Accessibility + Compliance Standards Design
Accessibility Is a Design Constraint, Not a Remediation Project
WCAG became an ISO standard in October 2025. Cart abandonment runs about 23% higher on sites considered inaccessible.
WCAG 2.2 conformance designed into the component library rather than bolted on afterwards, plus the audits and remediation to get an existing store there. We’ll tell you what conformance level we’re building to, what we tested with, and where we think the remaining risk sits.
Accessibility fails as an afterthought and works as a constraint
Most accessibility problems we’re asked to fix were introduced by a design or build decision that nobody flagged at the time. Remediation is always more expensive than the constraint would have been, and it produces a worse result.
Where sites fail
Overlay widgets standing in for accessibility
A third-party script promising compliance in a line of JavaScript doesn’t fix the underlying markup and frequently interferes with the assistive technology it claims to help. We fix the components instead.
Automated scans treated as the audit
Whether a focus order makes sense or a custom component announces its state correctly requires a person and assistive technology. An audit without manual testing is a report.
Custom components built without accessible states
Every carousel, accordion, modal, filter, and drag interaction added outside the platform’s native patterns is a place where keyboard access and screen reader support get lost.
Checkout and forms
The highest-consequence surface. Labels that vanish once someone starts typing, unclear error recovery, and payment fields keyboard users can’t reach. → eCommerce Funnel Engineering
Mobile-specific failures
Text too small to read, tap targets crowded against each other, and drag interactions with no pointer alternative. WCAG 2.2 added requirements specifically here.
Why it doesn’t get fixed
Nobody owns it
Design assumes engineering will handle it, engineering assumes design specified it. We name the conformance level, document what was tested, and leave you with something a legal team can read. → Technology Adoption & Change Strategy
Framed only as legal risk
The commercial case is real and independent: an inaccessible site is harder for everyone to use, and cart abandonment runs measurably higher on inaccessible sites. → eCommerce Funnel Engineering
Vendor claims that sound like guarantees
Conformance to a technical standard and legal compliance in a jurisdiction are different questions. A guarantee covers the second, and only a court can issue that.
Experience
18+
Years of Unlocking Growth
Scale
$3.14B+
in GMV Migrated to Shopify
Partnership
1 of 5
Founding NA Shopify Platinum Partners
Precision
94.7%
Implementation Predictability
Clients
8
Unicorns & Counting
ADA conformance has been in scope on engagements including Mack Weldon, Gaia Herbs, Four Sigmatic, and AG1 — designed in, not retrofitted.
Four things we’ve concluded about accessibility in commerce
Seventeen years of building stores that have to work for everyone.
Design it in; retrofitting is the expensive path
Contrast, focus states, target sizing, and semantic structure are choices, not features. On Mack Weldon, full ADA compliance was in scope alongside the heuristic audits from the start, which is why it never became a separate project.
WCAG is the standard, and it’s now global
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines were approved as an ISO standard in October 2025, making them a globally recognized compliance benchmark rather than one region’s rulebook.
Compliance is broader than accessibility
Privacy, consent, and regional consumer rules travel with the same projects. Four Sigmatic’s second redesign launched alongside both ADA accessibility and GDPR privacy compliance work.
We build to a standard, and your counsel judges compliance
We’re not a law firm and we won’t tell you that you’re compliant. What we will do is build to a named WCAG version and level, test with real assistive technology, document what we found and fixed, and tell you plainly where we think residual risk remains.
The work
Accessibility audit
Automated scanning, manual keyboard and structure testing, and assistive technology testing across your key templates and flows.
Prioritized remediation roadmap
Findings ordered by user impact and exposure, with effort attached. Checkout and forms generally come first.
Accessible design systems
Contrast, focus states, target sizing, and semantic structure built into the component library so future pages inherit conformance. → Visual Design
Development remediation
Markup, ARIA usage where genuinely needed, keyboard interaction, focus management, and custom component states. → Enterprise Shopify Development
Privacy and regional compliance
Consent, cookie handling, and regional consumer requirements alongside accessibility. → Market Expansion
Documentation and ongoing conformance
An accessibility statement, a record of what was tested and how, and a governance model so new work doesn’t reintroduce old problems.
What an accessibility engagement commits to
| Commitment | Acceptance criterion |
|---|---|
| Named standard | A specific WCAG version and conformance level, agreed in writing before work starts |
| Manual testing | Keyboard and assistive technology testing, not automated scanning alone |
| No overlays | We fix components. We won’t install a widget and call it done |
| Design-system level | Conformance built into components so new pages inherit it |
| Documented findings | What was tested, how, and against which success criteria |
| Residual risk | Stated plainly, including what we didn’t cover and why |
| No compliance guarantee | We don’t issue legal opinions, and we’ll tell you that up front |
The last row is the one your counsel will ask about first.
