While typically a case study would name the actual company an agency has worked with, because of the way lawsuits impact accessibility work in the US, it’s not prudent to publicly name companies in case studies. It may expose them to another lawsuit. We are happy to chat with any prospective clients and when not restricted by an NDA, name these clients in those private conversations. If you become our client, we would extend you the same protections.
Overview
When a $3M per year celebrity-branded eCommerce site was hit with an accessibility lawsuit, the stakes were high. Beyond the legal implications, the site owner saw this as a serious PR crisis – one that could damage their brand’s reputation if not handled swiftly. Given just 45 days by the site owner to fix the issues – an extremely short time span – their Shopify development partner reached out to AccessiCart for expert guidance and execution.
AccessiCart’s Work
AccessiCart used automated testing, set up manual testing by users with disabilities and had our own in-house experts performing additional manual testing as well as collating all of the testing results and prioritizing the issues according to their severity. AccessiCart didn’t just identify accessibility issues—we strategically prioritized them based on two critical factors: the severity of impact on users with disabilities and the potential legal risk. This targeted approach ensured that the client’s development team focused first on the changes that would make the most meaningful impact while also reducing the risk of further legal action.
To streamline the remediation process, AccessiCart leveraged its custom issue tracking dashboard, giving the client’s development team a clear roadmap for resolving issues. With real-time updates, status tracking, and built-in guidance on WCAG compliance, this tool ensured that fixes were implemented efficiently and with confidence.
Getting the issues identified and prioritized was just the first step. AccessiCart then acted as a hands-on partner for the Shopify development team. Through our issue tracking dashboard, developers could ask real-time questions about remediation techniques, ensuring their fixes met WCAG conformance. This level of expert guidance prevented costly trial-and-error efforts and accelerated the remediation timeline.
Then, once the Shopify developers notified AccessiCart that an issue was fixed, AccessiCart team members retested to validate that the issue had been fully remediated, and this was documented for reporting.
Outcomes
Thanks to AccessiCart’s expert prioritization, hands-on developer support, and streamlined testing process, the client successfully met their 45-day remediation deadline. More importantly, they turned what began as a PR crisis into an opportunity—demonstrating their commitment to accessibility and inclusivity, while also safeguarding their brand from future legal risks.