Property management platform provider ResMan has expanded its existing ResMan Website Pro and Premium subscription plans with the ResMan Accessibility Pro, an automatic AI-powered tool designed to ensure multifamily websites’ compliance with domestic and international accessibility regulations, including WCAG 2.1, ADA, and 508.
Using machine learning processes, the Accessibility Pro is able to scan, analyze, and automatically modify a website’s behavior to meet regulation standards for all users. For example, the tool can scan a website’s images in order to extract embedded text using Optical Character Recognition, then provide alternative hypertext that can be read by text-to-speech software.
“With Accessibility Pro, property managers no longer need to worry if their website is compliant. It’s designed to allow all of the 56 million people in the United States and over 1 billion people worldwide who have a disability to get the information they need, in the way they need to receive it, without compromising the website’s design. It’s easy, and it’s automatic,” says Paul Bridgewater, CEO of ResMan.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, accommodations required on business websites include video captions, keyboard-based navigation for users who cannot use a mouse, text alternatives for images that can be read by text-to-speech software, color palette changes for color-blind individuals, and more. In 2019 alone, plaintiffs filed 11,053 web accessibility lawsuits in federal court, according to ResMan, up 8.8% from 2018.
"In a very litigious world, even the best-intentioned businesses can be targeted for a quick payday. I've seen more and more lawsuits regarding ADA compliance, and businesses aren't sure how to respond. Having a tool like ResMan Accessibility Pro on the site gives me ease of mind so I can focus on the day to day tasks and how to maximize occupancy," says a representative from First Choice Management Group.
