1. Introduction
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) sets forth guidelines that mandate businesses, including online retailers, to provide equal access to goods and services for individuals with disabilities.
Under the ADA, online businesses must ensure that their websites and digital platforms are accessible to people with various impairments, including:
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Visual
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Auditory
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Motor
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Cognitive disabilities.
This means that websites must be navigable and usable by screen readers, have alternatives for non-text content like images and videos, provide keyboard navigation options, and maintain a certain level of contrast for readability.
For Shopify store owners, adhering to ADA compliance is essential. Failure to do so not only risks legal repercussions but also excludes potential customers and undermines the overall user experience. Fortunately, there are numerous apps available on the Shopify platform specifically designed to assist merchants in meeting ADA requirements and enhancing the accessibility of their online stores.
2. ADA Accessibility Widget
App Overview
ADA Accessibility Widget is a comprehensive app designed to make Shopify stores more accessible to all users, ensuring compliance with ADA standards. It offers a range of features to identify and address accessibility barriers, making it easier for merchants to create inclusive online experiences.
Key Features
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Customizable Settings: With customizable settings, you can tailor the accessibility features to suit the specific needs of your target audience. Adjust font sizes, colors, and navigation options to enhance usability for all users.
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Page Color Contrast: The app allows users to adjust the contrast between page elements, ensuring clear visibility and minimizing eye strain, especially for users with visual impairments or color blindness
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Text-to-Speech Functionality: This feature converts on-screen text into clear, natural speech, benefiting users with dyslexia, auditory learners, or those preferring audio formats for content consumption.
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Keyboard Navigation: Comprehensive keyboard navigation support ensures seamless access to all features and functionalities, particularly beneficial for individuals with mobility impairments.
Price
Monthly Plan: $6.99/month
- Readable - Visually Pleasing Experience
- Easy Orientation
- Your BRAND CUSTOMIZATION
- Our PREMIUM SUPPORT
- 14-day Free Trial
Yearly Plan: $67.20/year
- 14-day Free Trial
- More Saving (20%)
(All Features in MONTHLY PLAN)
3. Accessibility Enabler AW
App Overview
Accessibility Enabler AW is a versatile app designed to empower Shopify merchants to create more accessible and inclusive online stores. With a focus on customization and flexibility, this app offers a wide range of features to enhance accessibility for users of all abilities.
Key Features
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Customizable UI and Design: Accessibility Enabler AW allows you to customize the user interface and design elements to meet your specific needs. You can adjust colors, positions, and icons to ensure optimal visibility and usability. Plus, it supports 105 languages, making it accessible to users worldwide.
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Screen-Reader Adjustments: The app enables adjustments for screen readers, ensuring that visually impaired users can navigate your store effectively. It also offers keyboard navigation adjustments, making it easier for users with mobility impairments to browse your site.
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Flexible Accessibility Settings: Accessibility Enabler AW provides flexible accessibility settings that are tested and compatible with all Shopify themes. Whether you're using a standard theme or a custom design, you can rest assured that your store will meet accessibility standards.
Price
Limited Features :Free
- Shows subscription notification in the widget
- Accessibility widget with limited 5 features (out of 30+)
- Includes 3-day free trial
Micro - Monthly: $12/month
- Up to 30,000 page views/month
- 30+ Accessibility Features
- Accessibility Certificate and Badge
- 105 Languages Supported
Mini - Monthly: $36/month
- Up to 100,000 page views/month
(the rest is the same as Micro - Monthly plan)
4. Easy Alt Text
App Overview
Easy Alt Text is an essential app for Shopify merchants aiming to improve the accessibility of their online stores. With its user-friendly interface and powerful features, Easy Alt Text simplifies the process of adding ALT attributes to images, ensuring compliance with accessibility standards and enhancing SEO.
Key Features
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Automatic Optimization: Easy Alt Text automatically generates ALT attributes for images, ensuring that visually impaired users can understand the content of images on your store.
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Customizable ALT Text: The app provides customizable ALT text with placeholders for variants, product titles, product types, and tags. This not only improves accessibility but also enhances search engine optimization by providing relevant descriptions for images.
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Improved Image Accessibility: By ensuring that images have proper ALT text, Easy Alt Text improves accessibility for all users, including those using screen readers. Moreover, it enhances the accessibility of your store for search engines, potentially boosting your site's visibility and ranking.
Price
Free: Free to install
- $0.01 USD per image above the 100 free
- For new entrepreneurs
- 100 Image free ALT Optimze
- Manually run ALT optimizer
Pro: $1.49/month
- For Advanced merchants
- Fully automated
- List of additional placeholder choice
- 24/7 Support
5. Accessibly
App Overview
Accessibly is a versatile app designed to enhance the accessibility of Shopify stores, ensuring compliance with ADA standards. It provides an array of features that allow visitors to customize their experience instantly, while also offering background features such as AI-generated image alt text and skip to content options.
Key Features
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Instant Customization: Visitors can apply content, color, and navigation-related items instantly, making the store more accessible to their individual needs.
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Background Features: Accessibly offers AI-generated image alt text, skip to content, menu enhancements, and an Accessibility Statement template within the widget, ensuring compliance with ADA standards.
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In-depth Analytics: The app provides in-depth analytics to track engagement, guiding merchants in enhancing accessibility based on user behavior.
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Headless JS Feature: Developers can utilize the Headless JS feature for customization and implement custom trigger options to enhance accessibility further.
