How Do You Create An ADA Compliant Shopify Store? The Complete Guide.
An estimated 1.3 billion people – or 16% of the global population – experience a significant disability today which includes visual, motor, or mental impairment.
"By creating a website that’s accessible, not only do you avoid serious financial penalties, but you also expand your revenue-generation capabilities." ~ Hubspot
What does ADA Compliance mean?
ADA compliance refers to adhering to the guidelines and standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a United States federal law enacted in 1990. The primary purpose of the ADA is to prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities and ensure they have equal opportunities in various aspects of life, such as employment, public services, transportation, telecommunications, and access to public and commercial facilities.
In the context of websites and digital content, ADA compliance means ensuring that your website or application is accessible to people with disabilities, including those who use assistive technologies such as screen readers, magnifiers, or speech input devices. This involves designing and coding your website in a way that accommodates the needs of users with various types of disabilities, including visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive impairments.
Web accessibility guidelines, such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), provide a framework to help web developers and designers create accessible websites and applications. By following these guidelines, you can improve the usability of your website and ensure that it is more inclusive and compliant with the ADA.
It's essential to note that ADA compliance is an ongoing process, as web technologies and accessibility standards evolve over time. Regularly reviewing and updating your website to maintain accessibility will help you stay compliant with the ADA and provide a better user experience for all visitors.
Why Should We Care About ADA Compliance?
Legal Issues
ADA Compliance is mandatory for websites of governments and businesses, according to the courts and DOJ.
Between 2017 and 2021, the number of ADA-related lawsuits increased 400% — for an average of more than 10 per day.
Equality & Value
ADA compliance goes beyond legal obligations; it's about connecting with and valuing all your customers equally.
It's about believing in the fundamental human right of access to information.
ADA compliance brings your Shopify store closer to everyone, welcoming diversity, fostering inclusivity, and creating an environment of respect and understanding. In fact, embracing ADA compliance could significantly enhance your brand reputation, broaden your customer base, and boost your bottom line.
Accessibility principles
When creating your theme, focus on the main principles of the WCAG 2.0 Guidelines:
- Perceivable: Information and UI components must be presentable to users in ways that they can perceive.
- Operable: UI components and navigation must be operable.
- Understandable: Information and the operation of the UI must be understandable.
- Robust: Content must be clear enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.
How do you create an ADA compliant Shopify store?
To ensure that your Shopify theme is ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant, you should focus on making your website accessible to users with disabilities.
Here are the main areas to consider and the steps to take:
1. Semantic HTML Tags
Use semantic HTML tags: Use appropriate HTML tags like <header>, <nav>, <main>, <footer>, <section>, <article>, and <aside> to structure your content. This helps screen readers to navigate and understand the content.
2. Proper Heading Structure
Ensure proper heading structure: Use the correct heading hierarchy (H1 to H6) and avoid skipping heading levels, as this can create issues for screen readers.
3. Minimum Font Size
Ensure that your body text is legible with a minimum font size equivalent to 16 px. This size improves readability for all users, particularly those with visual impairments.
4. Font Style
5. Text Alignment
Avoid justified text, as inconsistent spacing can make reading difficult. Text should have consistent spacing between words and letters to make it easy to read.
The text alignment should be left-aligned, which creates consistent spacing between words.
6. Alt Text to Images
Add alt text to images: Provide descriptive alternative text for images by adding the alt attribute, which helps screen readers describe the images to visually impaired users.
Example:
<img src="example-image.jpg" alt="An example image description" />
Keyboard Accessibility
Customers with vision or motor impairment might use a keyboard to navigate and complete tasks online. These customers rely on a visual indicator to communicate where their keyboard’s focus is on a web page. In the example below, the Email field has a visual focus indicator:
Use labels for forms: Make sure that all form elements, like input fields and dropdowns, have associated labels. Use the for attribute on the label to link it to the input.
