Received a 26-page legal notice alleging the store is not accessible for blind users; the owner believed purchased Shopify themes ensured compliance. The store URL (nyck.com) was shared for review.
Perspectives diverge: one advises immediate consultation with a qualified attorney before responding, noting many such letters can be legal trolling or scams. Others suggest auditing and fixing accessibility issues, then replying professionally.
Key points: Shopify themes aren’t guaranteed fully ADA-compliant; customizations, apps, colors, and content can break accessibility. Common issues cited include missing alt text, low color contrast, and unlabeled buttons. ADA refers to U.S. disability access requirements; WCAG are the web guidelines used to assess compliance.
Suggested tools and steps:
Outcome: no resolution yet. Next actions hinge on attorney guidance and results of an accessibility audit.
i got a 26 page letter from a laywer stating my website is not complaince for blind poepel
i was under the impresion that the themes i purchase trough shopify are all complance
i understadn that hungry lawyers suing this loopwhole to sue small businesses
i need to know on how to resolve this issue , and why the theme is not complaince
Thank You
Hey @NYCK,
Could you please share your store url so that we can take a look and find whether your site compliance for blind people or not.
Thanks
Fix the issues then write back, and thank them for bringing some erroneous technical issues to your attention, and offer to have them check your website again and get back to you with anything further. Also thank them for free advise and tell them you look forward to doing business with them again.
Hi @NYCK
Yep, it is hungry lawyers that do that all the time. We had a client some time ago who had to maintain a score above 85 out of 100 as part of the deal, or they would get fined.
@Maximus3 gave great advice on how to deal with them.
For themes, not sure if that is a requirement, could be, and by default, they may be compliant. But also, if you change colors, add some link, install an apps, or custom content, all that influences the score.
You can try https://www.levelaccess.com/ or https://www.browserstack.com/website-scanner/wcag-checker, but there are some browser extensions, desktop tools that also help. For example, here isa quick report from browserstack
my store is
No one here can protect you from any real world consequences or share in consequences from giving you bad opinions.
Do not reply, do not engage, do not swallow advice that is what you want to hear to avoid doing the real world work.
Talk to an actual sworn attorney.
Most “threats” are just scams or legal trolling to get a cheap payday.
Talking to a lawyer is the only legitimate way to validate this.
Shopify themes aren’t guaranteed to be fully ADA-compliant, even the paid ones. They cover the basics, but things like missing alt text, low contrast, or unlabeled buttons can still cause accessibility issues for blind users. That’s usually what triggers these lawyer letters.
The best next steps are:
Have a lawyer review the notice before you respond.
Run an accessibility audit (WAVE or Lighthouse) to see what needs fixing.
Update the issues or ask a Shopify expert/theme developer to help.
This will show you what’s not compliant and how to correct it.
