Appfolio

AppFolio and Duda: Making Real Estate Websites Accessible to Everyone

Appfolio, a real estate and property management software company, collaborated with Duda and AudioEye to tackle web accessibility and ongoing compliance challenges for their clients.

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  Enhanced web accessibility for 7,000 sites
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  Assisting clients in meeting regulatory requirements
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  Exceptional feedback from clients

Addressing Web Accessibility and Compliance Challenges

AppFolio, a leading provider of cloud business management solutions for the real estate industry, empowers real estate agencies and property managers to digitally revolutionize their operations, resolve crucial business challenges, and deliver an enhanced customer experience.

In 2019, the SaaS platform joined forces with Duda to offer high-performance tailored websites alongside its property management software. This partnership resulted in the seamless migration of all AppFolio's client websites from WordPress to Duda, with zero downtime.

Since then, AppFolio has continued to witness a surge in website sales, all of which are created on Duda's white label platform. They have also realized increased traffic to the published websites, a reduction in client turnover, and a rise in revenue from value-added services.

However, a new challenge emerged: ensuring these websites are accessible to everyone, meeting increasing regulatory requirements.

While their clients' websites were initially constructed with ADA, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, in mind, AppFolio sought to introduce a third-party tool to conduct thorough audits and provide a comprehensive report on potential enhancements.

Why It's Crucial

Ilana Craven, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Appfolio, explains: "We aimed to provide added value to all our website clients by ensuring that everyone can access, navigate, understand, and engage with digital content. This is of utmost importance."

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1.3 billion people, or 16% of the world’s population, have a disability. This number is projected to reach 2 billion by 2030 as the global population ages.

An accessible website accommodates individuals with auditory, visual, or cognitive disabilities, as well as those who rely on voice commands, screen readers, or other assistive technologies. It must be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for these users, as outlined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

W3C sets global web standards, including accessibility guidelines like WCAG 2.0, which serve as a benchmark for accessibility compliance in many U.S. and international jurisdictions. "Some of our clients had already contacted us about accessibility compliance. Some were receiving ADA demand letters, while others were concerned about potential legal action," Ilana notes.

Selecting the Right Partner

AppFolio explored various web accessibility evaluation tools. Following consultations with their Account Manager at Duda, they opted to integrate AudioEye, a digital accessibility platform seamlessly embedded in Duda's App Store.

Ilana highlights, "AudioEye offered a diverse array of features and functionalities."

By melding cutting-edge AI with certified experts, AudioEye automatically identifies, monitors, and rectifies accessibility issues. It aids site owners in generating alt text, correcting color contrast, enlarging cursors, and implementing dyslexia-friendly fonts, among other features.

Their Accessibility Score furnishes data on pages scanned, items rectified by AudioEye’s software, and remaining risks and errors requiring attention. Additionally, AudioEye supplies official accessibility auditor documentation to support site owners in managing and addressing accessibility concerns.

Clients Eagerly Anticipated It

AppFolio made the decision to deploy the accessibility app across its entire base of 7,000 client websites. Concurrently, the company was introducing new features and enhancements to their software management platform, presenting an opportune moment to include web accessibility as an additional service for all their clients.

The costs were incorporated into an already-scheduled monthly service fee increase. Ilana explains, "We're continuously refining our product. It was time for a price adjustment, so we bundled them together."

Starting from March 2023, all new websites sold by AppFolio and built on Duda's backend automatically included the AudioEye app. Simultaneously, existing clients were notified via email about the forthcoming installation of AudioEye on their websites.

"It was met with enthusiasm; many customers were thrilled to hear about AudioEye. A decent number were already using a third party accessibility tool and paying separately. Everyone eagerly anticipated it and perceived it as a genuine value addition. Very few customers queried its necessity," shares Ilana.

With all clients duly informed, it was time to transition to the implementation phase.

Challenges During Implementation

The implementation of the accessibility app across AppFolio's entire website base occurred starting on March 1st, which marked the initiation of incorporating AudioEye into all new websites on Appfolio.

AppFolio tactically installed the app through Duda's API. The teams from AppFolio and Duda collaborated to address some challenges related to the API and the source code of certain websites.

Ilana elucidates, "Prior to having AudioEye, our primary action items during the quality audit of websites were: Adding alt text to images lacking it, appending meta information to new pages, rectifying contrast issues, and including accessibility statements on websites that were yet to have them."

Ensuring Client Confidence and Providing Reports

According to Ilana, although AppFolio’s websites were already built with accessibility in mind, what AppFolio website clients most desired after conducting the audits and improvements on their websites was assurance that their efforts sufficed – something tangible, like a written statement.

"This was something we couldn’t previously furnish, so the AudioEye STAR Report holds immense significance as it provides our customers with tangible evidence to present to any concerned party," concludes the manager at AppFolio.

AudioEye's Sustainable Testing & Remediation (STAR) Plan furnishes official accessibility auditor documentation, aiding website owners in addressing accessibility concerns effectively.

Duda firmly believes that when websites are made accessible, everyone benefits – all users have an improved experience, easily navigable websites lead to higher search rankings, and website owners enhance their brand perception while reducing legal risks.