Example:
<label for="email">Email</label>
<input type="email" id="email" name="email" />
If you edit your theme's stylesheet, then make sure that you don't remove the keyboard focus style from any page elements. Use the following guideline:All interactive page elements have a clear visual indicator when they have keyboard focus. These elements include links, buttons, and form fields.Ensure keyboard accessibility: Make sure all interactive elements, like buttons and links, are accessible via keyboard. Ensure they have a visible focus indicator for better usability.
Links & Buttons
A link (or a hyperlink) on a website is text or a button that leads you to another page or a piece of information by adding a hyperlink or a URL to the text or button.
Every time you click a link on a website or type a web address into your browser, it's a URL. URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. Think of it like a street address, with each portion of the URL as different parts of the address, and each giving you different information.
Here are some requirements to follow for ADA compliance:
1. Use large buttons, links or controls
The area for clicking and tapping controls must be large enough for people to activate them. This includes links, buttons, checkboxes, and other controls.
Small controls, and controls that are placed too close to each other, are difficult for many people to use. This is particularly relevant on mobile devices with small screens.
What are additional benefits?
- Content is more usable on touch screens, especially on smaller mobile devices.
- Content is more usable for people who are not experienced with the mouse or touch-pad on the computer they are using.
- Content is more usable in situations where the device cannot be held steady.
2. Use meaningful link text
Avoid using generic link text like "click here" or "more". Instead, use descriptive text that tells users what to expect when they click the link.
Links are more useful when they make sense out of context. Authors should avoid non-informative link phrases such as:
In fact, the phrase "click here" is unnecessary, even if it precedes a more meaningful phrase. For example, a link that says "click here to access today's weather" can be shortened to "today's weather." In some cases it may make sense to precede a link phrase with "more" or "read more about," (e.g. "more about global warming"), but if these extra words can be avoided, it is probably best to avoid them (e.g. "global warming" may convey the same meaning as "more about global warming," depending on the context)
These long links are almost certainly unnecessary, and are user-unfriendly for screen reader users. Remember that blind users cannot visually skim through lengthy links. They must listen to the entire text. .
3. URL links
URLs are not always human-readable or screen-reader friendly.
The human readable link Shopify Made Easy series is more user-friendly than the link to purchase the book by the same title on Amazon.com, which consists of a 108-character link full of numbers, slashes, and text that is not very human-readable. (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BV176712?binding=kindle_edition&searchxofy=true&ref_=dbs_s_aps_series_rwt_tkin&qid=1687175548&sr=8-2)
Does this mean that URLs should never be used as links? No. If the URL is relatively short (such as a site's homepage), the URL may be used as the link text. The key is to be considerate of screen reader users who must listen to the longer, less intelligible URLs.
Link Appearance
Browsers underline hypertext links by default. It is possible to remove the underline using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), but this is a bad idea most of the time. Users are accustomed to seeing links underlined. In body text, they may or may not be able to figure out which text is linked if the underline convention is not used.
If link are not underlined by default, then there are 2 requirements:
- The link text must have a 3:1 contrast ratio from the surrounding non-link text.
- The link must present a "non-color designator" (typically the introduction of the underline) on both mouse hover and keyboard focus.
These two requirements help ensure that all users can differentiate links from non-link text, even if they have low vision, color deficiency, or have overridden page colors.
Links Focus
Many sites have implemented visual mouse hover effects for links, such as adding background glows, drop shadows, color changes, or underlining. These effects help users know that the item can be clicked on and that mouse focus is on a particular link.
To make these effects device-independent, it is necessary to ensure that it can be activated by either the mouse or the keyboard. In CSS, this means using both the :hover and the :focus pseudo-classes.
Nearly any time a:hover (or other hover effects) are defined in CSS, it should be modified to be a:hover, a:focus to ensure the same visual presentation is available when keyboard users navigate or 'tab' to the link
Buttons
Slideshows
When you add a slideshow to your online store, use the following guidelines:
- Slideshows don't play automatically.
