Make Your Shopify Store Accessible to People With Disabilities

Offering an excellent user experience is a major component of any eCommerce business. But many designers overlook a significant group of consumers: people with disabilities.

If your Shopify store isn’t ADA-compliant, you’re alienating a large group of potential customers. And this can lead to legal complications. Here are a few ways to make your Shopify store more accessible.

Accessibility is about inclusivity

An inclusive company is one that recognizes the differences among people and values them. Just like a rainbow, the different colors in it each contribute to its beauty. Inclusivity is also about recognizing that different voices and perspectives make the whole team or community stronger. This can be seen in organizations that hire employees with diverse backgrounds, such as people from minority groups or people with disabilities.

Making your online store ADA-compliant is the first step to being more inclusive for all users. By making your website more accessible, you will be able to attract a wider customer base and increase sales. In addition, customers with disabilities will appreciate your commitment to their needs. Furthermore, 51% of shoppers will walk away from a brand that doesn’t make shopping an easy experience.

By following the WCAG guidelines, you will ensure that your website is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. For example, you should use alt text for all images so those visually impaired customers can understand the context of the image through assistive technologies, such as screen readers. You should also consider using high-contrast colors on your site so that customers with low vision can differentiate between the background and foreground.

Additionally, you should include a site map to help your customers navigate your store. If you are selling physical products, you should consider including information about their dimensions and weight in your product descriptions. This will give your customers the information they need to choose the right size for them.

Shopify has made it easy for store owners to create accessible websites, but there are some limitations. For instance, the platform doesn’t automatically include captions for videos. Moreover, it doesn’t provide a way to create an alt text field for media thumbnails. To address these issues, you should use a third-party tool to evaluate your Shopify website’s accessibility.

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires businesses to make their physical locations and services accessible to people with disabilities. This includes their websites and mobile apps. However, most websites are not ADA-compliant. This lack of accessibility leads to lost revenue and can even put you at risk of a lawsuit. To avoid this, you should follow these tips to make your Shopify site ADA-compliant.

Inclusion is about making your store accessible

Many online stores fail to adhere to web accessibility guidelines. Not only does this alienate a significant population of consumers, but it can also lead to legal issues and lost sales. In addition, it is an ethically and socially responsible thing to do. In a recent study, 57% of consumers said they are more likely to buy from brands that demonstrate their commitment to addressing social inequities.

This is why it’s so important for online retailers to prioritize inclusion and make their sites accessible to all. The good news is that it’s not as difficult as it may seem to do so. For example, a simple change like using alt text for all images can make your store accessible to visually impaired users who use screen readers. Another simple way to make your site more inclusive is to add captions to videos, which can be helpful for hearing-impaired users. You can even add a sitemap to your website so that users can easily find the information they need.

While these are just a few examples, there are many other ways to make your Shopify store more accessible. For instance, you can add ARIA labels to your HTML elements to help screen readers understand their structure and function. Additionally, you should make sure that all form fields are properly labeled and include clear instructions on how to fill them out. In addition, you should avoid using colors that are difficult to perceive. People with color blindness or low contrast sensitivity often experience difficulty distinguishing different colors, so you should ensure that all the colors on your website are legible and easy to navigate.

By making your site more accessible, you can help to make the Internet a safer and more welcoming place for everyone. It will also make your site more appealing to a larger demographic of consumers, who are increasingly seeking out brands that are socially and ethically conscious. In fact, 47% of consumers will stop buying from a brand that doesn’t take a stand on ongoing issues. By adhering to ADA standards, you can provide a better user experience for all your customers and increase sales.

Inclusion is about creating a welcoming environment

If you are looking to open a store in Shopify, it’s important to make sure that your website is accessible to users with disabilities. In addition to complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), you’ll want to ensure that your site is navigable by keyboard commands, has accessible alternative text for images, and is compatible with screen readers. Failing to comply with these regulations could result in costly lawsuits.

It’s important to keep in mind that disability comes in many forms. Some people have hearing or vision impairments, while others have limited mobility or cognitive limitations. It’s vital to ensure that you provide customers with a positive experience on your website, regardless of their abilities.

Creating an accessible Shopify site is a good way to expand your audience and boost sales. In the United States alone, about 35 million people have some type of disability. Making your store accessible to these individuals will increase your visibility and help you reach a broader audience.

Shopify is a popular eCommerce platform that allows users to create a unique and personalized storefront. While it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, it can be used by almost anyone with an internet connection and a laptop. In addition to offering a range of themes, Shopify also offers a variety of apps that can be used to improve the accessibility of a website.

While Shopify has made some improvements to its accessibility, it’s still a work in progress. The platform is not entirely ADA-compliant and doesn’t have a comprehensive set of tools for non-technical store owners. The company is working on providing more support for store owners and implementing better default options for the platform’s products.

However, it would be beneficial for the company to offer more guidance on how to achieve ADA compliance with a Shopify website. For example, it would be helpful to have an option for store owners to enable closed captioning on videos. In addition, the company should also provide a way for users to report any issues with their website. This will be particularly useful for companies that are subject to ADA litigation.

Inclusion is about being transparent

In the world of e-commerce, there are numerous opportunities to reach out and connect with potential customers. However, when it comes to the one in four adults who live with some form of disability, it is important that store owners make their websites accessible. This is a challenge that Shopify faces, as the platform offers only limited support in this area. However, there are many things that you can do to improve your website’s accessibility, including using alt text for images and ensuring that videos have captions.

In addition to being WCAG compliant, it is also a good idea to use scalable elements on your site, such as text and buttons. Using a scalable format allows your users to see and interact with your content regardless of the device they are using. This is especially important for people with visual impairments, who may need to enlarge your content to see it clearly.

It is also a good idea to use accessible fonts, as they are more legible for people with vision impairments. These fonts are available on most computer programs and will automatically resize to the user’s preferred size. In addition, you should use high-contrast colors for your content. This will help people with visual impairments differentiate between foreground and background elements. It is also helpful to include a search bar on your site so that users can easily find what they are looking for.

Despite these efforts, there are still some groups of consumers who are being overlooked by the majority of websites. These people include individuals with visual and hearing disabilities, as well as people with mobility challenges. These consumers are looking for socially responsible businesses, and they will support brands that prioritize inclusion and accessibility.

While Shopify has made great strides in making its platform more accessible, it is important that store owners are aware of the needs of their audience. By following these tips, they can ensure that their online stores are accessible to all users and avoid costly lawsuits. In addition, they can benefit from a loyal customer base that is more likely to support socially conscious businesses.

Shopify Development Trends: Most Shopify store owners focus on their digital marketing alongside their web development. Keeping up with the cutting-edge Shopify Apps in ensuring a frictionless checkout for their online store, with additional tools to fill the Shopping Cart. Online shopping continues to grow year-over-year as the user experience improves with tailored customer service practices. Behind the scenes, are Shopify partners such as TheGenieLab. We are helping business owners and shopkeepers to drive continuous improvements through digital marketing services. Furthermore, they are providing Web Development in Shopify, BigCommerce, and other eCommerce store architectures. If you need a hand in any aspect of eCommerce, feel free to reach out to us at wish@thegenielab.com