A WooCommerce store needs more than a scanner result. Customers have to find a product, choose its options, and finish payment with the tools they use. Test that journey on your own theme and extensions, then fix the barriers you find.

Review method, September 28, 2026: These checks follow the US Department of Justice’s ADA web guidance and W3C WCAG 2.2. We did not verify the lawsuit growth and settlement figures previously published here, so we removed them. This guide cannot determine whether a particular private store meets its legal obligations. The DOJ’s WCAG 2.1 AA web rule and dates specifically address state and local government entities.

Ten checks on a real store

  1. Product images: Write alternatives that convey what matters about the product. An empty or filename-based alt attribute rarely helps a buyer choose. Decorative images should have an appropriate empty alternative.
  2. Product options: Try every variation selector with a keyboard and screen reader. Check that its name, available values, and selected value are announced.
  3. Keyboard access: Navigate menus, filters, Add to Cart, cart, and checkout without a mouse. Check every control you need to complete an order.
  4. Visible focus: At each Tab press, can you see where you are? Sticky headers and chat widgets must not hide the focused control.
  5. Text and control contrast: Measure actual colors on the rendered page, including sale prices, form borders, and focus states. A plugin name or theme label does not establish a passing ratio.
  6. Form labels: Check that billing, shipping, coupon, and payment fields have understandable visible labels connected to the controls.
  7. Errors: Submit an incomplete checkout. An error should identify the field and tell the customer what to correct. Check the announcement with a screen reader.
  8. Dialogs and drawers: Open a cart drawer or popup, then close it by keyboard. Check that focus lands somewhere sensible afterward.
  9. Page structure: Use headings and landmarks to describe the page. A visual heading style alone does not create a semantic heading.
  10. Order completion: Place a test order, including shipping changes and payment selection. The confirmation must be understandable without visual cues.

Automated tools such as axe or WAVE can help find some issues. Repeat the purchase with keyboard and screen reader checks. Record the URL, date, WooCommerce and theme versions, gateway, failure, fix, and retest result. Our WooCommerce ADA checklist expands these checks, and the checkout guide covers the payment path.

Where a plugin fits

AmazingPlugins publishes the free AP Accessibility Fixer for WooCommerce. We reviewed the public 1.5.1 release on September 28, 2026. Its nine fixers include a fallback for empty product-image alt text, focus styling for selected controls, and a skip link. Some use inline JavaScript. It does not repair every variation widget, checkout template, or payment gateway and does not establish legal compliance. Enable only the fixes you need and rerun the same task.

If your business needs a legal applicability or claim-response decision, ask a qualified adviser with the relevant jurisdiction and store facts. For technical follow-up, use the WCAG 2.2 WooCommerce checklist and screen reader testing guide.