Your Website, Their Code: ADA Accessibility and Third-Party Plugins

Building a website today is never a solo endeavor. Even if you coded the framework yourself, you likely rely on a constellation of third-party tools to make the site functional. You might use a chat widget for customer support, a Google Maps embed for your location, a Shopify integration for checkout, or a social media feed to showcase your latest posts. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance of these third party sites is outside your control.

Plugins and Widgets

Third-party plugins integrations inject code into your website, that you do not control. If the vendor updates their code and breaks accessibility features, it could cause non-compliance, over which you have no control, or even any knowledge.

Common Examples

• Chatbots: Many automated chat widgets are not navigable by keyboard alone, trapping screen reader users in a loop they cannot escape.

  
  

• Maps: Interactive maps are notoriously difficult to make accessible.

  
  

• Video Players: Embedded video players sometimes lack closed captioning controls or audio description capabilities.

  
  

Because you cannot edit the source code of these third-party plugins, you are unable to make changes that force ADA compliance, and compliance is solely in the hands of the companies who own and control the plug-in.

Linked External Websites

Generally speaking, you are not responsible for the ADA compliance of a completely separate website that you link to for informational purposes. If you link to a news article about your industry, and that news site is inaccessible, it is the legal responsibility of that news site to ensure its own ADA compliance.

Strategies for Mitigating Third-Party Risk

Accessibility Statement: Your website should have a link in the footer to an Accessibility Statement. In this document, acknowledge that you use third-party tools. State clearly that while you strive for compliance, you cannot control external vendors. Provide a contact method for users who encounter barriers so you can help them manually. This shows "good faith," which is all that can be done relative to another company's website.

Stay Vigilant

The digital landscape is interconnected, and total control is impossible. As a website owner, your duty is to curate an inclusive experience, to the extent that your resources and technology make that possible.

By making your own website as accessible as reasonable possible, providing contact options for assistance, and maintaining a clear accessibility policy, you demonstrate that you are taking your obligations seriously. But you cannot control what other companies do.