Adding UserWay: An Accessibility Plugin, to Squarespace
Times are changing and more and more businesses and laws are thinking about the ways we can improve user experience and protect our neighbors with needs.
Something that we may take for granted such as scrolling a website and enjoying content, is not so easily accessed for some people with sensory disabilities.
To combat this, amazing companies like UserWay are creating easy ways for businesses and websites to be accessible to anyone who may want to benefit from their content and offerings.
Another important consideration of course, is ensuring that we are meeting requirements of the law. The Americans with Disabilities Act is a law the prohibits the discrimination of individuals with disabilities. Within this Act, there are sections that establish requirements for websites.
Here is an outline on how to satisfy ADA Section 508, WCAG 2.1 AA compliance!
** I should note here that I am obviously in no way shape or form a lawyer and am not providing legal advice. Only tools to help with website compliance. Deal?
One: Go to UserWay.Org
Enter your domain address and follow the UserWay prompts. You can even customize the color to match your branding.
Two: Integrate the plugin
Copy the code that UserWay generates for you
Navigate to your Squarespace dashboard
Select Settings > Advanced > Code injection
Paste the code into your FOOTER
Here is an example:
Three: Verify your widget
Go back to UserWay in your browser and click “ Let’s Verify”. This will ensure that your plugin is correctly installed on your site. You should now be able to see the UserWay icon on your website!
Four: Include your Accessibility Statement in your website’s footer
After your widget is installed, a congratulations message will show up in the UserWay window on your browser. Click next and your Accessibility Statement will appear! Download the accessibility statement provided. Here’s the easiest way to do it for Squarespace:
Download and save the HTML or TXT version for your records
Copy the clean text version in the UserWay window on your browser and paste it onto a new page in your Squarespace site.
This page should be under the “not linked” section of your Squarespace pages. Name it “Accessibility”. See below:
Squarespace accessibility page.png
Edit as necessary so it’s easy to read. The styling might need some love.
Five: Link the page in your footer
From here you will go to the footer of your website on any page. Hover over the footer until you see “Footer Bottom Blocks”. Type in Accessibility Statement and then link that text to your Accessibility page. It should look something like this when it’s done.
Six: You’re done!
Congratulations, your website now satisfies the ADA Section 508, WCAG 2.1 AA compliance! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
