Skip to content
webSattire.Home

ADA, European Accessibility Act, UK Equality Act and Australia's DDA

Accessibility law already covers your online store.

If you sell into the US, EU, UK or Australia, laws like the ADA and the European Accessibility Act already apply to your website. They differ in who they cover and how they're enforced, but all of them point to the same technical standard: WCAG Level AA.

Get a free teardown

Practical guidance, not legal advice. Last reviewed 13 October 2026.

United States

Americans with Disabilities Act, Title III

More web accessibility lawsuits are filed in the US than anywhere else, and most of them target online stores.

Who it covers
Businesses that serve the public. Courts have applied Title III to online stores, although how it treats web-only businesses still varies between federal circuits.
The standard
None is written into the regulations for private businesses. The Department of Justice's 2022 guidance leaves the method to you; courts and settlements consistently point to WCAG at Level AA.
Enforcement
Private lawsuits and demand letters. Filings are on track to pass 6,000 in 2026, with 79% targeting e-commerce. New York, California, Florida and Illinois see the most cases.
The cost
Legal fees and a settlement, on top of the remediation you'll need anyway. In California, the Unruh Act adds statutory damages of at least $4,000 per violation.

How we handle it

We build and audit to WCAG 2.2 AA, test every step from product page to checkout by keyboard and screen reader, and keep a dated log of every fix.

Sources: US Department of Justice, Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA, March 2022. UsableNet, 2026 Midyear Report. California Civil Code §52(a).

European Union

European Accessibility Act

In force since 28 June 2025. If you sell to consumers in the EU, it applies wherever your business is based.

Who it covers
E-commerce services offered to consumers in the EU, including from outside it. Microenterprises (fewer than 10 staff and no more than €2 million in annual turnover or balance sheet) are exempt for services.
The standard
The harmonised standard is EN 301 549. Version 3.2.1 maps to WCAG 2.1 AA; version 4.1.1, published in September 2026, incorporates WCAG 2.2 AA.
Enforcement
National market-surveillance authorities in each member state, with penalties set country by country. Germany's implementing law, the BFSG, allows fines of up to €100,000.
Paperwork
Service providers must publish information on how their service meets the accessibility requirements, and keep it current for as long as the service runs.

How we handle it

We audit and fix to WCAG 2.2 AA, which covers what EN 301 549 requires, and write the accessibility information the Act asks you to publish.

Sources: Directive (EU) 2019/882, Articles 3, 4 and 13 and Annex V. ETSI EN 301 549 v4.1.1, 2026. BFSG §37.

United Kingdom

Equality Act 2010

The Act names no technical standard, but it sets a duty to make reasonable adjustments that applies online as much as in a shop.

Who it covers
Every business that provides goods or services to the public in Great Britain, online included. Northern Ireland is covered by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
The standard
The Act doesn't name one. WCAG 2.2 AA is the standard UK public bodies must meet by law, and it's the benchmark a court will reach for.
Enforcement
Disabled customers can bring claims in the county court, or the sheriff court in Scotland. The duty is anticipatory: you're expected to remove barriers before someone runs into them.

How we handle it

We treat WCAG 2.2 AA as the bar, remove barriers before a customer runs into them, and keep the records that show it.

Sources: Equality Act 2010, Part 3 and section 20. GOV.UK, Accessibility requirements for public sector websites and apps.

Australia

Disability Discrimination Act 1992

The law behind one of the first web-accessibility rulings anywhere, against the Sydney Olympics website in 2000.

Who it covers
Anyone providing goods, services or facilities in Australia. Websites and online stores count as services.
The standard
The Act names none. The Australian Human Rights Commission's guidelines on digital goods and services point businesses to WCAG at Level AA.
Enforcement
Complaints go to the Australian Human Rights Commission for conciliation and can proceed to the Federal Court. In Maguire v SOCOG, the Olympics organisers were found to have discriminated against a blind user and ordered to pay $20,000.

How we handle it

We build to WCAG 2.2 AA, document the work, and publish an accessibility statement your customers can read.

Sources: Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth), section 24. Australian Human Rights Commission, Guidelines on equal access to digital goods and services. Maguire v SOCOG, 2000.

Why we don't use accessibility widgets

Overlay widgets add a toolbar on top of your store but leave the code underneath unchanged. Keyboard and screen-reader users still run into the same unlabelled buttons, unreachable product options and checkout steps they can't finish. We fix the templates themselves, so the barriers are gone for everyone.

