Take Action Now | Ep.108 | Craft Chocolate TV

[@thru_and_thru]

Software developer here. Yes accessibility is a big deal and crucial for any website. Thank you for making this video. Sorry you had to deal with all that BS. Definitely sucks to see people use this to just take advantage of small companies.

[@CraftChocolateTV]

We agree! It's crucial and we are happy that our website is more accessible. It's too bad it had to be the result of a lawsuit instead of through education for us. Hopefully we can help make craft chocolate more accessible through this video while helping folks to avoid unncessary lawsuits!

[@XxBurningCorexX]

We started redesigning our own site, and this video came at the perfect time. Thank you so much!

[@CraftChocolateTV]

Couldn't have timed it better! Good luck with your new website!

[@MarianoCaino]

Besides the fact that I love to make my own handmade chocolate, I work in the area of digital accessibility for websites and documents. Only 4% of sites are really accessible, so you are not alone. If you need help, I'll be here. Congratulations for what you share.

[@CraftChocolateTV]

It's important work! Scary to know only 4% is accessible! That's a staggering number. Hopefully this video helps, even if just in the chocolate space.

[@caseylarue8382]

Thank you for sharing this!

[@CraftChocolateTV]

Glad it was helpful!

[@shariflam3012]

Thank you so much for sharing!

[@Sweetpixels01]

Yes I've seen this happen before which is why I don't sell online anymore.

[@CraftChocolateTV]

Once we were able to learn the process, it became a part of our process. It's tough for small businesses, but worth it to be accessible to everyone.

[@earthboy9622]

Crazy! I just had my website made ADA compliant - I thought it was a waste of effort - who it going to sue for this? Yikes - now I know...

[@CraftChocolateTV]

Accessibility is important to us and we're glad we're more accesible. The lawsuit just made it a really intense learning curve to get there!

[@gamingforever6687]

If you registeed your business with a government body you are liable to be regulated by that body. You should never register a business in any shape or form because you are creating a contract. You will then be held to that contract. All acts and statues require consent, once you register a business as an entity on paper, you are on their system.

[@A_chocolate_bar_review_channel]

Sounds like to me that the person is just searching random websites and looking for the ones that are vulnerable and filing a lawsuit in the hopes of a payout.

[@JenniferRichmond]

It's actually law firms doing the searching. They have paid staff who do it. Then they are strategic in marketing to the blind communities to drum up business.

[@howesadventures8048]

Hi and Thanks for your great content, you spoke about assesability Scanner for your website, what is that please and can you shead some light on that PLEASE

[@CraftChocolateTV]

You can search for different apps to test your website, but I believe BRLTTY is one of the apps we used to test.

[@howesadventures8048]

@@CraftChocolateTV Thanks mate appreciated

[@sfuk001]

I'm sorry you had to deal with this. Most of these lawsuits are borderline frivolous. They don't really care about accessibility; they only care about the settlement cash. However, that doesn't negate your responsibility. Accessibility is not an add-on, an expensive luxury, something noble, or a favor. It is the law, plain and simple. The Web (HTML) is accessible by default, and it is usually us who use bad practices to make it a challenge to use for persons with disabilities. I suggest working with a Web designer/developer who knows what they are doing and is familiar with technical standards (WCAG 2.1 AA is a good start) in the first place and making sure accessibility is part of the acceptance criteria. Accessibility is not expensive if implemented in the first place. What is expensive is add-on/retrofit accessibility, which will never be truly accessible and will cost you both time and money.

[@CraftChocolateTV]

In all honesty, we just didn't know. We have done everything ourselves, in-house from the getgo, including our website. That's no excuse, just the reality of it as a small business. Our goal is to be accessible to everyone, so we're happy we got there in the end, albeit through a very expensive process of lawyers. Hopefully this video helps others achieve better accessibility while avoiding the legal proceedings that can occur.

[@matthewhoskisson8767]

The law doesn't necessarily dictate what's right, and forcing a company to implement accessibility seems predatory to me. Predatory legislation and predatory lawyers. Companies should be able to operate without fear of getting sued over something they had no idea about. What's wrong in this scenario is the law.

[@cquinn03]

Shopify didn't have liability for not warning you about ADA? Seems like you and a lot of other customers who are building on a "do it yourself" type platform should have "required fields" when you add an image. I hope they change that for the rest of us, and thank you for warning us.

[@stonberre6731]

Thank God for you

[@CraftChocolateTV]

Thanks to you for watching! Hopefully this video helps you avoid any unncessary litigation!

[@SuriGoma-j6g]

Thank you for this video! I’m curious if this is a global law or American?

[@CraftChocolateTV]

In this case, American, but other countries could have similar requirements in place. They will likely have less litigation though.

[@MrSuperHanson]

What kind of insurance did you have that partially covered this...? I don't think general liability would activate for something like this right?

[@MichaelJVanecekWrites]

I don't sell directly, but I have product pages with links to the different retailers those products are sold by. Am I still at risk even though my site does not directly sell anything?

[@CraftChocolateTV]

Likely, no, but all websites should be accessible and the extra steps to make it so are relatively easy and just good practice for your community. We built our website ourselves and just didn’t know we had accessibility issues until we were sued.

[@sshort21]

Sued twice - that's really messed up. No doubt it was simply an attorney looking for fees and a settlement. ADA compliance lawsuits are sadly quite common. Very unfortunate.

