National Park Service
Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island
America's Most Iconic Welcome — Accessible to Every Visitor, Online and On-Site
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Compliance
Section 508 – Federal Compliance Achieved
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Scope
3 Properties – Website, Museum & Mobile App
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Testing
Real Users – Tested with Disabled Testers
The Challenge
The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are among the most visited and symbolically significant landmarks in the United States — monuments to freedom, immigration, and the promise of America.
The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are among the most visited and symbolically significant landmarks in the United States — monuments to freedom, immigration, and the promise of America. Together they welcome millions of visitors each year from around the world, and their digital presence — spanning the public website, the Ellis Island museum digital experience, and a visitor mobile app — serves as the primary planning and information resource for those visits.
For the National Park Service, digital accessibility at these properties carries a meaning that goes beyond compliance. The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of welcome for all people. Ellis Island is the entry point through which millions of immigrants — including many with disabilities — passed to begin new lives in America. An inaccessible digital experience at these sites is a profound contradiction of everything they represent.
As a federal agency, the National Park Service operates under Section 508 obligations across its digital properties. For the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island specifically — properties of global significance and broad visitor diversity — meeting those obligations required a partner with the expertise to address three distinct digital properties comprehensively, and the methodology to verify results with real users.
The Inclusive Web Solution
Inclusive Web delivered a comprehensive accessibility program spanning all three digital properties associated with the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island: the public-facing visitor website, the Ellis Island museum digital experience, and the visitor planning mobile application.
Our team conducted human-led WCAG 2.1 AA audits of each property — evaluating every visitor-facing flow from trip planning and ticketing through the museum digital experience and on-site mobile companion features. We developed prioritized remediation roadmaps for each platform, verified every fix before sign-off, and concluded with real-user testing across all three properties.
Human-led WCAG 2.1 AA audit of the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island public visitor website
Mobile visitor app audit across iOS and Android — trip planning, ferry information, and on-site navigation features
Section 508 compliance assessment and remediation roadmap across all three digital properties
Fix verification — every resolved issue across all three platforms confirmed working before sign-off
Ongoing monitoring to maintain compliance as visitor content, exhibit updates, and app features evolve
Ellis Island museum digital experience audit — including immigration history content, records search, and interactive exhibits
Ticketing and reservation flow accessibility evaluation across web and mobile
Prioritized remediation by visitor impact and federal Section 508 compliance obligation
Real-user testing with testers who identify as disabled, validating the visitor experience across web, museum digital, and mobile using screen readers, keyboard navigation, and voice control
Real-User Accessibility Testing — Public Services Must Work for Every Member of the Public
Inclusive Web tested all three Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island digital properties with testers who identify as disabled and rely on assistive technologies daily — including screen readers (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver), keyboard-only navigation, and voice control. For national landmarks that symbolize welcome and belonging for all people, this means confirming that every visitor — regardless of ability — can plan their trip, explore the history of Ellis Island, and experience these monuments digitally with full independence.
The Result
WCAG 2.1 AA compliance achieved across all three digital properties — visitor website, Ellis Island museum digital experience, and mobile visitor app
The complete visitor journey — from trip planning through ticketing, museum exploration, and on-site navigation — accessible to visitors relying on assistive technologies
Ellis Island immigration records, historical content, and interactive exhibits accessible to all visitors regardless of ability
WCAG 2.1 AA compliance achieved across all three digital properties — visitor website, Ellis Island museum digital experience, and mobile visitor app
Real-user testing confirmed that visitors with disabilities can plan, book, and experience these national landmarks digitally with complete independence
The digital presence of America's most iconic symbols of welcome now lives up to the promise those monuments represent — accessible to every visitor from every background and every ability
Ongoing monitoring in place to maintain compliance across all three properties as content and features evolve
"The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of welcome for everyone. Ellis Island is where millions of people — many with disabilities — first arrived in America. Our digital presence has to reflect that history. Inclusive Web made sure it does."
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE - STATUE OF LIBERTY & ELLIS ISLAND
Services Delivered
WCAG 2.1 AA Audit (Visitor Website, Museum Digital & Mobile App)
Section 508 Compliance Assessment
Ellis Island Museum Digital Experience Audit
Remediation Verification
Mobile Visitor App Accessibility (iOS & Android)
Real-User Usability Testing
Ticketing & Reservation Flow Audit
Ongoing Accessibility Monitoring
Compliance & Public Mandate Drivers
Federal obligations and public expectations that made this work essential.
Section 508 (Federal Agency – NPS)
ADA Title II (Public Cultural Institution)
WCAG 2.1 AA Standard
National Monument Mission – Welcome & Access for All
Federal Public Accountability Mandate
Do your national landmark's digital properties live up to the values the monument itself represents?
Inclusive Web helps government agencies, public institutions, and cultural organizations meet their accessibility obligations — and build digital experiences that truly serve every member of the public.