Is Shopify ADA compliant?
In this article, we will delve deep into the fine print of the World Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG) and we will see how these guidelines help make the internet a more accessible place for differently-abled users.
Most of us are fortunate enough to go through our daily lives with relative ease – browsing the internet, either through a computer or a smartphone, is just a part of life that is often taken for granted.
But to people with disabilities, these two simple things are more like chores instead of leisurely activities. That’s because the internet nowadays is not yet 100% fully accessible. And that means web accessibility barriers aren’t still fully addressed.
According to Web Aim, only 3% of internet websites are accessible. Additionally, according to AudioEye, ecommerce websites are some of the most inaccessible platforms in the world with 83% of all online stores across 22 industries having serious accessibility issues.
Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADAis rarely a consideration when designing online stores. But we aim to change that for the good of all. Let’s start with our discussion.
Is Shopify ADA Compliant?
Source: Burst
If you’re asking about Shopify stores, the better question would be:
“Are Shopify stores ADA compliant out of the box?”
The short answer to that is NO.
That’s because ADA compliance is achieved by designing a store according to your brand identity while purposefully applying the website accessibility guidelines for ADA compliance.
As such, Shopify does not make new online stores ADA compliant at the very beginning as it might hamper the design process of merchants.
However, Shopify has provided all the necessary digital accessibility features to make every ecommerce store within the platform ADA compliant.
Read: Shopify Accessibility Statement
Shopify Accessibility Features
The Shopify architecture has a set of assistive technology support that could allow you to make your online store accessible and ADA compliant.
These features that defy accessibility barriers include native and third-party tools like:
- Screen readers
- Speech recognition programs
- Support for low vision and color blindness
- Alternative keyboards
- Switch devices
- Tools for readability
Some of these tools can be found in the Shopify app store.
In addition to this assistive technology support, the theme editor allows for creation of Shopify ADA compliant stores. These include:
- Screen-responsive and zoomable themes
- Adjustable fonts
- Customizable colors
- Fine section adjustments in terms of height, width, padding, and more
- High-quality image and video capabilities
- Unique layout customization features to adapt to differently-abled users
Rules For Shopify ADA Compliance
Source: Pexels
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is the primary law that outlines the importance of addressing accessibility issues on facilities and platforms for people with disabilities.
While the original text of the ADA does not specifically mention websites, US courts found legal grounds to compel government and private business owners to make their websites ADA compliant through Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Title III of the ADA mandates accessibility in “places of public accommodations”, and US courts are interpreting this to apply to the Internet.
The WCAG Is The Standard For Making A Website Accessible
Since “places of public accommodations” now include websites, the US Department of Justice has set the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines or WCAG as the main standard for ADA compliance.
As such, websites that don’t address accessibility issues in accordance with the WCAG are violating the ADA compliance law.
We will be discussing WCAG in detail in our WCAG section later on this blog.
Who Are Expected To Comply With ADA & WCAG 2.2?
On March 18, 2022, the United States Department of Justice issued guidance relating to the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act to website accessibility.
The ruling clarified that the ADA compliance will be mandatory to websites that are considered places of public accommodation.
These include websites that serve the following purposes:
- Applying for an absentee ballot
- Paying tickets or fees
- Filing a police report
- Attending a virtual town meeting
- Filing tax documents
- Registering for school or school programs
- Applying for state benefits programs
In addition to public websites, the DOJ confirmed that the ADA’s web accessibility requirements extend to websites of privately-owned businesses that provide goods or services to the public.
According to the ADA, all businesses with a minimum of 15 employees working for twenty or more weeks in a year must adhere to its provisions.
As such, one-man Shopify store owners or even those that employ a few people (less than 15) could contend that they are not yet required to be ADA compliant.
However, as they reach the legal threshold, they are mandated to comply.
Therefore, ADA compliance for your Shopify store isn’t just an optional direction for your website. Instead, it’s a ruling by the DOJ that requires strict compliance as you grow.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Or WCAG 2.2
Source: Pexels
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines is a continuously evolving guide that adapts to the changes in the technological landscape.
The organization responsible for this is the W3C or the World Wide Web Consortium through the Web Accessibility Initiative.
The version two of WCAG for ADA compliance has undergone three revisions so far:
- WCAG 2.0 - published on December 2008
- WCAG 2.1 - published on June 2018 (and update on September 2023)
- WCAG 2.2 - published on October 2023
Each of these versions introduces additional digital accessibility guidelines and success criteria. W3C made it clear that all these versions are existing guidelines. As such, the introduction of a new one does not deprecate or supersede the guidelines of the previous ones.
However, W3C recommends that you use the most recent version of WCAG as it automatically makes your website ADA compliant according to all the previous WCAG versions.
Note: as of this writing, WCAG 2.2 is the latest standard in web content accessibility. However, WCAG 3.0 is in progress. It is important to be updated as regards the developments in content accessibility guidelines.
