ADA website accessibility lawsuits against ecommerce businesses have grown significantly. In 2024, over 4,000 lawsuits were filed in US federal and state courts, with ecommerce sites among the most frequently targeted. This trend shows no sign of slowing, and the legal exposure is real regardless of platform or business size.
The Domino's Pizza case set a clear precedent: the Ninth Circuit held that websites and apps must meet ADA accessibility requirements under Title III, reinforcing that online services are covered by the same law as physical storefronts. For any ecommerce business with established search rankings, that matters.
At Netalico, a Shopify Plus Premier Partner founded in 2013 and operating as a Shopify Partner from 2016 onward, we work with ecommerce merchants to identify and address accessibility gaps before they become legal exposure. Our fully in-house US team across New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Miami handles everything from audits to ongoing compliance maintenance.
Who Is at Risk?
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that the same services available to non-disabled people are also accessible to people with disabilities, and that extends to websites. If your site has not been scanned and developed with ADA compliance in mind, a lawyer could be drafting a complaint against you right now. It does not matter whether you are on Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, or Magento. All web platforms are at risk.
Many small and medium business owners assume they can fly under the radar, but ecommerce businesses with as low as $1M per year in revenue have been forced to settle for six-figure amounts. Lawyers targeting ecommerce sites look for businesses that rank well in search results, on the assumption they have the resources to settle. The more visible your store, the more exposed you are.
What Can You Do to Reduce the Risk?
The best defense is a good offense. Even if your website is not perfectly compliant, getting closer to full compliance makes you a less appealing target. Lawyers are looking for easy wins, and a mostly compliant site with a documented process is less attractive than one with obvious unaddressed issues.
Scan
Use a WCAG tool to scan your entire website for potential compliance issues. These tools highlight problem areas and give you a prioritized roadmap for improvements.
Fix
When you have a large catalog, a scan may return thousands of pages with issues. The good news is that fixes made in templates often apply site-wide. A development partner who understands your platform can make targeted changes that resolve issues across many pages at once.
Document
Post an accessibility statement on your site. This signals to users and potential litigants that you are actively working toward compliance. Netalico's own accessibility commitment page is an example of what this looks like in practice.
Maintain
ADA compliance is not a one-time fix. Every time your storefront changes, new issues can be introduced. Regular scanning and a Shopify maintenance retainer that includes accessibility checks keeps your site in a defensible position on an ongoing basis.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does ADA compliance apply to ecommerce websites on Shopify?
Yes. ADA Title III applies to websites and apps that serve the public, regardless of platform. Both federal and state courts have consistently applied accessibility requirements to ecommerce sites. Netalico helps Shopify merchants identify WCAG compliance gaps and implement fixes across their storefronts, from product page templates to checkout flows.
What is WCAG and why does it matter for my store?
WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. These are the internationally recognised technical standards courts and the Department of Justice use to evaluate whether a website is accessible. WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the current benchmark. Issues include missing alt text on images, insufficient colour contrast, keyboard navigation failures, and inaccessible form fields.
What happens if my ecommerce site is not ADA compliant?
You may receive a demand letter from a plaintiff's attorney, followed by a lawsuit if the matter is not resolved. While businesses cannot be held liable for monetary damages under ADA Title III, they can be forced to make their site compliant and pay the plaintiff's attorneys' fees. Many businesses settle to avoid litigation costs, often for significant amounts.
How do I get started with an ADA compliance audit for my Shopify store?
The first step is a site scan to identify where your current gaps are. Get in touch with our team for an initial assessment of your store's accessibility status and a plan to address the highest-risk issues first.
