Introduction

As an e-commerce business owner, you spend countless hours optimizing your website for conversions. But what if a significant portion of your potential customers can't even use your site? Digital accessibility is no longer a niche topic; it's a fundamental aspect of doing business online. Laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are increasingly being applied to websites, and thousands of businesses are facing lawsuits for having sites that are unusable by people with disabilities.

Understanding the standards behind these lawsuits—primarily the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)—is the first step to protecting your business and opening your doors to every customer. This guide will demystify WCAG and give you a clear, simple framework for making your e-commerce store accessible to all.

What Are ADA and WCAG?

• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): This is a U.S. civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including places of public accommodation. Courts have repeatedly ruled that commercial websites are "places of public accommodation," which means they must be accessible.

  
  

• The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG): This is the "how-to." WCAG is not a law itself, but a set of technical guidelines for making web content accessible. It has become the globally recognized standard for digital accessibility. To comply with the ADA, your website should aim to meet WCAG standards.