Home / Guides / Demand letters explained

ADA website demand letters, explained

The pattern is consistent: a law firm runs automated scans across thousands of small-business sites, finds failures, and sends demand letters citing the ADA and WCAG. Restaurants and food businesses, retail and apparel, and online stores absorb a large share of these claims, and e-commerce sites on mainstream platforms are heavily represented. Being small does not remove you from the list; it often puts you on it, because small sites are less likely to have been audited.

What the letters typically claim

• Missing image descriptions (alt text), so screen readers can't convey your content
• Buttons and links that can't be reached or operated by keyboard
• Forms without labels, so assistive tech reads "edit text" instead of "email address"
• Text contrast too low to read for low-vision users
• Missing page structure: headings, landmarks, page titles

These claims are checkable. Some will be accurate; occasionally some aren't. Knowing which is which changes your position considerably.

The three classic response mistakes

1. Ignoring it. Deadlines pass, positions harden, and the next document is worse.
2. Replying personally to "explain." Anything you write can surface later. Counsel exists for this.
3. Installing an overlay widget and calling it handled. See why overlays don't stop lawsuits.

The playbook that works is boring: lawyer for the letter, real audit of the site, fast documented remediation. The full version is on our demand letter page.