Who it is for
Website translation for cities, counties and agencies
Residents use your site to find a meeting, pay a bill, apply for a permit and read what their council decided. Translation should cover all of it.
- Works with most websites and calendar systems: add one line of code
- Pop-ups, forms and late-loading content translate too
- Linked PDFs open as readable text that can be translated
- A short note to visitors that the translation is automatic, with a way to reach a person
Why it matters now
Residents use your site to find a meeting, pay a bill, apply for a permit and read what their council decided. People who do not read English well need to do the same things. At the same time, the ADA Title II web rule requires state and local governments to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA, including for the PDFs they post, by April 26, 2027 for governments serving 50,000 people or more and April 26, 2028 for smaller ones.
What it covers
The widget translates the page, including menus, forms, pop-ups and content that loads late. When a visitor clicks a PDF link, such as an agenda or an application, it can open in the Document Reader as readable text that they can read, hear or translate. Separately, pdf.idioma.chat can fix a PDF file so a screen reader can follow it.
What to know before you start
Translation is automatic. It is not a certified translation and it will not be perfect, so have a qualified person review vital documents, and tell visitors the translation is automatic. We do not decide whether you comply with the law. That is your call, ideally with your lawyer.
Where to read more
Our guides for clerks and web teams cover which PDFs Title II requires you to fix, how to build accessible meeting agendas and packets, and what PDF remediation costs.
Common questions
Does this make our website compliant?
No tool can promise that, and we do not. Whether you comply with the ADA, Title VI or state law is your organization's call, ideally with your lawyer. idioma.chat helps residents who do not speak English well use your site and documents.
What about the PDFs already on our site?
The ADA Title II web rule has narrow exceptions for some older documents, and new documents have to be accessible from the start. The Document Reader opens linked PDFs as readable text visitors can translate, and pdf.idioma.chat can fix the files themselves. Our guide explains which PDFs the rule covers.
What will it cost a city or county like ours?
Translation is $0.05 per 1,000 characters each time a page is translated, so a typical 5,000-character page is $0.25. Opening a PDF in the Document Reader is $0.07 per page once, plus $0.05 per page for each language. You set a monthly cap, and nothing is charged beyond it. Use the estimator on the pricing page.
Read the guide to language access or see pricing.