Shopify store owners consistently request three accessibility services: audits, remediation, and validation. In past years, the request usually was after the store owner was sued. In 2026, more Shopify store owners are being proactive about preventing litigation.
| Service | Purpose | When Store Owners Request It |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility Audit | Identifies all WCAG issues across your Shopify store | Before any remediation work begins |
| Remediation | Fixes code and content issues in theme files | After receiving audit results |
| Validation | Validator confirms fixes have resolved the issues | After your team has made fixes |
Table of Contents
Shopify Store Owner Emails
Before we summarize the requests, here are some of the actual emails we have received (redacted for privacy):
Email 1
We operate a Shopify e-commerce site and are currently working to bring our website into full accessibility compliance with ADA and WCAG 2.2 AA standards. At the moment, we use an accessibility widget, but we understand that true compliance requires a deeper review and remediation beyond overlays. We are looking to engage a third-party accessibility expert to help us evaluate our current site, identify gaps, and provide guidance through remediation and validation. Please let us know what services you offer, next steps, and any information you’d need from us to provide an estimate or proposal.
Email 2
I’m assisting them with obtaining quotes for formal accessibility auditing and ongoing compliance testing.
The site details are:
- Platform: Shopify
- Theme: General
- Third-party components: Reviews, Banner
- Separate staging/dev site available for testing
We’re interested in learning more about your offerings and pricing for:
- Manual WCAG 2.1 / WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility audit
- Mobile accessibility testing
- Assistive technology user testing
- Annual or recurring accessibility re-testing
- Compliance documentation and reporting deliverables
Please let us know:
- What is included in your audit reports
- Estimated cost ranges and timelines
- Whether remediation guidance and validation testing are included
We would appreciate any sample reports or documentation that demonstrate your approach.
Email 3
We’re looking for remediation services to correct the findings found in an audit or scan.
Thanks for your speedy response. We have not had an audit conducted – sorry if I was unclear. We’ve only done a free scan off the internet. So, what we need is someone to conduct the audit or scan and also remediation (or as much as possible) so that we are WCAG compliant. Our subsidiary received a class action complaint and now needs to act quickly.
An estimate or quote would be very helpful as cost and timeliness are big factors, but I understand that without a list of issues already prepared that will take more time.
Email 4
I run a DTC e-commerce brand and I’m looking for an all-in-one accessibility solution. I’d like to work with your team to:
- Perform a manual WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility audit of my website (including key pages, product pages, cart, and checkout),
- Implement or directly support the development fixes and remediation work,
- Re-test the site after changes, and
- Provide a formal written deliverable — including an accessibility audit report and, if available, a VPAT/Accessibility Conformance Report or attestation letter that I can keep on file in case my site is ever challenged for ADA non-compliance.
My site is built on Shopify with a small number of core templates. Can you please share:
- Your process and scope of work
- What documents/deliverables I will receive
- Pricing and timeline
Email 5
Hello – I’m with a small business, and we’re looking to have our store website tested for accessibility by people who actually use assistive technology in their daily life. Our site is a fairly simple ecommerce site, so it mainly consists of a home page, category pages, product pages, and the cart/checkout pages.
We were hoping to get a ballpark quote on how much this testing might cost? I also used your cost calculator and it came up with just under $1k, so I just wanted to confirm that that seemed about right.
We are seeking to meet WCAG 2.2 standards, and would like the site tested on the major web browsers, including on mobile (but we do not have an app). Thanks so much for your time, if there’s any additional information you need for a quote, please let me know. I look forward to hearing from you!
Service Request 1: Manual Accessibility Audits
The most common request from Shopify store owners is for a (manual) WCAG audit. Store owners frequently mention they have used free scans or currently rely on accessibility widgets, but they know scans are limited and find out that widgets don’t stop lawsuits.
A manual audit differs from automated scans in scope and depth. Scans like WAVE, AXE, and Google Lighthouse flag approximately 25% of WCAG success criteria. They catch things like missing alt text and color contrast failures. But they cannot evaluate whether a screen reader user can navigate your product page, whether keyboard users can complete checkout, or whether your form error messages make sense.
Store owners typically request audits that cover:
- Homepage and primary landing pages
- Collection and category pages
- Product detail pages
- Cart and checkout screens
- Account pages and login flows
- Contact forms and search functionality
The audit produces a detailed report, usually in spreadsheet format, listing every accessibility issue found. Each row contains the issue description, its location in your theme files, the relevant WCAG success criterion, and the recommended fix.
