The FTC fined accessiBe $1 million for deceptive accessibility claims, and 1,416 lawsuits were filed against widget-using companies in 2025. What overlays actually do to a store.
WCAG 2.2 adds nine criteria, six at A and AA, and removes one. The three that change what a store has to do at checkout, and the ones that do not matter.
WCAG 2.2 AA 2.5.8 requires a minimum 24 by 24 CSS pixel target size. Mobile menu links and icon buttons at 16 pixels fail it, and fat-finger taps are the user cost.
WCAG 1.4.3 requires 4.5:1 contrast for normal text, and the struck-through original price counts as text. Light grey on white fails, and the sale badge does not rescue it.
A red sale price next to a grey old price means nothing to a shopper who cannot tell red from grey. WCAG 1.4.1 says color cannot be the only signal, and the fix is a word, not a shade.
A search box with no label and a newsletter field with only placeholder text are both unnamed controls. WCAG 3.3.2 requires labels, and placeholder text is not a label.
A product page needs one H1, the product name, and headings that descend in order. Skipped levels and H1s on the logo break the map screen reader users navigate by.
Alt text should say what the image shows and what it does, in about 125 characters. Image of is wasted words, and a blank alt is the right answer for decoration.
Landmarks are the named regions a screen reader offers as a table of contents: header, navigation, main, footer. When your storefront has three nav elements with no labels and no main landmark, that table of contents is blank.
A keyboard trap is the moment a shopper tabs into your menu and cannot tab out. WCAG 2.1.2, No Keyboard Trap, is Level A, which makes it the most basic failure a storefront can ship.
A skip link has to be the first focusable element, visible on focus, and aimed at the real main content. Three failure modes cover almost every store that thinks it has one.
Add to cart toasts, cart counts, and quantity changes happen visually and say nothing to a screen reader unless an aria-live region announces them. Most themes never wire it up.
Autoplay product videos ship muted and uncaptioned on most storefronts. WCAG 1.2.2 requires captions for prerecorded audio in synchronized media at Level A, and a transcript covers what captions cannot.
Placeholder text is real text and usually fails the 4.5:1 contrast ratio, while disabled buttons are exempt from contrast rules and still manage to confuse everyone. Handle both deliberately.
Alt text fails in both directions: empty where the image carries the only size or color information, and bloated where a decorative texture gets a paragraph. The decision is purpose, not effort.
WCAG 2.4.1 requires a way to bypass repeated blocks. On a storefront that means a skip link as the first focusable element, visible on focus, that actually moves the user to the main content.
A size guide uploaded as a JPG is invisible to screen readers and unscalable on phones. Rebuild it as a real HTML table with proper headers and the same numbers suddenly work for everyone.
Unplug the mouse and buy your own product. A timed script: visible focus, logical order, no traps, every control reachable, and what to write down when it breaks.
Quick view modals break keyboard journeys by losing focus, failing to trap it, and dumping shoppers at the top of the page on close. The dialog pattern that fixes all three.
One skip link to main content is the floor, not the finish. Stores need skips past mega menus, to search, and on collection pages past filters. Placement and visibility rules.
Forced account creation already costs conversions. With hidden password rules and silent errors it costs disabled shoppers entirely. Guest first, rules up front, errors announced.
If the sizing advice lives only in your video's audio, a deaf shopper never hears it. Captions, transcripts, and the autoplay rules, in a fix order that starts with your best sellers.
A returns portal asks for order, items, reason, and label preference in one form. The labeling and ordering mistakes that block customers from starting a return.
Collapsed by default, errors in words not color, and the total change announced. Fixing discount code entry for keyboard and screen reader shoppers.
The delivery notes box is where gate codes and step free requests go, and where checkout forms quietly fail disabled customers.
Comparison tables sell by scanning across a row.
Back in stock forms are small, but they fail shoppers with unlabeled email fields, silent errors, and alerts that arrive as image only emails.
Pickup choices hide key facts in maps, icons, and distance labels.
Your most anxious page is your tracking page. Status in words, not just dots and colors, and updates everyone can read.
The engraving box is a form, and forms have rules. Labels, counters that announce, and previews with text equivalents.
Gift cards fail at the form, the email, and the code entry. Fixing the full journey, step by step.