Bookmark this link for future developments.
Who WCAG 2.2 Is For?
Since the WCAG 2.2 by the Web Accessibility Initiative provides rules for designing websites for digital accessibility, its content is primarily intended for the following:
- Web content developers (page authors, site designers, etc.)
- Web authoring tool developers
- Web accessibility evaluation tool developers
- Others who want or need a standard for web accessibility, including for mobile accessibility
In addition to that, we would like to add that WCAG is also important for owners of growing businesses as they are ultimately the ones who will decide to act on it.
The POUR Principle & The 13 Guidelines Under WCAG 2.2
All 13 web accessibility guidelines of the WCAG revolve on four core principles called the P-O-U-R principles.
Below, we’ve defined these four principles and we will enumerate the guidelines underneath each one of them.
Perceivable
Having a perceivable website means that users can perceive the information being presented on the screen. This principle ensures that the content is available to them through their dominant senses such as sight, hearing, and touch.
This is achieved by providing alternatives for non-text content, and closed captioning for multimedia. Additionally, this principle ensures that the content is adaptable and distinguishable through color contrast and the ability to resize (or zoom-in) text.
Perceivability guidelines:
- Provide text alternatives for non-text content
- Provide captions and other alternatives for multimedia
- Create content that can be presented in different ways, including by assistive technologies, without losing meaning
- Make it easier for users to see and hear content
Operable
Operable refers to making the content and user interface navigational through other means other than the usual mouse and keyboard combination, and providing mechanisms to help users navigate, find content, and determine where they are.
This principle ensures that users can interact purely via keyboard, or other specialized equipment, while allowing enough time for users to comprehend the content. Additionally, being operable means having content that does not trigger disabilities like seizures – which happens when presented with high-frequency blinking content.
Operability principles:
- Make all functionality available from a keyboard
- Give users enough time to read and use content
- Do not use content that causes seizures of physical reactions
- Help users navigate and find content
- Make it easier to use inputs other than the keyboard
Understandable
Having an understandable Shopify store interface means that your content is comprehensible at first glance. This principle aims to ensure that information and operation methods are clear and consistent.
It includes making text readable and making the web page operate in predictable ways while helping differently-abled users avoid or rectify interaction mistakes.
Understandability principles:
- Make text readable and understandable
- Make content appear and operate in predictable ways
- Help users avoid and correct mistakes
Robust
Having a robust website according to the web content accessibility guidelines involves creating content that can be reliably interpreted by a wide variety of user agents such as assistive technologies. This ensures that the content remains accessible as technologies change and advance.
A robust website includes a clean and well-structured code that works across various platforms currently and in the future.
Robustness principles:
- Maximize compatibility with current and future user tools
Quick read: [Tutorial] How To Make Your Shopify Themes Responsive With PageFly
Levels OF WCAG 2.2 Compliance
Source: Pexels
We’ve already mentioned that for Shopify stores and other websites to be ADA compliant, they must adhere to the latest web content accessibility content guidelines.
In addition to that, there are also three levels of compliance under WCAG 2.2 that are examined using 86 success criteria, which are graded as pass or fail.
Level A
Level A is the minimum level of conformance. This means that the website has fully addressed basic accessibility issues that affect a wide range of users. Examples include requirements for alt texts and clear page titles.
Level AA
Level AA is more thorough as it tackles additional issues like maintaining adequate color contrast, proper use of heading, and consistent navigation elements across all the web pages.
Level AAA
Finally, Level AAA is the highest and most demanding level of conformance with hard-to-meet criteria, such as providing sign language interpretations for all pre-recorded multimedia content.
Which WCAG 2.2 compliance level should you aim for your Shopify store?
Generally, accessibility laws require a level AA compliance because adhering to these criteria generally makes websites accessible to most users with disabilities.
How To Make Your Shopify Store ADA Compliant?
Source: AudioEye
Improving the accessibility of your online store can significantly boost audience engagement because it becomes more inclusive to most people regardless of ability.
Thus, when you identify accessibility issues in your Shopify store, you’re welcoming a new set of audience that are potentially loyal to your brand.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the basic actions that you can do to make your store on Shopify ADA compliant.
Alt Text for Images
Alt texts are often taken for granted when adding content to your Shopify store. However, these descriptions play a huge role in website accessibility as it can help visually impaired users who rely on a screen reader to understand the content.
Moreover, alternative text benefits users with slow internet connections as the text can be loaded even if the image does not.
Therefore, to maximize Shopify store accessibility, ensure that all images and videos on your site have descriptive text on them.
Close Captions on Videos
Close captions or CC as they appear on YouTube are essential for individuals with hearing impairments as these allow users to comprehend the video without relying on the sound. These captions (also called subtitles) provide a text version of the spoken parts of a video, making it more accessible.