  • $1M

    that the US Federal Trade Commission ordered overlay vendor accessiBe to pay in 2025, over claims that its widget made sites accessible

  • 1 in 5

    companies sued over web accessibility already had a widget installed

A widget sits on top of your store. The barriers stay underneath.

With a widget

  • Adds a toolbar on top of the same code. The buttons, forms and checkout underneath don't change.
  • Leaves keyboard and screen-reader users to fight the original markup.
  • Didn't keep one in five sued companies out of court.
  • Bills you every month, for as long as you keep it.

With webSattire

  • Fixes the templates themselves: product options, cart, checkout and forms.
  • Tested by a person with a keyboard, NVDA and VoiceOver, as well as by automated scanners.
  • Leaves you an accessibility statement and a dated remediation log.
  • Fixed scope, fixed price. You own the result.

Sources: US Federal Trade Commission, final order against accessiBe, April 2025. UsableNet, Digital Accessibility Lawsuits in 2026, July 2026.

The record that shows your store meets WCAG 2.2 AA

No website can be officially certified as accessible, and no rebuild can guarantee you won't be sued. What you can have is proof that you met the standard.

Remediation log

DateChangeStatus
13 Oct 2026Buttons given the same visible focus outline as every other control (WCAG 2.4.7).Done
7 Oct 2026Auto-scrolling content given pause controls and reduced-motion fallbacks (WCAG 2.2.2).Done
7 Oct 2026Hidden mobile-menu links can no longer receive keyboard focus.Done
An excerpt from this website's own log. Your store gets one like it.Read our accessibility statement

  • An audit against WCAG 2.2 AA

    Manual and automated, across your real templates and shopping flows.

  • Fixes made in the code

    Templates, product options, cart, checkout and forms, fixed at the source.

  • Keyboard and screen-reader testing

    Product pages, cart and checkout, tested by a person with NVDA and VoiceOver.

  • An accessibility statement

    Written for your store and published where customers can find it.

  • A dated remediation log

    What was found, what was fixed and when. It's the record you'll want if a letter ever arrives.

  • Monthly re-tests on Care

    Stores change every week. The Care plan keeps the log current.

Accessibility law questions, answered

Does the European Accessibility Act apply to my store?

It does if you sell to consumers in the EU, wherever your business is based, including the UK and the US. It has applied since 28 June 2025. The only exemption for services is for microenterprises: fewer than 10 staff and no more than €2 million in annual turnover or balance sheet.

What happens if my store isn't accessible?

It depends on the market. In the US, most cases start with a demand letter or a private lawsuit under the ADA, and in California the Unruh Act adds statutory damages of at least $4,000 per violation. In the EU, national authorities enforce the European Accessibility Act, and Germany's BFSG allows fines of up to €100,000. In the UK and Australia, customers can bring discrimination claims.

Is WCAG 2.2 required by law?

Rarely by name. US, UK and Australian law don't name a standard. EU law references EN 301 549, whose latest version incorporates WCAG 2.2 AA. In practice, WCAG AA is what courts and regulators measure against, and 2.2 is the current version.

Do I need an accessibility statement?

In the EU, the European Accessibility Act requires service providers to publish information on how their service meets the accessibility requirements, and a statement is the usual way to do it. Elsewhere, most private businesses aren't required to publish one, but it tells customers how to report a barrier and shows the work you've done.

Does Shopify or WooCommerce make my store accessible?

Not on its own. The platforms provide the building blocks, but most barriers come from the theme, the apps and the content added on top: missing labels, low-contrast text, product options a keyboard can't reach. That's the layer we audit and fix.

Do accessibility overlays work?

Not on their own. They don't change the code that causes the barriers, and the FTC has ordered at least one vendor to pay $1 million over its claims.

What's the difference between an audit and a Fix Sprint?

The audit finds and prioritises the issues ($750, 5 working days). The Fix Sprint fixes them in your templates (2–3 weeks).

See pricing

Can you promise we won't be sued?

Nobody can honestly promise that. We can make your store meet WCAG 2.2 AA and give you a dated record showing it, which puts you in the strongest position if a letter arrives.

Find out what's holding your store back

Send me your store's web address. Within 48 hours I'll send you three issues I found on your live store and one fix you can make this week, as a short video or a written report. It's free, and what you do with it is up to you.

Get a free teardown

Free. No call needed.