Which e-commerce platforms have the most ADA lawsuits?

In EcomBack's 2025 annual report, custom-coded sites received 1,362 lawsuits (34.50%), Shopify stores 1,318 (33.38%), WordPress sites 808 (20.47%), Salesforce Commerce Cloud 168 (4.26%), Magento 156 (3.95%), and Squarespace 136 (3.44%). No platform is automatically ADA compliant — compliance depends on configuration, theme selection, and content.

What are the most common accessibility issues on e-commerce sites?

The most frequently cited violations include: missing alt text on product images (found on 53.1% of the home pages WebAIM tested in February 2026), unlabeled form fields in checkout, inaccessible cart and filtering interfaces, poor color contrast on buttons and CTAs, keyboard-inaccessible dropdown menus and modals, and missing or inaccessible error messages during checkout.

🛒 The Largest Category in UsableNet’s 2025 Count

E-Commerce ADA Compliance: 70% of 2025 Lawsuits Target Online Stores

Q: Why are e-commerce sites sued so often?

Online shopping involves multiple steps — browsing, filtering, product selection, cart management, and checkout — where accessibility barriers directly prevent purchases. 70% of the ADA website lawsuits UsableNet counted in 2025 were filed against online retailers. The transactional nature of e-commerce creates clear, demonstrable harm when users with disabilities cannot complete purchases.

Q: Does my small online store need ADA compliance?

Yes. In the first half of 2025, most of the companies UsableNet found sued had less than $25 million in annual revenue. Size does not keep a store out of a plaintiff's search results, and a small store's checkout has the same failures a large one's can.

If you sell products online, you are in the highest-risk category for ADA litigation. In 2025, 7 out of 10 of the accessibility lawsuits UsableNet counted were filed against e-commerce sites, and in the first half of the year most of the companies sued had less than $25M in revenue. No platform is exempt: Shopify, WordPress, Magento, and Squarespace stores are all being sued.

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70%Of 2025 ADA lawsuits targeted e-commerce (UsableNet)

1,318Shopify store lawsuits in 2025 (EcomBack)

3,948ADA website lawsuits in 2025 (EcomBack)

<$25MRevenue of majority of defendants

Lawsuits by E-Commerce Platform (2025)

No platform provides automatic ADA compliance. Accessibility depends entirely on how themes are configured, how content is added, and whether the checkout flow has been audited. Here’s where the 3,948 lawsuits in EcomBack’s 2025 count landed:

Platform	Lawsuits (2025)	Share	Key Vulnerability
Custom-coded sites	1,362	34.50%	No platform defaults or theme review to catch problems
Shopify	1,318	33.38%	Third-party themes and apps lack WCAG compliance
WordPress	808	20.47%	Theme customization creates inconsistent accessibility
Salesforce Commerce Cloud	168	4.26%	Enterprise customizations introduce barriers
Magento	156	3.95%	Complex builds deprioritize accessibility
Squarespace	136	3.44%	Drag-and-drop builders miss semantic structure

Where E-Commerce Sites Fail: Top Violation Areas

Product Images

WebAIM found no alt text on 16.2% of home page images in February 2026. Product photos without descriptive alternatives are invisible to screen reader users, and on a store they are the product.

Checkout Forms

Unlabeled form fields, missing error messages, and inaccessible payment inputs. Checkout is where accessibility failures directly prevent purchases — creating clear, actionable legal claims.

Navigation & Filtering

80% of pages have links screen readers can't properly describe. Dropdown menus, product filters, and sorting controls frequently trap keyboard users or provide no accessible alternative.

Cart & Modals

Mini-carts, pop-up modals, and slide-out panels that cannot be operated by keyboard. Dynamic content updates that aren't announced to screen readers.

Color Contrast

35% of forms lack clear labels. Sale prices, CTA buttons, and promotional banners frequently fail the 4.5:1 contrast ratio required by WCAG 2.1 AA.

Mobile Touch Targets

Small "Add to Cart" buttons, tiny quantity selectors, and cramped navigation on mobile. WCAG 2.2 now requires 24×24px minimum interactive target size.

E-Commerce Accessibility Checklist

Compliapoint audits and remediates every element of your online store. Here are the critical areas we fix:

Product Image Alt Text — Descriptive text for every product photo, variant swatch, and lifestyle image
Checkout Flow — Labeled form fields, accessible payment inputs, clear error messages, keyboard-navigable steps
Cart & Mini-Cart — Screen reader announcements for cart updates, keyboard-operable quantity controls
Navigation & Menus — ARIA-labeled dropdowns, keyboard-accessible mega menus, proper focus management
Product Filtering & Sorting — Accessible filter controls with screen reader feedback for applied filters
Search Functionality — Labeled search fields, accessible autocomplete, keyboard-navigable results
Color Contrast — 4.5:1 ratio on all text, buttons, form elements, and sale/promotional content
Mobile Touch Targets — 24×24px minimum on all interactive elements per WCAG 2.2
PDF Receipts & Invoices — Tagged for screen reader navigation, readable order details
Video Product Demos — WCAG 1.2 compliant captions on all product and marketing videos

⚠️ Overlays Won't Protect Your Store

In EcomBack’s count, 24.9% of ADA website lawsuits in 2025 were filed against sites that already had a widget installed. Having one installed did not stop those suits from being filed. Source-level remediation — fixing your actual theme templates, product page code, and checkout flow — is the only defensible approach.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are e-commerce sites sued so often?

Online shopping involves multiple transactional steps where accessibility barriers directly prevent purchases. When a screen reader user can't add items to cart, complete checkout, or read product details, it creates clear, demonstrable harm under the ADA. E-commerce also has a strong physical-digital nexus — stores that offer "buy online, pick up in store" strengthen plaintiffs' standing arguments.

My store is on Shopify — am I automatically ADA compliant?

No. Shopify provides a framework, but compliance depends entirely on your theme, apps, and content. Shopify stores received 1,318 lawsuits in 2025, more than any other named platform in EcomBack’s count; only custom-coded sites received more. Third-party themes, apps, and custom code frequently introduce accessibility barriers that Shopify's core platform doesn't prevent.

Can my small online store really get sued?

Yes. In the first half of 2025, most of the companies UsableNet found sued had less than $25 million in annual revenue. Size does not keep a store out of a plaintiff’s search results, and a small store’s checkout has the same failures a large one’s can.

What does e-commerce remediation cost?

Compliapoint provides fixed-price proposals based on your store's size and complexity. This is a one-time project cost — not a recurring subscription. May qualify for the federal Disabled Access Credit — ask your tax professional. A demand letter adds your own legal fees and any settlement on top of the same remediation.

Related Resources for Online Stores

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