- If slideshows do play automatically, then they include a setting that customers can use to pause or stop the slideshow.
Videos
When you add a video to your online store, use the following guidelines:
- Videos don't play automatically.
- If videos do play automatically, then their audio is muted.
- For videos that include audio, the video is fully visible and not obstructed by other page elements. This allows closed captions to remain visible.
- For videos that include dialogue, text transcripts are available. These are included either on the page, or in a link to a separate page.
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Make your site accessible with different devices and browsers: Test your site on different devices and browsers to ensure it is compatible and accessible for all users.
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Test your site with accessibility tools: Use tools like WAVE (https://wave.webaim.org/) and the Accessibility Inspector in browser developer tools to check for accessibility issues.
ARIA Roles and Attributes
Use ARIA roles and attributes: ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) roles and attributes can be added to elements to improve accessibility. For example, you can use role="navigation" on a <nav> element to specify that it is a navigation region.
For example, an <a> element with role="button" will be treated as a button, not as a link.
How to implement the ADA compliance changes to a Shopify store?
To implement these changes, you'll need to access your Shopify theme files. Here's how:
- Log in to your Shopify admin panel.
- Go to "Online Store" and then "Themes".
- Click "Actions" next to the active theme, and then select "Edit code".
- From here, you can edit your theme's Liquid files, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Ensure that you create a backup of your theme before making any changes, as modifying the code can cause errors if not done correctly.
Lastly, remember that achieving full ADA compliance requires a continuous commitment to accessibility. Regularly review and update your website to address any new issues that may arise.
RESOURCES:
Here is a link for an ADA Compliance page - Web Accessibility Statement Example.
Color Contrast Checker: https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/
Web Accessibility Tool: https://wave.webaim.org/
Legal Information about ADA Compliance and websites.
ARIA Roles and Attributes by Modzilla for Accessiblity
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From Retail Challenges to Opportunities: Adapting Your Business for Success in 2025
By Veronica Jeans, Shopify Queen March 29, 2025
Navigating the ever-changing landscape of retail in the USA can feel like steering a ship through a storm, but with the right strategies, your e-commerce business can not only survive but thrive.
As economic challenges loom—marked by looming tariffs, a fluctuating stock market, and the aftermath of federal job cuts—it's crucial to adapt and seize opportunities amidst uncertainty.
Remember the resilience businesses showed during COVID? Those lessons are more relevant than ever. In this guide, we'll explore practical ecommerce strategies that can help you weather the storm and turn potential setbacks into opportunities for growth.
Whether you're running a boutique, a skincare line, or a budding online bakery, it's time to embrace digital transformation and craft a plan for success. Ready to transform retail challenges into opportunities? Let's dive in!
Table of Contents
Understanding Current Retail Challenges
As we navigate the complex landscape of retail in the USA, it's crucial to understand the key challenges that are shaping our industry. From tariffs to economic shifts, let's break down the factors that are influencing the way we do business.
Navigating Tariffs and Regulations
Tariffs and regulations have become a significant hurdle for e-commerce businesses in recent years. The landscape is constantly shifting, requiring retailers to stay vigilant and adaptable.
For many businesses, these changes have led to increased costs and supply chain disruptions. It's not just about absorbing higher prices; it's about rethinking entire business strategies.
However, with challenges come opportunities. Some savvy entrepreneurs are finding ways to diversify their supply chains or even pivot to domestic production. The key is to stay informed and be ready to act swiftly when new policies are announced.
Economic Downturn and Consumer Behavior
The current economic climate has significantly altered consumer behavior, presenting both challenges and opportunities for e-commerce businesses.
During economic downturns, consumers tend to be more price-sensitive and selective in their purchases. This shift can lead to decreased sales volumes for some retailers, particularly those in non-essential product categories.
However, e-commerce has shown resilience in tough times. Many consumers are turning to online shopping for better deals and convenience, creating new opportunities for businesses that can adapt to these changing preferences.
