Accessibility statement example for a small online store: what to actually put in it

A demand letter (a letter, usually from a lawyer, threatening a lawsuit unless you fix things or settle) arrives, or a vendor asks for an accessibility statement, or you read that the European Accessibility Act (EAA, the EU law that applies to online stores and digital services since June 2025) expects one, and you go looking for an example. Demand letters like this are not rare for small U.S. online stores: law firms send them by the thousands each year, most often to stores that look nothing like Amazon. Most of what comes up when you search is either a legal template with no plain explanation or a giant corporate PDF written for a company with a compliance department. Here is what actually goes into a statement, sized for a small store.

What an accessibility statement is

It is a short page on your own site, usually linked from the footer, where you say which accessibility standard you are working toward, what you have checked so far, what still needs work, and how a visitor can reach you if something does not work for them. "Accessible" here means a blind customer using a screen reader (software that reads a web page out loud instead of showing it) can still find a product and buy it, and someone who cannot use a mouse can still get through checkout with a keyboard alone. The statement is not a certificate. Publishing one does not mean your site already works for all of them; it means you are keeping track and inviting feedback, which is the opposite of ignoring the problem.

Why a small store benefits from having one

In the United States, the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act, the 1990 law against disability discrimination) applies to online stores selling to U.S. customers no matter how small the business is, so being small does not make a store invisible to a demand letter. A statement will not make one impossible either, but plaintiffs' lawyers read a dated, honest one as a sign a business is actively fixing things rather than hoping nobody notices, and that changes the tone of the letter that does arrive.

In the European Union, the EAA applies the same way no matter where your company is based: if you sell to customers in Europe, it counts. It points to WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines: the technical rules for making a site work with a screen reader, a keyboard alone, or a phone zoomed in), and several countries' own laws expect a public statement with a way to file a complaint if the standard is not met. Skipping the statement is one more thing a regulator can flag, separate from the actual accessibility of the site.

What to put in it

• The standard you are working toward: usually WCAG 2.1 or 2.2, level AA (one of three levels; AA is the middle one and the level most laws and audits ask for).
• The date it was last reviewed, and a plan to update it, not a one-time stamp from years ago.
• What has already been checked and fixed, in plain words, not a list of rule codes: for example, "product photos now have a written description a screen reader can read aloud" or "checkout can be completed with the keyboard alone, no mouse needed".
• What you know is still not working, if anything. Naming a known gap is more credible than claiming none exist.
• A way to reach you: an email or a form a screen reader user can actually fill in, separate from your general contact form if that one has problems of its own.
• How you respond: within how many business days, and what happens if the issue cannot be fixed right away.

Wording you can adapt

A statement does not need legal language. A version that reads honestly might say: "We are working to meet WCAG 2.2 level AA across this store. As of [date], we fixed [what you fixed: alt text on product photos, keyboard access at checkout, color contrast]. We know [what still needs work] is not there yet. If something on this site does not work for you, write to [email] and we will get back to you within [number] business days." Fill in the brackets with what your own review actually found; a statement copied word for word from another site is easy to spot and will not help you.

Two things that make a statement worse than none

• Saying "fully accessible" or "100% compliant". No automated tool and few manual audits can back that claim, and it is the first sentence a lawyer or auditor will test.
• Publishing it once and never touching it again. A statement from three years ago, from before your last redesign, tells a visitor the opposite of what you meant it to say.

Where to put it

On Shopify, a good spot is Online Store → Pages, published as its own page and linked from the footer next to your privacy policy. On WordPress, a footer widget or a link in the main menu works just as well; the point is that it sits one click away from every page, not buried three levels deep.

Where this fits with an actual scan

The statement describes what you found and fixed; it does not replace finding and fixing it. A scan gives you the list to work from, in plain words, with the corrected code for what can be fixed automatically. This is general information based on how these laws currently work, not legal advice for your specific store; if a letter or a contract is already on your desk, a lawyer licensed where you do business is the right next call.

Run a free scan of your store first: https://rampa.solutions/?de=blog-accessibility-statement-example-small-business. No account needed. Use what it finds, in plain words, as the first honest line of your own statement.