The Ecommerce Accessibility Checklist: Stop Losing 15% of Your Customers

Over 1 billion people worldwide — roughly 15% of the global population — have some form of disability. That includes visual impairments, motor disabilities, hearing loss, and cognitive differences. If your online store isn't accessible, you're silently turning away a massive customer base.

And it's not just about doing the right thing (though it is). In 2025, ecommerce accessibility lawsuits hit an all-time high. ADA lawsuits targeting ecommerce sites have been climbing 20%+ year over year. The legal risk is real.

What Accessibility Means for Ecommerce

Web accessibility means people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with your store. Practically, this means:

• Blind users can navigate your store using screen readers
• Low-vision users can read text and see controls with sufficient contrast
• Motor-impaired users can navigate and purchase using only a keyboard
• Cognitive disabilities are accommodated with clear, consistent layouts

The Essential Accessibility Checklist

1. Form Inputs Must Have Labels

Every input field — search bars, email fields, quantity selectors, checkout forms — needs an associated label. Without labels, screen readers can't tell users what information to enter.

Bad: <input type="email" placeholder="Your email">

Good: <label for="email">Email</label><input id="email" type="email">

If you can't use a visible label, use aria-label as a fallback.

2. Images Need Alt Text

We covered this in detail in our alt text guide, but it bears repeating. Every product image, banner, and icon needs descriptive alt text. Screen readers read this aloud to blind users.

For decorative images (backgrounds, spacers), use alt="" to tell screen readers to skip them.

3. Skip Navigation Links

Keyboard users navigate your page sequentially using Tab. Without a skip navigation link, they have to tab through your entire header and navigation menu on every page load. A skip link lets them jump directly to the main content.

<a href="#main-content" class="skip-link">Skip to main content</a>

4. ARIA Landmarks

Use semantic HTML elements like <main>, <nav>, <header>, and <footer>. These create landmarks that screen readers use to navigate your page structure. If you can't use semantic elements, use ARIA roles like role="main".

5. Link Text Must Be Descriptive

Links that say "click here" or "read more" are meaningless to screen reader users who navigate by jumping between links. Instead, use descriptive text:

Bad: "To see our return policy, click here."

Good: "Read our full return policy."

6. Color Contrast

Text needs sufficient contrast against its background. WCAG 2.1 requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Many stores fail this on subtle gray-on-white text or light text on colored backgrounds.

7. Keyboard Navigation

Every interactive element (buttons, links, form fields, dropdowns) must be reachable and usable with a keyboard alone. Test your store by putting your mouse away and navigating with Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter, and Escape.

8. Focus Indicators

When keyboard users Tab through your page, they need to see which element is currently focused. Many stores remove the default browser focus outlines for aesthetic reasons. Don't. Either keep them or replace them with visible custom focus styles.

What StoreVitals Checks

StoreVitals automatically checks for the most common accessibility issues during every scan:

• Form inputs without accessible labels
• Missing skip navigation links
• Missing ARIA landmarks (<main> element)
• Links with no accessible text
• Images without alt text
• Missing lang attribute on HTML element

These automated checks catch the low-hanging fruit. For a full WCAG 2.1 audit, you'll also need manual testing with screen readers and keyboard-only navigation.

The Business Case

Beyond ethics and legal compliance, accessibility is good business:

• Larger customer base — 15% of people have disabilities, plus aging populations
• Better SEO — Accessible sites tend to rank better (semantic HTML, alt text, headings)
• Legal protection — Proactive accessibility reduces lawsuit risk
• Better UX for everyone — Accessibility improvements benefit all users

Scan your store to see how your accessibility stacks up. Fixing the basics takes a few hours and opens your store to millions of additional potential customers.