Impact of Job Market Shifts
The recent wave of federal job cuts and broader employment market changes have created a ripple effect across the retail sector.
With job insecurity on the rise, many consumers are tightening their belts, leading to more cautious spending habits. This shift can particularly impact discretionary purchases, forcing retailers to rethink their product offerings and marketing strategies.
On the flip side, these changes are also creating a pool of skilled workers looking for new opportunities. For e-commerce businesses, this could mean access to talent that can help drive innovation and growth in challenging times.
Learning from Past Crises
History often provides valuable lessons, especially when it comes to navigating business challenges. Let's explore what we can learn from past crises and how those insights can guide our strategies today.
COVID Lessons for Business Resilience
The COVID-19 pandemic was a crash course in business resilience for e-commerce companies. It taught us the importance of adaptability and quick decision-making in the face of unprecedented challenges.
One of the key lessons was the critical role of digital transformation. Businesses that had already invested in robust online platforms and digital marketing strategies were better positioned to weather the storm.
Another crucial takeaway was the importance of supply chain diversification. Companies that relied heavily on a single supplier or region faced significant disruptions, while those with diverse supply networks showed greater resilience.
Comparing Market Changes: Then and Now
While every economic crisis is unique, comparing past market changes with current conditions can provide valuable insights for e-commerce businesses.
Understanding these differences can help businesses tailor their strategies to the current environment while applying lessons learned from past crises.
E-commerce Growth Strategies Post-Crisis
Post-crisis growth strategies for e-commerce often involve a mix of innovation, efficiency, and customer-centric approaches.
Many successful businesses focused on enhancing their customer experience, recognizing that loyalty becomes even more crucial during tough times. This involved improving website usability, personalizing marketing efforts, and streamlining customer service.
Data-driven decision making also emerged as a key strategy. Companies that effectively leveraged their data to understand changing customer needs and market trends were able to adapt more quickly and effectively.
Practical Strategies for E-commerce Success
Now that we've examined the challenges and lessons from the past, let's dive into practical strategies that can help your e-commerce business thrive in the current economic climate.
Adapting Your Business Model
In times of economic uncertainty, flexibility in your business model can be a game-changer. It's about finding new ways to deliver value to your customers while maintaining profitability.
Consider diversifying your product range to include more affordable options or essential items. This can help you capture a wider market and maintain sales volume even as consumer spending habits change.
Another strategy is to explore new revenue streams. This could involve adding services related to your products, creating subscription models, or even partnering with complementary businesses to offer bundled solutions.
Marketing During a Recession
Marketing during a recession requires a delicate balance between maintaining visibility and respecting your customers' financial constraints.
Focus on value-based messaging that emphasizes the quality and longevity of your products. Consumers are more likely to make purchases if they perceive them as smart investments rather than frivolous spending.
Leverage cost-effective digital marketing channels, such as social media and email marketing. These platforms allow for highly targeted campaigns, ensuring your marketing budget is spent efficiently.
Consider offering loyalty programs or special promotions to retain existing customers. It's often more cost-effective to keep current customers than to acquire new ones.
Exploring Digital Transformation
Digital transformation is no longer optional for e-commerce businesses; it's a necessity for survival and growth in today's market.
Start by evaluating your current tech stack. Are your systems integrated and efficient? Consider investing in tools that can automate routine tasks, freeing up your team to focus on strategic initiatives.
Enhance your online presence by optimizing your website for mobile users and improving your site's loading speed. These factors not only improve user experience but also contribute to better search engine rankings.
Explore emerging technologies like AI and machine learning. These can be used to personalize customer experiences, optimize pricing strategies, and predict market trends.
Embracing Opportunities in Uncertain Times
While economic challenges can be daunting, they also present unique opportunities for innovative e-commerce businesses. Let's explore how you can turn uncertainty into a catalyst for growth.
Innovating Product Lines and Services
Innovation in your product lines and services can set you apart from competitors and attract new customers, even in a challenging market.
