Website Accessibility: How Responsibility Is Shared
Why this matters
Accessibility (often referred to as “ADA compliance”) is about making sure people of all abilities can use your website. It’s not just good practice — it’s increasingly expected.
At the same time, accessibility on modern websites is not a one‑time setup.
Websites change constantly, and accessibility changes with them. This document helps explain where Storagely’s responsibility begins and ends, where the website owner’s responsibility lies, and why accessibility tools are strongly recommended.
Think of your website like a building
- Storagely builds the building
- The foundation and structure
- The doorways, ramps, and hallways
- The electrical and plumbing (navigation, buttons, forms, core functionality)
- The website owner furnishes and operates the building
- The signs on the walls (text and headings)
- The furniture and décor (images, videos, PDFs)
- What gets moved, replaced, or added over time
Storagely will build the structure to accessibility best practices — but once content is added or changed, accessibility can be affected immediately.
What Storagely is responsible for
Storagely is responsible for the platform and structure of your website.
This includes:
- Building websites using accessibility‑aware code and layouts
- Following recognized accessibility best practices (such as WCAG guidelines)
- Ensuring navigation, buttons, forms, and core site functionality are accessible at launch
- Providing guidance and compatible tools that support ongoing accessibility
This is what a website development company can realistically control.
What the website owner is responsible for
The website owner controls the content, which is where most accessibility issues occur.
Examples include:
- Images uploaded without alternative (alt) text
- PDFs that cannot be read by screen readers
- Improper heading structure or formatting
- Videos without captions
- Third‑party widgets, plugins, or embedded tools
- Ongoing edits and updates made over time
Because content is updated regularly, accessibility can change — even if the site’s structure stays the same.
Why no website can be “100% ADA compliant forever”
Accessibility is not a checkbox.
It is an ongoing process because:
- Websites are living systems that change constantly
- Content is updated by different people at different times
- Third‑party tools and embeds evolve
- Accessibility standards and legal interpretations change
No website company — regardless of price or promises — can guarantee permanent accessibility without controlling all content on the site.
Why accessibility tools are strongly recommended
Accessibility tools (such as accessiBe) are not about fixing a bad website.
They act as a safety net by:
- Monitoring content changes automatically
- Helping adjust accessibility as new content is added
- Supporting users with different assistive needs in real time
- Reducing risk caused by accidental or unintentional issues
For non‑technical teams, these tools significantly reduce manual effort and uncertainty.
The shared responsibility model
Accessibility works best when responsibility is shared:
- Storagely builds and maintains an accessibility‑aware platform
- Website owners manage and update content responsibly
- Accessibility tools help bridge the gap as changes happen
When all three are in place, accessibility improves and risk is reduced.
Recommendations
Storagely customers have used accessiBe and AudioEye to bridge the gap as changes happen. Userway is another popular tool but we do not have any customers who use it.
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Optional Credit for Using a Third‑Party Accessibility Tool
At Storagely, we’re deeply committed to helping every client maintain an accessible, user‑friendly website — not just at launch, but every day afterward. While it’s ultimately up to each website owner to choose whether to use a paid third‑party accessibility solution (such as accessiBe, UserWay, or similar tools), we want to make that decision a little easier.
If you decide to use a third-party accessibility tool to support your website, our team is happy to discuss options for offsetting some of that cost within your monthly Storagely subscription.
As always, if you have any questions during this process, our Customer Success Team is here to help. The best way to reach us is by submitting a support ticket.