Shopify and the ADA: what US store owners need to know

If your Shopify store sells to people in the US, plan for the ADA. Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act covers businesses open to the public, and the US Department of Justice says its requirements apply to what those businesses offer on the web. The DOJ sets no detailed technical standard for private websites, so the practical test is WCAG 2.2 level AA, the guidelines the DOJ points to and the standard Shopify uses for its own checkout.

This is general information, not legal advice. For your own situation, talk to a lawyer.

Does the ADA apply to Shopify stores?

In most cases, yes. The DOJ's guidance on web accessibility and the ADA (opens in a new tab), published on March 18, 2022 and still live on ADA.gov, says:

• Title III covers businesses open to the public, and retail stores are the first example on its list.
• These businesses must give people with disabilities full and equal enjoyment of their goods and services.
• Since 1996 the DOJ has taken the position that the ADA applies to web content, including the goods and services businesses offer online.

The guidance also says it isn't legally binding by itself. It explains how the DOJ reads the law. The newer DOJ rule published on April 24, 2024 sets web requirements for state and local governments, not for online stores.

Which accessibility standard should a Shopify store follow?

The DOJ has no regulation with detailed web standards for businesses. It says businesses can choose how they make their sites accessible, and names two existing standards as helpful guidance: the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the Section 508 Standards.

For a store, use WCAG. The current version, WCAG 2.2 (opens in a new tab), became a W3C Recommendation on December 12, 2024. It has three levels of conformance: A, AA and AAA. Level AA is the usual target, and it is the level we test stores against.

If you also sell to shoppers in the EU, read our guide to the European Accessibility Act for Shopify stores. It covers the EU law that has applied to online shops since June 28, 2025.

What Shopify covers, and what you cover

Shopify does a lot of the groundwork:

• Its accessibility statement (opens in a new tab) says Shopify uses WCAG 2.2 as its guiding principle and tests its products against WCAG 2.2 level AA. Its published report for Checkout covers WCAG 2.2 A and AA.
• Themes in the Shopify Theme Store must average a Lighthouse accessibility score of at least 90 across the home, product and collection pages, on desktop and mobile, under Shopify's Theme Store requirements (opens in a new tab).
• Those themes must also work with a keyboard, show a visible focus state, give every image an alt attribute and meet contrast ratios of 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text and icons.

The same statement says merchants have complete control over their theme code. Everything you add is yours to check:

• Theme edits, custom sections and code from past developers.
• Apps that add pop-ups, reviews, quizzes, chat or loyalty widgets.
• Product images without useful alt text, and videos without captions.
• Color swatches that show options by color alone.
• Text placed over photos, and brand colors with low contrast.

A Lighthouse score is a starting point, not the finish line. Shopify's own accessibility best practices for themes (opens in a new tab) say that following them alone doesn't make a theme fully accessible.

The barriers the DOJ names, and where they hide on Shopify

The DOJ guidance lists common barriers. Here is where each one tends to show up in a Shopify store:

• Poor color contrast: light gray prices, sale badges and placeholder text in form fields.
• Color alone: variant swatches with no name, and red text as the only sign of an error.
• Missing alt text: product galleries, collection banners and images used as buttons.
• No captions: product videos and brand films on the homepage.
• Inaccessible forms: newsletter pop-ups, contact forms and discount code fields without labels or clear error messages.
• Mouse-only navigation: mega menus, cart drawers, quick-view windows and sliders that a keyboard can't open or close.
• No zoom: pages that break or hide content when a shopper enlarges the text.

The guidance also suggests giving people a way to report accessibility problems. An accessibility page with a contact email is an easy first step. Ours is one example.

Can an accessibility app or overlay make my store meet the ADA?

No app can promise that. An overlay sits on top of the page, and the theme code that causes the barriers stays the same.

The DOJ guidance warns that automated checkers and overlays need to be used carefully, and that a clean report doesn't mean everything is accessible. In April 2025 the US Federal Trade Commission approved a final order (opens in a new tab) requiring accessiBe to pay $1 million. The FTC had alleged that the company's claims that its widget could make any website meet WCAG were false, misleading or unsubstantiated.

We don't install overlays. We fix the theme code.

How to check your Shopify store yourself

You can find many barriers in an afternoon:

• Put your mouse away and shop with the Tab, Enter and arrow keys. Open the menu, pick a variant, add to cart and reach checkout. You should always see where you are on the page.
• Zoom in with your browser and check that text grows and nothing gets cut off.
• Turn on your phone's screen reader, VoiceOver on iPhone or TalkBack on Android, and try to buy one product.
• Run an automated checker such as Lighthouse or WAVE on your home, collection, product and cart pages. Both are tools Shopify suggests for theme testing.
• Go through every app you've added, since apps often bring their own pop-ups and widgets.

The DOJ suggests pairing automated checks with a manual review, because each one finds problems the other misses. Fix in the order shoppers meet the problems: navigation and search, product pages, the cart, then everything else.

How we help

Rolling Pandas is a Shopify agency and Shopify Select Partner. We check accessibility and fix barriers in the theme code, never with an overlay.

The $997 Shopify Growth Diagnostic includes accessibility next to UX and conversion, speed, SEO and AI search and email. In five days you get a written report and a ranked list of what to fix first.

Quick answers

Is Shopify accessible?

Shopify tests its checkout and admin against WCAG and requires Theme Store themes to pass accessibility checks. Your own store still depends on your theme changes, apps, images and words, so test the live store.

What WCAG level should a Shopify store aim for?

WCAG 2.2 level AA. It is the level Shopify tests its own products against, and the usual target for online stores.

Does an accessibility statement protect my store?

A statement doesn't fix barriers. It tells shoppers how to reach you when something doesn't work, which the DOJ guidance suggests, and it shows you take the problem seriously. The fixes still have to happen in the store.

Sources

Facts checked October 27, 2026. This post is general information, not legal advice.

• ADA.gov: Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA (March 18, 2022) (opens in a new tab)
• W3C: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 (opens in a new tab)
• Shopify: Accessibility statement (updated July 7, 2025) (opens in a new tab)
• Shopify: Theme Store requirements (opens in a new tab)
• Shopify: Accessibility best practices for Shopify themes (opens in a new tab)
• FTC: FTC approves final order requiring accessiBe to pay $1 million (April 2025) (opens in a new tab)