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
A US-based sporting goods manufacturer with an annual revenue of $8B and over 9000 retail partners needed to bring their website into conformance with WCAG 2.1 AA as a result of a lawsuit settlement. With only five months before their court-mandated deadline, the client was facing mounting pressure to achieve compliance —risking potential penalties and reputational damage if they failed to meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards in time. So they contacted AccessiCart.
AccessiCart’s Work
AccessiCart worked with our full breadth of tools for this project: automated testing tools that had already been set up for this project, testing of the site by real users with disabilities, and additional manual auditing and validation of automated results by experts from our in-house team. AccessiCart collated all of the testing results, organized the remediation project and implemented the needed remediations.
This client’s WooCommerce site had around 75 products, most with 1 or 2 product images. Before working with us, the product images either had no alt text or contained only product names—leaving users who relied on screen readers with little useful information. By crafting and deploying accurate, meaningful alt text across the entire product portfolio, we transformed their product experience for visually impaired users, improving accessibility and SEO simultaneously.
It became clear when working with the alt text that the product description was also often so sparse that it needed to be edited to better describe the product. AccessiCart worked with the client to help their team edit and expand product descriptions, which benefited SEO and their conversion rate as well as accessibility.
The main menu of the site also had multiple keyboard navigation issues, and AccessiCart rebuilt the entire main menu from scratch, making it accessible for users that depend on functioning keyboard navigation.
In addition, the site had several custom features for looking up product serial numbers as well as a dealer locator that connected to external databases. These custom search features needed additional remediation in order to fix keyboard navigation issues with search and results, which were barring visitors from finding the results they needed.
Outcomes
With a tight timeline and multiple accessibility barriers to address, AccessiCart quickly identified and prioritized the most critical issues, ensuring that high-impact changes were made first. By working closely with the client’s internal team and agency partner, we not only implemented fixes and helped the client meet their compliance deadline, but also improved overall user experience and educated their staff on best practices to maintain compliance long-term.
Recognizing that accessibility isn’t a one-time fix but an ongoing commitment, the company enrolled in AccessiCart’s Accessibility Maintenance Plan—ensuring that as new content is added, accessibility remains a priority. This proactive approach not only protects them from future compliance risks but also positions them as a leader in inclusive eCommerce.