For Shopify stores with straightforward themes and fewer complex pages, audit costs tend to fall in the lower range. Stores with heavy customization, multiple third-party integrations, and extensive product catalogs require more audit time.
Mobile accessibility testing is frequently requested alongside desktop audits. Given that mobile commerce represents over half of e-commerce traffic, testing how your store performs on mobile devices with assistive technology is not optional.
Service Request 2: Remediation
After receiving audit results, store owners request remediation services. This is where the actual work happens to bring a Shopify store into WCAG conformance.
Remediation involves editing the code in your theme files. For Shopify stores, this means working in files like main-product.liquid, footer.liquid, header.liquid, and the various template files that control how your pages render. The work includes:
- Adding programmatic labels to form fields
- Implementing proper heading structure
- Ensuring keyboard navigability for all interactive elements
- Adding ARIA attributes where semantic HTML is insufficient
- Fixing color contrast failures
- Writing meaningful alt text for product images
- Ensuring focus indicators are visible
- Making modal dialogs and pop-ups accessible
Some store owners have in-house developers who can handle remediation with guidance. In these cases, they purchase technical support hours to get questions answered and fixes validated. Other store owners need full remediation services where the accessibility provider handles all code and content fixes directly.
The distinction matters for cost and timeline. DIY remediation with technical support takes longer but costs less in service fees. Full remediation costs more but gets completed faster.
One pattern we see repeatedly: store owners who received a demand letter need to act quickly. They cannot spend months learning accessibility and fixing issues themselves. They need someone to conduct the audit, perform the remediation, and produce documentation showing good faith efforts toward compliance.
Another common scenario involves stores preparing to launch. They want the site audited and remediated before going live, so accessibility is baked in from day one rather than retrofitted after problems arise.
Service Request 3: Validation and User Testing
The third service request involves confirming that remediation work actually resolved the identified issues. Validation closes the loop on the audit and remediation process.
Validation testing checks each fix to ensure the accessibility barrier has been removed. This is not a repeat of the full audit. It is targeted verification that the specific issues flagged in the original report no longer exist.
Beyond technical validation, store owners increasingly request user testing with people who rely on assistive technology daily. This type of testing involves real screen reader users, keyboard-only users, and users with other disabilities navigating your Shopify store and attempting to complete common tasks like finding a product, adding it to cart, and checking out.
User testing reveals issues that technical audits sometimes miss. A page can be technically compliant with WCAG success criteria but still frustrating or confusing for actual assistive technology users. User testing surfaces these usability gaps.
Store owners also request documentation from the validation and testing process. This documentation serves multiple purposes:
- Evidence of compliance efforts if a legal challenge arises
- Internal records showing the state of accessibility at a given point in time
- Basis for ongoing monitoring and maintenance
Some store owners request VPATs (Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates) or Accessibility Conformance Reports. These formal documents describe how a product or service meets accessibility standards and are increasingly requested by enterprise customers and government agencies.
The Recurring Theme: Documentation
Across all three service requests, documentation appears as a consistent need. Store owners want something on file. They want proof that an expert reviewed their site, that issues were identified and fixed, and that the site was tested by people with disabilities.
This documentation is not just about legal protection, though that motivation is real and valid. It is also about establishing a baseline for ongoing accessibility maintenance. Websites change. New products get added. Themes get updated. Third-party apps get installed. Each change can introduce new accessibility issues.
Having documentation of your current compliance state allows you to measure future changes against that baseline and catch regressions before they become legal problems.
Service Preparation
If you are preparing to request accessibility services for your Shopify store, a few things will help the process move faster:
- List any third-party apps or integrations on your site
- Identify whether you have a staging or development site available for testing
- Determine whether your internal team will fix issues or whether you need remediation
- Clarify your timeline and any legal deadlines you face
Providing this information upfront allows accessibility providers to give accurate estimates and realistic timelines for completing the work.
The sequence remains the same regardless of your situation: audit first to find the issues, remediate to fix them, and validate to confirm the fixes work. Shopify store owners who follow this sequence put themselves in the strongest position for genuine accessibility compliance.
Help
If you’re ready to make your Shopify store follow best practices for ADA compliance, we’d love to help. Contact us or send a message below and we’ll be right back with you.
