WooCommerce accessibility lawsuits isn’t just a nice‑to‑have anymore—it’s become a legal requirement and a business necessity.
WooCommerce powers more than five million stores around the globe, and the European Accessibility Act (EAA) became enforceable on 28 June 2025.
At the same time, digital accessibility lawsuits are surging. In the first half of 2025 alone, U.S. courts logged 2,014 ADA website cases—a 37 % year‑over‑year jump.
Many of these suits target e‑commerce sites running on popular platforms like Shopify and WordPress, and a surprising 22.6 % were filed against sites using so‑called accessibility widgets.
With new standards such as WCAG 2.2 adding stricter success criteria like Focus Appearance and Dragging Movements, generic themes and overlay plugins simply aren’t enough.
This article explains why lawsuits are escalating, what the new criteria require, and how to perform a technical audit to keep your WooCommerce theme compliant—beyond what automated plugins can achieve.
Why accessibility lawsuits are skyrocketing
Accessibility litigation is no longer confined to large enterprises. According to the mid‑year ADA lawsuit report, 2,014 website cases were filed between January and June 2025, up 37 % from the same period the previous year.
These cases aren’t limited to a handful of states; New York (637 cases), Florida (487), California (380) and Illinois (237) lead the list, and Illinois’ lawsuits increased more than 745 % year‑over‑year.
What’s more, a small group of repeat filers accounted for roughly half the lawsuits. Plaintiffs aren’t picky about platforms either—litigators targeted sites built on Shopify, WordPress, Magento, Squarespace and even custom stacks.
Common allegations include missing alt‑text, lack of form labels, inaccessible navigation and insufficient colour contrast.
Overlay widgets don’t provide immunity: roughly 456 lawsuits (22.6 %) targeted sites using accessibility widgets, underscoring that code‑level remediation is the only safe path.
Beyond litigation, inaccessible stores lose money. Studies show 71 % of shoppers abandon carts on inaccessible sites and that accessible e‑commerce pages convert 27 % better. In the UK alone, retailers lose an estimated £2.3 billion annually due to inaccessible checkout processes.
For WooCommerce merchants—representing about 13 % of the entire internet when combined with WordPress—the risk of lawsuits and lost revenue is too high to ignore.
WCAG 2.2: What changed and why it matters
WCAG 2.2 adds nine new success criteria, many of which directly affect e‑commerce themes. Two of the most important are Focus Appearance (2.4.11) and Dragging Movements (2.5.7):
Focus Appearance requires that keyboard focus indicators be at least as large as a 2‑px thick perimeter around the unfocused element and have a 3:1 contrast ratio between the focused and unfocused states. Typical violations include removing default focus outlines or styling them with low‑contrast colours. For shoppers who rely on keyboards or screen readers, a clear focus indicator is essential to navigating product grids, menus and checkout forms.
Dragging Movements mandates that any functionality requiring drag‑and‑drop must also work via a single pointer (click/tap/keyboard) without dragging. Sortable product lists, sliders, price range filters and file‑upload drop zones must provide alternative controls such as arrow buttons or keyboard shortcuts. WooCommerce plugins that implement drag‑only interactions are now non‑compliant.
Other notable WCAG 2.2 requirements include Target Size (Minimum)—all interactive elements must be at least 24×24 px—and Accessible Authentication, which forbids cognitive function tests in login and checkout flows. These updates mean that even “accessible” themes released under WCAG 2.1 may fail 2.2 compliance.
Generic themes and overlay plugins won’t save you
Many store owners attempt to bolt on accessibility via overlay widgets or “accessible” themes. Unfortunately, these approaches often backfire. Overlay plugins modify the page in the browser but cannot fix underlying HTML or understand context; they frequently misassign alt‑text, fail to update ARIA labels and struggle with dynamic content like sliders or modals. The FTC even settled a million‑dollar case against a popular widget provider for misleading marketing.
Likewise, generic WooCommerce themes advertised as accessible may not comply with WCAG 2.2. The WooCommerce core plugin provides keyboard navigation, logical tab order and form accessibility by default, but theme styles can override these features and break compliance. Colour swatch plugins often lack keyboard access, dynamic pricing calculators fail to announce changes, and payment gateways insert iframes without titles. Even “accessible” themes rarely implement the new Focus Appearance and Dragging Movements criteria because these requirements were introduced after most themes were designed.
In other words, compliance isn’t a checkbox you can tick by installing a plugin. You need to audit and fix your theme’s underlying code.
