Got an ADA Demand Letter for Your Shopify Store?

Don't panic, and don't ignore it either. Here's what these letters actually cite, and what to check first.

If you run a Shopify or WooCommerce store and just received a letter claiming your site violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, you're not alone — e-commerce accessibility demand letters have become a volume business for a handful of law firms. The good news: almost all of them are built from the output of an automated WCAG scanner, not a manual review. That means you can usually see exactly what they're pointing at within minutes.

What the letter is probably citing

Demand letters rarely list unique findings. In practice they cluster around a small set of automatically-detectable WCAG 2.1 failures:

Missing image alt-text (WCAG 1.1.1) — by far the most common, because product catalogs have hundreds of images and it's trivial to detect at scale.
Low color contrast on text, prices, or badges (WCAG 1.4.3).
Unlabeled form fields — search boxes, email signup, checkout (WCAG 1.3.1 / 4.1.2).
Keyboard-inaccessible carousels, filters, or cart drawers.

If the letter includes a scan report or a list of URLs and issue counts, it almost certainly came from an automated tool — which means you can run the same class of check yourself, for free, before deciding how to respond.

Check your alt-text exposure now, free. ComplianceSnap scans your live storefront and counts every product image missing alt-text — the single most-cited finding in these letters — in under a minute, no signup.
Run the free scan →

What to do in the first 48 hours

Don't ignore it, but don't panic-settle either. Read what's actually being cited before responding to anyone.
Run a scan yourself so you know whether the claim matches reality and how big the surface area is.
Start fixing the highest-volume item first — usually alt-text, because it's the fastest to remediate across an entire catalog and shows good-faith progress if this does escalate.
Talk to a lawyer who has actually handled ADA web-accessibility cases before signing any settlement — this is not something to negotiate alone, and it's not something this page or any automated tool can advise you on.

Why alt-text specifically

Unlike contrast ratios or keyboard-navigation audits, missing alt-text can be counted precisely, automatically, across a whole catalog, in one pass — which is exactly why it's the finding plaintiffs' scanners lead with, and exactly why it's the fastest thing for you to verify and start fixing.

Free ADA/WCAG risk scan for Shopify & WooCommerce
Paste your store URL and get a risk tier (low/medium/high) based on how many product images are missing alt-text — free, no signup. Ready-to-use alt-text for every flagged image is a $9 upgrade away.
Run the free scan →

For the full pre-emptive checklist (the ten things worth checking before a letter ever arrives), see the Shopify & WooCommerce ADA compliance checklist. Fixing what's flagged? See how to bulk add alt text across your catalog.

This page is a technical starting point, not legal advice. If you've received an actual demand letter or lawsuit, talk to a lawyer experienced in digital accessibility law before responding.