Price
Regular: $5/month
- Bigger text & cursor
- Reading line
- Change contrast & brightness
- Readable fonts
- Tooltips
- Highlight links
- Hide images
- Statement
- 20+ features
- 7-day free trial
Professional: $20/month
- Brand customization
- Text to speech
- AI for ALT tags
- Custom trigger options
- Hide forever button
- Analytics
- Developer-friendly headless option
- 7-day free trial
6. UserWay Website Accessibility
Overview
UserWay Website Accessibility is a comprehensive solution designed to ensure ADA compliance for Shopify stores. It provides a suite of features to enhance accessibility and shield against accessibility-related lawsuits.
Key Features
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Shield Against Lawsuits: UserWay Website Accessibility helps protect Shopify merchants from accessibility-related lawsuits by ensuring compliance with ADA standards.
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Multi-Language Support: The UserWay AI Widget supports over 53 different languages, making it accessible to users worldwide.
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Live Monitoring: Merchants can use live monitoring to view severe violations and receive recommended remediations, ensuring continuous compliance with accessibility standards.
Price
Basic: Free
- Light accessibility widget (20 features)
- Fixes basic usability issues, and limited WCAG & ADA compliance violations
SHOPIFY STARTER: $49/month
- Up to 100k monthly page views
- Significant WCAG 2.1 & 2.2 AA, ADA, Section 508 compliance boost
- Continuous real-time accessibility monitoring
SHOPIFY SMALL BIZ: $129/month
- Up to 1M monthly page views
(the rest is the same as SHOPIFY STARTER plan)
SHOPIFY GROWTH: $329/month
- Up to 10M monthly page views
(the rest is the same as SHOPIFY STARTER plan)
7. Accessibility ADA CartCoders
Overview
Accessibility ADA by CartCoders is a specialized solution designed to ensure ADA compliance for Shopify stores. It focuses on providing an ambiance that is revenue-driven by catering to the needs of disabled users in a timely manner.
Key Features
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Revenue-Driven Ambiance: The app ensures on-time attention to disabled users, contributing to a revenue-driven ambiance for Shopify stores.
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Enhanced Accessibility Features: Accessibility ADA by CartCoders offers a range of features including Keyword Navigation, Desaturate, Gigantic Text, Cursor, Starring Links, and Contrast adjustments.
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Customization Options: Merchants can adjust Word Spacing, Letter Spacing, and Line Height to further enhance accessibility.
Price
Free Plan: Free
- Free for all partner development stores, providing a cost-free testing solution exclusively within Shopify's development environment.
Basic Plan: $3.99/month
- Use Default Functionalities of Widget
- Restricted Customized Widget
- Enable/Disable Widget
- Ticketing Support
Professional Plan: $6.99
- Change Widget Color & Positioning
- Highlight Links & Text Size
- Readable Fonts, Reading Mask, Highlight Titles
- Text & Image Tooltip
(the rest is the same as Basic plan)
Premium Plan: $9.99/month
- Multiple Languages Support
- Text to Speech
- Adjust Word & Latter Space
- Enable/Disable Media
- Line Height & Alignments
(the rest is the same as Professional plan)
8. CodeInspire Accessibility Tool
Overview
CodeInspire Accessibility Tool is an AI-powered solution designed to ensure ADA and WCAG compliance for Shopify stores. It offers a range of features to enhance accessibility and create an inclusive online environment.
Key Features
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AI-Powered Solution: This app provides an AI-powered website accessibility solution for both ADA and WCAG compliance, ensuring your store meets accessibility standards.
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Multi-Language Support: Users can translate the app to their own language or choose from 12 pre-translated languages, making it accessible to a global audience.
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Customizable Color: Merchants can customize the color scheme to match their store's look and feel, maintaining brand consistency.
Price
Basic Plan: Free
- 10 Features
- Unlimited Views
- ADA, WCAG compliance
- Statement
- Limited customization
- No branding
- Fast email support response time
Pro Plan: $7.20/month
- 15 More Features
- ADA, WCAG & EAA compliance
- Full customization
- Custom branding
- 24/7 Fast support
- Translation & Multi-language
(the rest is the same as Basic plan)
9. Accessibility Spark ADA & WCAG
Overview
Accessibility Spark ADA & WCAG harnesses the power of advanced AI technology to ensure Shopify stores comply with ADA and WCAG standards. Through innovative AI algorithms, the app automatically adjusts screen-reader settings and implements keyboard navigation enhancements across the site.
Key Features
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AI-Powered Screen-Reader Adjustments: The app automatically adjusts screen-reader settings using image recognition technology, ensuring optimal accessibility for visually impaired users.
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AI-Powered Keyboard Navigation: Keyboard navigation adjustments are automatically implemented across the site, making it easier for users with mobility impairments to navigate.
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Daily Compliance Monitoring: The app provides daily compliance monitoring by scanning for site changes and generating monthly audit reports to ensure ongoing ADA and WCAG compliance.
Price
Regular: $99.99/month
- Up to 1k pages & 100k visitors/mo
- Supports ADA, WCAG & EAA
- Protects against lawsuits
- Audits & certification
- Screen-Reader & Keyboard Nav
Large: $139.99/month
- Up to 10k pages & 100k visitors/mo
(the rest is the same as Regular plan)
Extra Large: $329.99/month
- Up to 100k pages & 100k visitors/mo
(the rest is the same as Regular plan)
10. Conclusion
Whichever app you choose, you've already shown that you care about building a better world. By prioritizing accessibility and complying with ADA standards, you're making a positive impact on inclusivity. Every step you take contributes to a more accessible digital space.
Let's continue to choose accessibility, because each decision moves us closer to a world where everyone, regardless of ability, can navigate the web with ease. Together, let's build a better world, one US ADA app for Shopify at a time.
Quynh Nguyen
A passionate content writer specializing in marketing and content marketing strategies. Expertise in crafting compelling narratives helps elevate brands and engage audiences effectively.