Most accessibility problems on online stores are not exotic. They cluster around a handful of patterns: unlabeled buttons, low-contrast text, keyboard traps in the cart, and forms that a screen reader can’t make sense of. The good news is that this makes them checkable.
This is the short version of what our specialists look for when we audit a storefront against WCAG 2.1 AA, written for founders and developers rather than auditors.
Start where customers actually drop off
You don’t have to audit every page equally. Accessibility lawsuits and lost sales concentrate in the same places: the paths to purchase. Prioritize, in order:
- Navigation and search: can someone move through the site with a keyboard alone?
- Product pages: are images, variants, and the “add to cart” control announced correctly?
- Cart and checkout: this is where keyboard traps and unlabeled fields do the most damage.
The checks that catch the most issues
- Every control has an accessible name. A screen reader should never announce just “button.” (WCAG 4.1.2)
- Color contrast meets 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. (WCAG 1.4.3)
- Focus is always visible. Tabbing through the page should show a clear indicator on the current element. (WCAG 2.4.7)
- Nothing is keyboard-only-inaccessible. If a mouse can do it, a keyboard must be able to as well, with no traps. (WCAG 2.1.1, 2.1.2)
- Form fields have real labels, programmatically associated, not just placeholder text. (WCAG 1.3.1, 3.3.2)
Why this maps to legal risk
Private businesses have no official technical standard for ADA Title III, which is exactly why WCAG 2.1 AA has become the reference courts and defense attorneys lean on. A documented, expert-reviewed audit against that standard is the strongest evidence of good-faith effort you can produce.
Want the interactive version? Work through our accessibility checklist to see where your store stands, then book an audit when you want a human to verify it.