But aside from benefiting people with hearing impairment, close captions also benefit most of us who have normal hearing as they allow us to watch videos when we’re in noisy environments or in quiet environments where noise isn’t tolerated.
If you have videos on your Shopify store, you can manually add captions or use specialized transcription software.
Proper Use of Color
Using high-contrast colors throughout your Shopify store ensures that visual elements are easily readable. This is particularly crucial to make your website accessible for users with color vision deficiencies of CVD.
Additionally, avoid relying on colors to convey information. Instead, use lines, patterns, or proper section spacing.
Avoid Flashing Content
Flashing or blinking content can be distracting for people with no impairments. Moreso to those who have visual impairments such as users photosensitive epilepsy as it can trigger seizures.
Therefore, to provide a safer and accessible browsing experience for all users, avoid using flashing elements on your website.
If flashing content cannot be avoided, provide ample warnings.
Audio & Video Auto-Playback
Videos can be useful in visual storytelling on your Shopify store. However, videos that automatically play as soon as the content is loaded can be confusing and disruptive for people who rely on screen readers.
As this can interfere with their ability to navigate the site, avoid auto-playing videos and audio. Instead, allow users to control the playback by providing options to pause, play, and replay content as needed.
If you want to have a video that auto-plays on your Shopify store, such as when it is necessary in certain sections of your home page, ensure that the video does not have a sound or is muted by default.
Accessibility Apps For Shopify Stores
The tips mentioned above are general guidelines in designing your Shopify store for ADA compliance. But because there are 86 success criteria for this, you’ll need to cover more aspects of design.
It might be difficult to stay on top of these criteria. However, there are tools in the Shopify app store to help you do so.
Here are the top 3 accessibility apps that you can use:
Accessibility Spark ADA & WCAG
Rating: 5 out of 5 (50+ reviews).
Pricing: Starts at $99.99 per month. Free trial available.
Accessibility Spark ADA & WCAG is for growing Shopify stores that want to comply with all the success criteria of WCAG. This app’s main feature is the use of AI in optimizing your website for accessibility to comply with US, UK, and EU accessibility legislation.
Key features:
- Automatic image recognition and AI screen reader
- AI-powered keyboard navigation that applies throughout your website
- Customizable UI design
- Accessibility certification & Statement of compliance with WCAG, ADA, EAA, etc
- Daily monitoring for compliance as site changes are made
- Monthly compliance reports
Accessibly
Rating: 4.8 out of 5 (20+ reviews).
Pricing: Starts at $5 per month. Free trial available.
The previous app has all the features needed to make Shopify ADA compliant through the use of AI. However, it can be a bit too pricey for small businesses.
For that reason, you might want to consider other Shopify apps just as Accessibly.
Although it does not provide a certificate of compliance for the Americans with Disabilities Act, it has the necessary features to help make your Shopify ADA compliant.
Key features:
- Visitor options for content, color, and navigation accessibility
- AI-generated image alt text
- Generate an accessibility statement for your Shopify store
- In-depth analytics to track accessibility engagement
Web Accessibility by accessiBe
Rating: 4.6 out of 5 (10+ reviews).
Pricing: Starts at $49.99 per month. Free trial available.
Web accessibility by accessiBe takes advantage of AI to provide accessibility solutions to all Shopify stores. It is a more affordable option for store owners who want solutions that are designed to help them acquire ADA and WCAG compliance certifications.
Key features:
- Accessibility certifications for WCAG and ADA
- AI-powered screen reader and keyboard navigation
- Customer customizable UI to fit their needs
Bonus: PageFly Landing Page Builder
Rating: 4.9 out of 5 (10,000+ reviews)
Pricing: Starts at $24 per month. Free plan available.
PageFly is not a purpose-made accessibility app just like the ones we previously mentioned. However, PageFly can help you create accessible landing pages through its flexible theme editor.
Key features:
- Customizable section and page templates
- CRO-focused elements for all types of users
- Lightweight so it does not slow down your store
- Responsive design for all kinds of devices
Conclusion: ADA Compliance Is A Must If You Want To Avoid Potential Lawsuits
In this article, we’ve learned that ADA compliance is not a simple suggestion that may or may not be followed. Instead, it is a legal obligation for owners of growing businesses to make their websites more accessible to disabled people.
In the United States, people take accessibility very seriously and courts penalize businesses that don’t comply with the Americans with disabilities act.
In fact, in the year 2022 alone, more than 3000 website accessibility lawsuits were filed in federal courts. And these lawsuits span across various types of industries.
Thus, if your Shopify store isn’t ADA compliant, you risk receiving complaints regarding this especially if you’re serving thousands of customers per month.
As such, we highly recommend considering ADA compliance as your next big business move. It may be costly, but you can operate your business with peace of mind.
But aside from monetary consideration, making your Shopify ADA compliant fulfills your social responsibility to create an equal shopping experience for all types of users.
Read more: Shopify Store Design: 8 Crucial Tips From CRO Experts
