, count its pages and tell you which package fits. The first call is free.
Or send your RFP to info@whitelam.media.