Listen closely to your customers' changing needs and preferences. Use surveys, social media engagement, and sales data to identify gaps in the market that you could fill with new or modified offerings.
Consider developing products or services that address the specific challenges your customers are facing in the current economic climate. This could involve creating more affordable versions of popular items or introducing products that help customers save money in the long run.
Don't be afraid to experiment with limited edition or seasonal offerings. These can create a sense of urgency and exclusivity, driving sales even when consumers are generally more cautious about spending.
Leveraging Technology for Business Growth
Technology can be a powerful driver of growth, helping you streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and open new revenue streams.
Invest in robust analytics tools to gain deeper insights into your customers' behavior and preferences. This data can inform everything from product development to marketing strategies.
Explore the potential of augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) technologies. These can provide immersive product experiences, potentially increasing conversion rates for certain types of products.
Consider implementing chatbots or AI-powered customer service tools. These can provide 24/7 support to customers, improving satisfaction while reducing operational costs.
Building a Resilient Business Mindset
A resilient business mindset is crucial for navigating uncertain times and seizing opportunities when they arise.
Cultivate a culture of agility within your organization. Encourage your team to stay informed about market trends and be ready to pivot strategies quickly when needed.
Focus on building strong relationships with your customers, suppliers, and partners. These connections can provide valuable support and opportunities during challenging times.
Invest in ongoing learning and skill development for yourself and your team. The ability to quickly acquire new skills and knowledge can be a significant competitive advantage in a rapidly changing business landscape.
Connecting with the Right Resources
In challenging times, having the right support and resources can make all the difference. Let's explore how you can tap into valuable networks and create a solid plan for success.
Seeking Guidance from Experienced Mentors
Experienced mentors can provide invaluable insights and guidance as you navigate economic challenges.
Look for mentors who have successfully steered businesses through previous economic downturns. Their firsthand experience can help you avoid common pitfalls and identify opportunities you might otherwise miss.
Consider joining industry associations or business groups that offer mentorship programs. These organizations often connect you with seasoned professionals who understand the specific challenges of your industry.
Remember, mentorship is a two-way street. Be prepared to offer value in return, whether through your own unique insights or by helping with specific projects or initiatives.
Networking with Fellow Entrepreneurs
Networking with other entrepreneurs can provide support, inspiration, and potential collaboration opportunities.
Attend industry events, both virtual and in-person, to connect with peers facing similar challenges. These connections can lead to valuable partnerships or simply provide a sounding board for ideas.
Join online communities or forums dedicated to e-commerce or your specific niche. These platforms can be great sources of real-time information and advice from fellow business owners.
Consider forming or joining a mastermind group with other e-commerce entrepreneurs. Regular meetings with a small group of peers can provide accountability and collective problem-solving.
Creating an Actionable Plan for Success
An actionable plan is crucial for turning insights and strategies into tangible results for your business.
Start by setting clear, measurable goals for the next 6-12 months. These should be ambitious yet achievable, taking into account the current economic climate.
Break down these goals into specific action steps, assigning responsibilities and deadlines to each. This ensures that progress is steady and measurable.
Regularly review and adjust your plan as needed. The ability to pivot quickly based on new information or changing circumstances is key to success in uncertain times.
Remember, the path to success in challenging times is rarely straightforward. By staying informed, adaptable, and connected to the right resources, your e-commerce business can not only survive but thrive in the face of economic uncertainty.
This quote perfectly encapsulates the mindset needed to navigate the current retail landscape. By viewing challenges as opportunities for innovation and growth, you position your business to emerge stronger and more resilient.
As you implement these strategies, remember that you're not alone in this journey. Connect with fellow entrepreneurs, seek guidance from mentors, and don't hesitate to reach out for professional support when needed. Together, we can turn retail challenges into opportunities for success.
Ready to create your personalized action plan? Let's connect and chart a course for your e-commerce success in these challenging times.
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