The Black Art Depot Accessibility Audit
Web Accessibility Remediation for The Black Art Depot Shopify website to make it conforms with the WCAG technical standards and comply with the ADA.
This The Black Art Depot accessibility audit and WCAG 2.1 AA remediation covered the online store of a United States retailer specialising in African American art, prints, figurines and culturally themed gifts.
An art-and-gifts store sells through imagery, descriptions and product options, then a cart and checkout. For a shopper using a screen reader or a keyboard, the accessibility of those images, listings and the checkout decides whether they can browse the collection and order.
Table of Contents
Why accessibility is critical for an online store
E-commerce is one of the most active areas of United States web-accessibility law. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title III, an online store is treated as a place of public accommodation, and courts and settlements have repeatedly pointed to WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the working standard for an accessible shop. For an art and gifts store imagery is central: artwork shown without descriptive text, product options a screen reader cannot read, or a product option a screen reader cannot read, or a checkout that traps keyboard focus, quietly turns a willing customer away.
Scope and standard
Our The Black Art Depot accessibility audit assessed the store against WCAG 2.1 Level AA, mapped to ADA Title III, across the journeys that matter: artwork and product pages, options and editions, filtering and search, the cart and checkout, and the account area.
How we ran the The Black Art Depot accessibility audit
- Screen-reader testing with JAWS and NVDA on Windows, VoiceOver on macOS and iOS, and TalkBack on Android
- Automated audits with Deque axe, Google Lighthouse and WAVE
- Keyboard-only operation of every step, with attention to focus order and a clearly visible focus indicator
- Colour-contrast analysis, plus 400% zoom and reflow testing for low-vision users
What accessibility means on each part of the site
Because The Black Art Depot sells through product options and a checkout, our The Black Art Depot accessibility audit focused on the controls a shopper relies on:
- Artwork and product images need meaningful descriptive alternative text, since the art itself is the product and must be conveyed without sight.
- Product options and editions need names and states a screen reader can read, so a shopper knows exactly what is selected.
- Descriptions and pricing must be real text with clearly labelled “add to cart” controls.
- The cart and checkout need labelled fields, announced errors and a focus order that never traps the keyboard, because this is where the order is completed.
- Search, filtering and navigation need operable controls, visible focus, sufficient colour contrast and clean reflow at high zoom.
Outcome
This The Black Art Depot accessibility audit, combining manual and automated testing with remediation, brought the site into line with WCAG 2.1 AA and ADA Title III expectations, so people using a screen reader or a keyboard can use it without barriers. Every fix was verified with assistive technology rather than assumed from an automated pass.