US small-business website checklist: ADA accessibility, privacy laws and sales tax

The United States has no single rulebook for business websites. The rules come from federal agencies, state laws and court cases. This is the checklist we use for US builds. It is general guidance, not legal advice.

1. Build for accessibility

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses open to the public to be accessible, and the Department of Justice's guidance says that includes their websites. The guidance does not set a technical standard for businesses, but courts and settlements point to WCAG 2.1 Level AA. The basics:

• Text has enough contrast and can be resized.
• Everything works with a keyboard.
• Images have alt text, and forms have labels and clear error messages.
• Videos have captions.

Accessibility overlays and widgets do not replace doing this in the code.

2. Publish a privacy policy that matches what you do

Say what you collect, why, who receives it and how people can contact you. If you meet California's CCPA thresholds, visitors also need a way to opt out of the sale or sharing of their data. Virginia, Colorado, Texas and a growing list of other states have similar laws, so a clear policy and an honest cookie notice are the safe default.

3. Follow CAN-SPAM in every marketing email

The FTC's CAN-SPAM rules apply to all commercial email:

• Do not use misleading headers or subject lines.
• Include your valid physical postal address.
• Give a clear way to opt out, and honour it promptly.

Sign-up forms should say what people are subscribing to.

4. Collect sales tax where you owe it

Sales tax is set by states and often by cities and counties. Since 2018, states can require online sellers to collect tax once they pass a sales threshold there, even without a physical presence. A store needs:

• tax calculated at checkout by delivery address
• product tax categories set correctly
• records your accountant can use

5. Keep reviews honest

The FTC's rule on consumer reviews bans fake reviews and testimonials, including reviews bought or written by insiders without disclosure. Show real reviews with their source, and never gate reviews so that only happy customers are asked.

6. What customers look for

• A local phone number and clear opening hours.
• A Google Business Profile that matches the website.
• Shipping costs and returns terms before checkout.
• Wallets they already use: Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and Shop Pay.
• Pages for the cities you serve, whether that is New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston or Miami.

How we can help

We build US websites to WCAG 2.1 AA, set up tax and tracking on stores and write the policy pages with you. See our US page or ask for a quote.