Overlays vs code fixes
An accessibility widget changes how the page looks. It doesn't change the code.
If you're comparing ways to deal with an ADA website complaint, the main choice is between something that sits on top of your store and something that changes the store itself. Here is how the options compare, written by a vendor that does the second, so weigh it accordingly.
What an overlay is
An overlay, or accessibility widget, is a script you add to your store. It usually puts a button on the page that opens a panel of display options such as bigger text or higher contrast, and it may try to guess missing labels and image descriptions while the page loads.
The problem is what it leaves behind. The theme still has the unlabeled buttons, the images without descriptions and the menus a keyboard can't open. Blind shoppers mostly use their own screen readers, not a website's widget, and the barriers are still there for them. That is what complaints describe and what a plaintiff's expert tests.
134 of 432 ADA website suits filed in August 2026 named a store already running an accessibility widget.
The largest overlay vendor paid a $1,000,000 FTC penalty for deceptive claims that its product made websites compliant.
The four options, side by side
| Approach | What it changes | What it misses | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overlay or widget | Adds a script and display controls on top of the page | The theme code itself; problems only a person testing with a screen reader finds | Monthly subscription |
| Automated fix app | Writes fixes into the theme for issues a scanner can detect | Keyboard flow, focus, and screen-reader experience, which scanners can't judge | Monthly subscription |
| Audit only | Nothing; you get a detailed list of what to fix | The fixing, which falls to your developer | One-off fee, plus your developer's time |
| Manual remediation (what we do) | Fixes the theme code, then a person verifies the purchase path with keyboard and screen readers | Apps and platform-run parts of checkout we can't edit; these are named in the report | $4,900 to $7,900 fixed, then optional monitoring |
Automated fix apps are a reasonable choice for a store with no complaint and a small budget. Once a complaint names your store, what matters is whether a screen-reader user can actually buy something, and that needs a person to test it.
If you already have a widget installed
- Leave it in place for now. Removing it before the code is fixed doesn't help anyone.
- Get the code fixed and verified. We test with the widget switched off, because that's how most screen-reader users experience your store.
- Then decide with your attorney whether to remove it. Some widgets interfere with screen readers, and the before-and-after report will show whether yours does.
Find out what your widget is leaving behind
A WCAG 2.2 AA scan of your key templates, each failure mapped to the part of your theme it lives in, with a fixed quote. Usually within one business day. Nobody calls you.
What we don't promise. We are engineers, not lawyers, and nothing here is legal advice. No vendor can certify a store as "ADA compliant"; there is no certifying body. We remove the barriers, verify that a keyboard and screen-reader user can complete a purchase, and document the work so your attorney can use it.