ADA Compliance Auditing
Making the Internet accessible to all is a priority all site owners should be focused on and a fully compliant web begins with you! Having an ADA-compliant eCommerce store allows you to make your store easy to use for customers with disabilities.
By default, eCommerce stores are not fully ADA compliant unless accessibility was front-of-mind when the site was being built. But even then as technology changes so do compliance requirements.
Store owners have options when it comes to ADA compliance, the first and most cost-effective is installing what is commonly known as an “overlay” such as accessiBe or UserWay.
What is an overlay?
accessiBe and UserWay are both available as an app and as a standalone installation for a variety of eCommerce platforms including BigCommerce, Shopify, and Turbify. Once the app or code is installed on a store or website, visitors can enable certain accessibility features to help them navigate, shop, and purchase from your store.
accessiBe, UserWay, and other overlays, do not modify your site’s code and all options are controlled through the overlay’s control panel for the store owner and via the on-site widget for the user. However, store owners can use the app’s dashboard to run reports, identify areas where improvement is needed to be WCAG 2.1 compliant, and use those recommendations to implement code changes in the store.
Overlays are the most popular and cost-effective means for store owners to provide a minimal level of ADA-compliant features for their customers, but these do not provide for 100% ADA compliance.
For your eCommerce store to be truly ADA-compliant, it needs more than just an overlay.
ADA Compliance Auditing and Remediation
Your Store Wizards has select partners that offer our clients a full-service ADA compliance solution:
Phase 1: Audit
Our partner will perform manual and automated testing to provide you with a comprehensive audit of your store for WCAG 2.1 AA compliance. Their unique approach starts by assigning a group of accessibility testers to audit the site against WCAG criteria. Their accessibility team includes non-sighted users and access to the disability community, ensuring that they meet the Department of Justice’s requirements to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines best practices.
Their team of accessibility experts will deliver a defect summary report, with screenshots to identify the accessibility violations and recommendations on how to fix the problems. These findings are then used to estimate the level of effort required to remediate the site and ensure digital accessibility and compliance. The audit process accurately captures and records all ADA defects across your store.
After the auditing phase, you’ll have a clear outline of the fixes that need to be made and a strategy of how to best approach implementing these fixes during the remediation phase.
Phase 2: Remediation
Once the audit is complete, results are given to you for review along with the recommended code changes for your store. Your Store Wizards will implement these changes while following WCAG 2.1 AA best practice guidelines to ensure your store is ADA-compliant.
Phase 3: Ongoing Compliance Monitoring
Once all code changes have been implemented in your store, ongoing monthly compliance monitoring is provided by our partner. This ongoing service provides full coverage, accessibility expertise, and dedicated resources to ensure that you continue to deliver the highest level of ADA website accessibility to your customers.
For more information on ADA compliance and how you can implement it in your eCommerce store, feel free to contact us.