Make Your Shopify Website Accessible & ADA Compliant

Preventing lawsuits related to ADA compliance is required to retain the trust of your customers and protect your reputation and future profitability. 

With the evolution of technology, it’s only logical that the adaptation of the physical world to accommodate disabled people now also includes the digital space.

So, how do you ensure that your Shopify website caters to the blind, partially sighted, deaf or those who browse using voice assistance? 

This article has the answers.

How to Make a Shopify Site Accessible According to the ADA

To create an ADA-compliant Shopify website, it is essential to follow the standards set out in the Website Content Accessibility Guidelines ( WCAG ). These guidelines cover elements such as text, audio, images as well as the structure and presentation of your web pages.

Everyone from web developers to content creators would benefit from the WCAG. 

ADA Compliance Checklist

The WCAG is based on 4 key principles. An accessible website is:

1. Perceivable
2. Operable
3. Understandable
4. Robust

Verifiable success criteria are allocated to each of these principles. In summary, to make a Shopify website accessible and ADA Compliant, you must remember the following key points:

• Stay up to date with ADA and WCAG compliance requirements
• Audit your website to identify accessibility issues
• Ensure users can navigate your website using a keyboard or with voice commands.
• Make it possible for visitors to slow down or pause animations.
• Limit any flashing or blinking. Any element should not blink more than 3 times per second as this could cause an epileptic attack.
• Add alt tags to all images on your site to give them context.

You can learn more about how to make your Shopify website accessible here:

https://www.accessibilitychecker.org/guides/shopify-accessibility/

Among other tips, remember that making a Shopify site accessible to all users, including people with disabilities or special needs, requires time, seriousness, and constant commitment.