How accessibility work runs
Standard and scope
Week 1
Conformance target agreed, templates and flows scoped, ownership named.
Audit
Weeks 1–3
Automated scanning, manual keyboard and structure testing, assistive technology testing, findings mapped to success criteria.
Remediation
Weeks 3–8
Fixes by priority, starting with checkout and forms, plus accessible component patterns for the design system.
Conformance and governance
Ongoing
Documentation, accessibility statement, and a review process so new work doesn’t regress.
Timelines: An audit on a standard Shopify store is two to four weeks. Remediation depends on how much custom component work exists. An audit plus first-wave remediation lands inside 8 weeks on most stores.
What we test
Text and contrast
Whether text is large enough to read and whether contrast holds across states — including hover, focus, and disabled states design reviews skip.
Target size and spacing
Whether buttons and controls have enough separation from other clickable elements. A WCAG 2.2 addition, and one of the most common mobile failures.
Drag interactions
Whether anything requiring a drag offers a pointer alternative. Frequently missed entirely because it works fine for the person who built it.
Form labels and error recovery
Whether field labels stay visible once someone starts typing, and whether errors explain how to fix the problem. Highest consequence at checkout.
Alt text and non-text content
Whether product imagery carries descriptive alternative text that conveys what a shopper needs, rather than a filename.
Consistent help and navigation
Whether support options appear in the same place throughout the site, and whether navigation and focus order behave predictably.
Anatta’s Agentic Operating System
Every engagement runs on one system.
Senior engineers paired with an agentic framework that absorbs the mechanical half of this work — scanning, criteria mapping, regression coverage across templates — so senior time goes to the judgment calls automation can’t make.
See how we workAccessibility work we’ve run
Mack Weldon
Full ADA compliance in scope from the start, alongside deep heuristic audits
Explore the Mack Weldon success storyGaia Herbs
ADA accessibility raised across the site — scoped as work that widens reach and reduces risk
Explore the Gaia Herbs success storyFour Sigmatic
A redesign launched alongside both ADA accessibility and GDPR privacy compliance work
Explore the Four Sigmatic success storyAG1
A rebrand and redesign delivered ADA-compliant, across 47 countries on one domain
Explore the AG1 success storyWe can raise problems or run through ideas and Anatta will say what they think, explain what’s possible, and share what they’ve done before — it’s a confidence-inspiring approach.
Riley AmbroseProduct Manager, Mack Weldon
The work didn’t feel like outsourcing — it felt like going from zero to sixty overnight with a full team ready to go.
Charley MooreVP of Finance & Operations, Mack Weldon
How to check your own site in an afternoon
None of this requires software or a specialist. If several of these fail, you have a picture of your exposure before you talk to anyone — including us.
- Unplug your mouse. Navigate your homepage, a product page, and your entire checkout using only the keyboard.
- Watch the focus indicator. Tab through a page. If you can’t see where you are, keyboard users can’t either.
- Start filling a form. Do the field labels disappear once you type?
- Trigger an error at checkout. Does the message explain how to fix the problem?
- Check your tap targets on a phone. Try it one-handed.
- Find every drag interaction. Is there a way to do each one without dragging?
- Read your product alt text. If it’s filenames or keyword strings, your imagery conveys nothing to a screen reader.
- Look for your help option on five different pages. Is it in the same place every time?
- Check whether you have an overlay widget installed. If you do, run steps 1 through 8 anyway.
The Accessibility Self-Audit
The worksheet version, with WCAG 2.2 success criteria referenced against each check. Name and email.
Frequently asked questions
Are we legally required to make our site accessible?
That depends on your jurisdiction and your business, and it’s a question for your counsel rather than for us. Accessibility litigation against commercial websites is well established in the United States, and WCAG became an ISO standard in October 2025, which makes it the reference point most regimes point toward.
Do accessibility overlay widgets work?
Not as a substitute for accessible code. An overlay doesn’t change your underlying markup and frequently interferes with the assistive technology it claims to assist.
What standard should we build to?
WCAG, at a named version and conformance level, agreed before work starts. Its adoption as an ISO standard in October 2025 makes it a globally recognized benchmark.
How long does remediation take?
The audit is two to four weeks on a standard Shopify store. Remediation depends almost entirely on how much custom interactive component work exists.
Will accessibility work hurt our design or our conversion rate?
Neither, in our experience, and it usually helps the second. Where a genuine tension exists between an aesthetic choice and a criterion, we’ll show you both options and the trade-off.
Does this apply if we only sell in the United States?
Accessibility obligations in the US are litigation-driven rather than defined by a single federal technical standard. If you ship internationally at all, other regimes may be relevant. Your counsel should make that call.
Do you guarantee compliance?
No. Conformance to a technical standard and legal compliance in a specific jurisdiction are different questions, and we’re qualified to speak to the first.
Try buying something on your own site without a mouse.