[@CraftChocolateTV]

So we have learned!

[@wut2404]

"Sadly" quite common? Unfortunately, it seems being sued is the pretty much the only motivation most people/businesses/companies have to become accessible, or to think one thought about their users with disabilities. Honestly if that's what it takes, that's what it takes. Outside of the digital space has been much the same, as far as securing accessible environments. People just simply don't care until they are sued.

[@SufficientSpirulina]

Wow just for having a website?

[@CraftChocolateTV]

Having a website that sells products to the public to be more specific, but yes. It's considered a retail space that needs to be accessible. Lesson learned!

[@SufficientSpirulina]

@@CraftChocolateTV smart and professional

[@charleswhite489]

How were you able to determine that it wasn't a scam?

[@CraftChocolateTV]

A lawyer, but you can also research and contact the law firm serving the papers to ensure it is legitimate.

[@charleswhite489]

How do the people filing the lawsuit collect evidence? It seems like taking the website down until it's repaired will erase most evidence. ...BTW, thanks for this video.

[@CraftChocolateTV]

@@charleswhite489 good question! I don't have a clear answer for you, but there were likely numerous ways to document the areas we were not compliant. In the end, we're happy to be more accessible and to have learned the ways in which we weren't properly serving our community, it's just unfortunate that lawsuits are the means in which people are often made aware of the issue.

[@charleswhite489]

Thanks for all your replies! Your chocolates are delicious!

[@CraftChocolateTV]

@@charleswhite489 Thank you!

[@honda2363]

This is crazy... How does a scummy cake maker refuse to bake a cake for an LGBT wedding and be told "it's ok, you don't have to, it's your god given Merican right not to", yet you get sued for this? Anyway, I can kind of imagine this happening with a government website, but not a chocolate website!! You're not providing a necessity.....well, chocolate is kinda a necessity, but you understand. lol Possible solution - How about asking a friend/family member to place an order, while also sending you a strongly-worded email letting you know your website is not accessible to the visually impaired? Nah, just sue...🤣

[@CraftChocolateTV]

We do feel websites should all be accessible and that chocolate is for everyone! A head's up would have been all it took for us to right the website and fix the accessible issues we had instead of a lawsuit. Hopefully this helps other avoid our costly mistake and more websites become accessible!

[@LeeDaiYing]

This is all about money for them.

[@markandrews1219]

This is a completely ridiculous situation. What's next? Are deaf people going to sue because your website is not providing Dolby Surround Sound? If a group of potential customers are having any technical with a business website, they should appeal for changes to enable commercial transactions to take place, not sending threats of legal action.

[@CraftChocolateTV]

We believe this is a standard practice of some lawfirms, less so a specific customer. We do feel strongly that both our physical and digital spaces should be accessible to all. Hopefully this helps people avoid the legal actions while achieving accessibility.

[@thelion6630]

This is ridiculous, come to Saudi Arabia and open your business here. The market is great and there are bo taxes. I will be your partner.

[@CraftChocolateTV]

A generous offer! It would be hard to uproot ourselves from the community here, not to mention the Hawaiian cacao and surf!

[@bboychicken1992]

Is this really? I'm so sorry to hear that. People are tried to do honest work and other just take advantage of it

[@CraftChocolateTV]

True story!

[@giacomomineo73]

I can imagine your frustration. This is so wrong and unfair. Is it only for USA websites?. I haven't heard anything about this in Europe but now I'll definitely check.

[@CraftChocolateTV]

We can only speak to lawsuits being a very real possibility in the USA; however, countries in Europe will have similar requirements for online stores to be accessible. Whether it opens you up to lawsuits or not is something each business will have to research within their respective regions. But it's best to be accessible for accessibility's sake anyway.

[@sfuk001]

Europe has more stringent accessibility laws. What is unique about the USA is the "lawsuit culture." It is a cash-grab industry. This is why you see more lawsuits in the US.

[@CraftChocolateTV]

@@sfuk001 That's true. Accessibility is essential, but there are better ways of making businesses more accessible than lawsuits.

[@sleepyemployee92]

I understand the need for visually impaired people to be able to use a website. But come on man, pick your battles. Why go after an indie chocolatier?

[@Sweetpixels01]

They don't care about the product, likely never even wanted to buy chocolate, this is the law firms out to make quick buck so they hit every site that's not compliant.

[@CraftChocolateTV]

It's fair to bring it to our attention and we're happy we are more accessible as a result; it's just too bad it was brought to our attention in the form of a lawsuit. Hopefully we can help people make more accessible spaces and avoid a lawsuit!

[@InsidetheCasino]

⁠@@CraftChocolateTVguaranteed it was reported by a jealous competitor.

[@CraftChocolateTV]

​@@InsidetheCasino Perhaps, but law firms are searching for websites that do not meet the accessibility criteria, which is the likelier scenario.

[@LeeDaiYing]

What? Are you serious? Is there a vaccine for this?

[@byjev7881]

As a visually impaired person your attitude seems to reflect not supporting accessability rather than genuinely wanting to provide access for all.

[@CraftChocolateTV]

Apologies if it comes across that way! It would be more accurate to say that our attitude reflects the frustration we had with the lawsuit and lawyers, not in becoming more accessible. Chocolate is for everyone!