Business Law Report: Dunkin' Donuts ADA Compliance and Website Design

This report examines the legal implications of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on business websites, using the Dunkin' Donuts case as a primary example. The assignment highlights the requirement for businesses to ensure their websites are accessible to individuals with disabilities, specifically focusing on compliance with screen readers and other assistive technologies. It discusses the pitfalls businesses face in website design, such as failure to design mobile-friendly sites, investment issues, and the need to reach the target audience. The report emphasizes the importance of providing alternative text, captions, and toll-free phone access to comply with ADA standards. It also addresses security concerns and the need for clear and concise website content. The report concludes by outlining specific measures that Sally's website must implement to meet ADA standards, including accommodating users with disabilities, offering alternative time-based media, and providing a toll-free phone number for assistance. The references provided support the legal arguments and provide additional insights into the topic.

Running head: BUSINESS LAW 1
Business Law
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BUSINESS LAW 2
Business Law
Businesses have an option to create a website to make their existence look real. In such
circumstances, every business has to comply with the law in regards to all the necessary items
required for the smooth existence and service to all the customers. In this scenario, Dunkin
Donuts was sued because it failed to comply with the Americans Disabilities Act(ADA) and thus
it failed to make its websites accessible to persons with disabilities (McDonald, Goette, & Petoia,
2018). As a blind person in the case, the ADA principles protects his rights to enjoy the
company’s services just like any other consumers without disability. Therefore, Dunking Donut
failed to meet the standards as per the ADA such as offering alternative non-text content that
could be used by the blind customers i.e. large print, symbols and speech, in which the blind
customer was not able to access its website. Hence, Dunking Donuts was sued for compliance
issue.
Business face major pitfalls in designing a website. Failure to design a mobile friendly
website denies the business higher chance of reaching potential consumers. Business face
investment issues since a web designer has to involved and thus the business has to invest time,
money and energy to get the website built right (Wood & Mattson, 2016). Failure to involve
professionals might cause a mess since the design might be a mess and thus hit one’s brand
negatively. Business face problems with reaching the target purpose. The purpose allows a
business to meet the targeted customers and build a rapport with the brand. Hence, each text on
the company’s website, page, and graphic link must be projected towards the target. Another
issues are the easy access of customers through the company’s website. Visitors come to one’s
website and they seem to focus on the things. They are interested in knowing what the company
does, and how they can reach the company. It is important to design one’s website in a manner

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that makes easier for potential customers to reach you. Besides, a company’s website is prone to
security issues since criminals and cyber hackers are consistently up in their games (Moura,
Singh, & Chun, 2016). A company should therefore ensure that their website is safe with up to
date features and ensure customers are safe in their transactions.
For Sally’s website to comply with the ADA standards, the business has to accommodate
people with disabilities and thus the web content will be design in a manner that will be
accessible to the deaf, blind, and even navigated through screen readers, voice and buy use of
other related technologies. The website has to offer alternative time-based media (Alvarado,
2018). This includes live audio content and captions with pre-recorded audio to accommodate
persons with disabilities. The wording links should be clear out of context and thus ensure that
the content can be interpreted to the users. Finally, Sally’s website should offer a toll-free phone
for the users with disabilities and that toll-free phone should allow them reach live agents and
communicate with ease. Hence, such regulations must be accomplished to meet the ADA
standards.

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References
Alvarado, R. (2018). Online Businesses Beware: ADA Lawsuits Demand Website Accessibility
for Blind Plaintiffs. SMU Sci. \& Tech. L. Rev., 21, 259.
McDonald, D., Goette, T., & Petoia, H. (2018). Gauging ADA Compliance in the 21st Century
Business Internet: A Pilot Study. Communications of the IIMA, 16(4).
Moura, F. T., Singh, N., & Chun, W. (2016). THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURE IN WEBSITE
DESIGN AND USERS’PERCEPTIONS: THREE SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS. Journal
of Electronic Commerce Research, 17(4).
Wood, A. E., & Mattson, C. A. (2016). Design for the developing world: Common pitfalls and
how to avoid them. Journal of Mechanical Design, 138(3).