Introduction: You Are Only as Strong as Your Weakest Link You’ve spent months making your website perfectly accessible. But then, you add a third-party “Chatbot” or a “Cookie Banner” from another company, and suddenly, your site is broken for screen reader users. This is a common trap. In the eyes of the law (and your users), you are responsible for every piece of software on your site, even the ones you didn’t build yourself.
Vetting Your Vendors
Before you sign a contract for a new software tool, you need to ask for their ACR (Accessibility Conformance Report). If a vendor says, “We don’t have one,” or “Accessibility is on our roadmap for next year,” that is a huge red flag.
- The “Pass-Through” Risk: If a blind customer can’t use the chatbot on your site to get help, they aren’t going to sue the chatbot company—they’re going to sue you.
- The Procurement Clause: We recommend adding a simple “Accessibility Clause” to your vendor contracts. It should state that the vendor must meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards and provide a plan for fixing any barriers that are found.
Collaboration, Not Just Inspection
Sometimes, the tool you need isn’t fully accessible yet. In those cases, work with the vendor. Tell them what’s wrong and give them a deadline to fix it. By being a “demanding customer” for accessibility, you are helping to make the entire software industry better for everyone. At Aditya Catalyst, we often help our clients audit their third-party tools to ensure their entire “Tech Stack” is safe and inclusive.