ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Compliance for e-commerce websites is mandatory, as you can read in our definitive guide to ADA compliance in 2024
Since the Internet is meant to be used by all, people living with disabilities from all aspects of life should have unlimited and unabated enjoyment of the World Wide Web. This includes those who have physical, cognitive, visual, or auditory impairments.
Recently, websites have been targeted by lawyers in violation of ADA compliance, making web accessibility a key focus for all site owners belonging to various domains, especially eCommerce.
In this guide, we will cover some core ADA compliance principles as well as some tools such as UserWay and accessiBe that can help you during this process.
Before we get into the core ADA principles you should focus on, let’s look at a few tools that come highly recommended and can make the compliance process that much easier.
Ideal for small-to-medium-sized businesses, accessiBe is a simple and affordable accessibility tool that was built according to WCAG, ADA, and Section 508 requirements. In just 48 hours, your website can be fully compliant, ensuring a more inclusive experience for every shopper. This is done through the addition of an accessibility panel on the front end of your site that makes it possible for visitors to customize their shopping experience according to their needs.
accessiBeaccessiBe is one of the most talked-about web accessibility tools available today. It helps take a lot of the manual work out of becoming ADA compliant by making it quicker and easier to identify web accessibility issues on your site.
Compatible with the top 20 CMS platforms, UserWay is an ideal choice for eCommerce sites. Along with making your site compliant with ADA Title II, WCAG, and Section 508 guidelines, you will also be able to provide shoppers with a more personalized experience thanks to an easy-to-use accessibility panel. And if your site happens to offer video and PDF content, there’s the option to make these accessible too, ensuring full compliance on every level.
UserWayUserWay is trusted by thousands of leading brands that want to create a more inclusive experience for their online users. With the help of an easy-to-use accessibility overlay, it’s never been easier to ensure your Magento site is compliant with some of the top ADA requirements.
In case you want to do a manual accessibility audit, here is the checklist you should be conscious about:
What are the media requirements for an ecommerce store compliance?
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) was established in the 90s to help end the discrimination and bias against differing abilities. It was based on the monumental Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, they went further, stating that it requires organizations to put an end to discrimination and enact “reasonable accommodations” for disabled employees.
The ADA is one of the major reasons why modern society enjoys wheelchair access and other equal-access accommodations in the workplace and even in public.
Nonetheless, no legislators were prepared for the boom of Internet access that radically changed how people do business.
Most of the time, it falls to the courts in determining how the ADA applies to websites. That is if they even apply at all.
Title III of the ADA demands that every “owner or operator” of any “place of public accommodation” give equal access to those meeting the ADA’s disability standards.
Many courts have found that since people “own” e-commerce websites, these websites are supposed to “accommodate the public.”
However, the e-commerce ADA compliance still lies in a grey area from the legal lens.
With this, judges have upheld the rights of those differently-abled. The courts found that online retailers and e-commerce websites must comply with the rules and regulations indicated in the ADA.
If your e-commerce website is not ADA compliant, this can make you liable.
For example, a lawsuit may be filed against your company if differently-abled people cannot or have trouble accessing or using your website.
Even if you don’t mean to exclude or discriminate against them, it could still happen. This could result in lawsuits that would cost you thousands of dollars. This shows why e-commerce website accessibility is signifcant.
First, non-compliance with ADA policies means that you are potentially turning away customers for the sole reason that they basically cannot shop with you.
Second, and most importantly, if your e-commerce website complies with the ADA, you’re giving people with disabilities the amount of attention and care that they deserve.
In the grey area of e-commerce ADA compliance, it’s safest to default to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines or WCAG.
WCAG indicates the goals for enacting ecommerce ADA compliance. Such core principles of an ADA Compliance ecommerce guide state that your website should be:
To achieve ADA compliance on your e-commerce website, it should undergo testing for accessibility at Accessibility Checker. Here are some factors you should take a look at.
It is the most crucial part of any e-commerce website to get right. Those who shop online tend to abandon their carts almost 70% of the time (1).
You’ll lose more if your checkout process is not optimized for people with disabilities. Imagine their frustration if, after all the functions and inputs, they can’t finalize the transaction.
Website designs should have sufficient color contrast (2) for people with low vision or color blindness. If not, you should at least have a color contrast option available.
If not coded properly, website forms are a big hassle for some people with disabilities. Forms need a proper label, error messages, and instructions.
E-commerce can be heavily reliant on vision. That said, product images should have accurate and sufficient alternative text that sufficiently and exactly describes each picture.
People with disabilities, especially those visually impaired, rely on screen readers and such assistive technology.
If your e-commerce website is ADA Compliant, you’re doing yourself a favor while making sure that every single customer, no matter what disability or status, can enjoy your website.
From the business side, it means securing yourself against liabilities and lawsuits.
Not only that, but this also means that there will be fewer abandoned carts, more possible returning customers, retaining happy ones (3), and increasing revenue. Additionally, ADA compliance enhances the website SEO.
On the other hand, you know that you’re doing the right thing. People with disabilities need these accommodations to get the full experience of online shopping and the Internet as a whole.
If you are looking for an ADA compliant solution, check our guide here.
By making your e-commerce website ADA compliant, you’re ensuring that they receive the same care, attention, and experience as everybody else.
Found this article informative? Check our other resources to guide you in making your website accessible:
ADA laws are no longer just linked to physical stores. All eCommerce websites need to be accessible and comply with WCAG standards. People with disabilities should have equal opportunities to engage with and purchase your products.
Regardless of whether you run a B2C or a B2B website, it cannot discriminate against those living with disabilities. All users should be able to access your B2B site and engage with your content, regardless of ability – it’s a legal requirement.
Even though Shopify continues to take steps that cater to the needs of customers living with disabilities, it doesn’t mean your site is automatically accessible. Keep in mind that the theme you’re using on your site isn’t necessarily accessible, which is why it’s important to scan your site and correct any accessibility issues to comply with legal requirements.
Start by auditing your Shopify site to get an accessibility score. From there, you can evaluate and deal with any accessibility issues. Some of the most basic steps you can take include using the correct header structures, adjusting your color contrast ratio to 4:5:1, adding alt tags to your images, and ensuring your navigation is consistent across all pages.
Building your site on the Magento platform (now Adobe Commerce) doesn’t necessarily mean it’s accessible and compliant. Website owners still need to audit their sites and make certain adjustments to ensure all users can access and engage with their content and online products.