What to test in your WooCommerce theme
1. Logical focus order and keyboard navigation
Users who navigate via keyboard or screen readers rely on a logical focus order that follows the visual layout and preserves meaningw3.org. Check that your navigation menu, product grid, cart and checkout progress logically using the Tab key. Avoid hidden skip links or off‑screen anchors that trap focus. Ensure sticky headers or pop‑ups don’t obscure the focused element.
2. Visible focus indicators
Under WCAG 2.2, the focus outline must be at least as large as a 2‑px perimeter and maintain a 3:1 contrast ratio with the unfocused state. Test your theme on dark and light backgrounds. Many themes remove outlines for aesthetic reasons; restore them or design custom focus styles that meet contrast requirements.
3. Alternative controls for dragging interactions
Identify any UI that requires dragging—sortable lists, image sliders, price range selectors, product carousels, file uploads—and provide a single‑pointer alternative such as arrow buttons, plus and minus icons or up/down keys. Ensure that all interactions can be completed with a keyboard alone.
4. Target size and spacing
Check that buttons, icons and clickable areas are at least 24×24 px and have sufficient spacing so users with motor impairments can tap them easily. Increase padding or spacing around smaller elements like quantity selectors, star ratings and wishlist hearts.
5. Form labels and error handling
Every input in your checkout—name fields, address forms, coupon codes—must have a visible label and a programmatic label (i.e., for and id attributes). Error messages should be announced via ARIA live regions and clearly indicate how to fix the problem. Avoid using colour alone to indicate an error state; pair it with icons or text.
6. Alt‑text and media alternatives
Product images, icons and decorative graphics need descriptive alt attributes. Videos must have captions or transcripts. If you use 3D models or AR previews, provide text descriptions for screen reader users. Overlays often auto‑generate alt‑text incorrectly, so review each description manually.
7. Accessible authentication and redundant entry
WCAG 2.2 prohibits cognitive function tests during login or checkout. Avoid requiring users to solve puzzles or remember passwords with complex patterns. Use email‑based magic links, passkeys or biometric logins instead. Don’t make customers re‑enter information they’ve already provided; auto‑populate billing addresses and shipping details where possible.
8. Continuous testing across devices
Accessibility isn’t a one‑time fix. Test your site with screen readers (NVDA, VoiceOver), keyboard only, and on touch devices. Use automated tools to catch missing labels and contrast issues, then perform manual testing to ensure focus order, drag alternatives and form interactions are intuitive. Repeat testing after every theme or plugin update.
How Datronix Tech performs a WCAG 2.2 audit
At Datronix Tech, our accessibility audits go far beyond automated scans. We follow a structured process to bring your WooCommerce store into compliance and improve user experience:
Discovery & context. We start with an automated scan to identify obvious WCAG failures, then conduct interviews to understand your user journeys and critical flows. We map out each template—product page, cart, checkout, account dashboard—and note plugins in use.
Manual testing. Our team navigates your site using only a keyboard and screen reader to evaluate focus order, landmark usage and interactive components. We document issues such as hidden focus indicators, inaccessible sliders and missing labels.
Code review. We inspect your theme’s templates and CSS to locate problems in the DOM order and style overrides. We ensure that WooCommerce’s built‑in accessibility features haven’t been disabled by custom hooks or CSS resets. We also audit third‑party plugins for compliance.
Remediation. We refactor templates to follow a logical DOM order, add ARIA roles and labels, restore or enhance focus indicators, and implement keyboard alternatives for dragging interactions. We adjust button sizes and spacing to meet WCAG 2.2’s minimum targets, ensure all forms have proper labels and error handling, and set up accessible authentication flows.
Training & documentation. After remediation, we train your content and development teams to maintain accessibility—how to write alt‑text, avoid removing focus styles, and test new features. We deliver a report detailing what was fixed and guidelines for future updates.
By addressing underlying code rather than relying on overlays, we help you reduce legal risk, improve usability and open your store to millions of customers with disabilities. If you’re still using generic themes or accessibility widgets, now’s the time to upgrade.
Conclusion: Don’t wait for a lawsuit
Accessibility lawsuits are rising fast, and regulators worldwide are adopting WCAG 2.2 as the minimum standard. Predatory law firms know that small and mid‑sized businesses often overlook accessibility, making them easy targets. Meanwhile, accessible stores see better conversion rates and expanded audiences.
Our recommendation: perform a comprehensive WCAG 2.2 audit of your WooCommerce theme now. Don’t rely on plugins that only mask issues. Fix the root problems—focus order, keyboard navigation, visible indicators, drag alternatives—and stay ahead of lawsuits. To learn more about our custom development and auditing services, check out our guides on WordPress plugins and bloat and custom functionality beyond WooCommerce for context.
Ready to protect your store and your customers? Get your free technical audit today.