A heart icon that does not announce its state is a broken feature. Labels, pressed state, and focus rules for wishlists.
The manage subscription page is where accessibility goes to die. An audit guide.
Chat sits on top of every page, so its failures do too. What to audit in your widget.
Red outlines are not error messages. How to make checkout errors visible, readable, and announced.
Catalog filters often break for screen reader users. The failure points and the fixes that work.
Size guides as real text, reachable popups, and fit tools every shopper can use.
Points, tiers, and rewards as readable text instead of icon grids and graphics.
Map first locators assume a mouse. A searchable list version serves keyboard and screen reader shoppers, and everyone else too.
Nine items in one photo: list them all, summarize, or stay silent? Alt text for bundles that actually informs.
Size guides shipped as images shut out many shoppers. How to build fit tables as real, readable data on Shopify.
Product videos sell fit and motion, but only for shoppers who can hear them. Captioning options and quality checks.
Quick view modals trap or lose keyboard users daily. The focus, labeling, and dismissal behaviors yours must have, and how to test them.
Star graphics tell screen reader users nothing. The accessible rating pattern and how to audit your review widget's output.
Sale banners reach sighted shoppers first and screen reader users last. Making promos and codes accessible to all.
Placeholder only forms and vanishing hints hurt everyone. Labels, instructions, and required marking done right.
Gift card flows spike in the holidays and are rarely tested. Balance checkers, delivery, and redemption that include everyone.
A red box saying something went wrong wastes a ready buyer. Errors shoppers can find, understand, and fix.
The code box is where promos quietly fail. Labels, errors, and announcements that work for everyone.
Maps exclude many customers by default. A text first locator with lists and details gives everyone a way in.
Make collection controls operable by keyboard and clear about results.
What to write for product shots, lifestyle images, and detail photos.
A 30 minute pass that reveals whether blind shoppers can buy from you at all.
Policy text, labels, and status updates every shopper can actually use.
Unplug the mouse and your store will tell you the truth. A timed keyboard walk through home, product, cart, and checkout that finds the barriers shoppers hit daily.
Mega menus often open on hover and trap keyboard users. How to test focus order, escape behavior, and visible focus on a Shopify navigation menu.
Placeholder text is not a label. Why Shopify checkout fields fail screen reader users, how to check your own labels, and the patterns that make every field announce itself correctly.
Newsletter popups appear without warning and manage focus badly on many Shopify stores. Why that strands screen reader users, the three most common failures, and the dialog pattern that fixes them.
Quick-view popups promise faster shopping, but most implementations break keyboard navigation and confuse screen readers. How to test yours and the focus management fixes that make them usable.
Shopify's predictive search dropdown is fast and visual, which often means it is hostile to screen readers. What assistive tech users experience, the announcements a proper implementation needs, and how to audit yours.
Error messages that only turn a field red leave screen reader users guessing. Why Shopify form errors fail accessibility, the announcement patterns that fix them, and a quick test you can run today.
Plain answers to the questions Shopify brands ask about ADA compliance, WCAG 2.2, and accessibility monitoring.
Size guides are usually tables or modals bolted onto product pages. What screen reader users encounter and the structure that makes them usable.
Filter panels are where keyboard and screen reader users get lost on collection pages. What breaks, how to test it, and the fixes that matter most.
Newsletter forms are on every Shopify store and fail accessibility basics constantly: unlabeled inputs, errors announced nowhere, and success states a screen reader never hears.
Accordions hide shipping info, size guides, and FAQs behind toggles. When they are built from divs instead of buttons, keyboard shoppers cannot open them at all.
Autoplaying video creates three accessibility problems at once: motion with no pause control, vestibular harm, and audio that talks over screen readers. What WCAG requires and what to do instead.
Most do. Auto-rotation with no pause, unlabeled controls, keyboard traps, and screen-reader noise on every slide change. The five carousel failures and the compliant pattern.
Sale prices in light gray, placeholder text, pale error messages. Where contrast breaks on Shopify themes and how to test it.
Skipped links, unlabeled newsletter forms, and unnamed social icons. The common footer failures and a five-minute keyboard test.
Most are hover-only and strand keyboard users. What a working menu requires, the five-minute keyboard test, and the button-based fix that also repairs touch menus.