Website Accessibility Statements: What to Include and Why

Quick answer: An accessibility statement is a short, plain-language page on your site that tells visitors what you’ve done about accessibility and how to reach you if something doesn’t work. Per W3C WAI’s own guidance, it should contain at minimum three things: a commitment to accessibility, the accessibility standard you’re applying (such as WCAG 2.2), and contact information for reporting problems. It should be written in plain language, not spec language, and linked from somewhere visitors will actually find it — the footer is the most common spot.

This article is general accessibility information, not legal advice. Whether an accessibility statement is required for your business, and what it should say, can depend on your jurisdiction — consult qualified counsel for legal risk questions.

What an accessibility statement is (and isn’t)

An accessibility statement is a public page — usually linked from the footer, alongside Privacy Policy and Terms of Service — that explains your site’s approach to accessibility in plain terms. W3C WAI is explicit about what it’s not: “Accessibility statements are not technical assessments or declarations of conformity, though they ideally refer to such background to provide verification and increase credibility.” In other words, it’s not a checklist proving every page passes every WCAG success criterion. It’s a short, honest note that tells a visitor what standard you’re working toward, what you know still needs fixing, and who to contact if they hit a barrier.

That distinction matters for e-commerce specifically. A shopper who can’t complete checkout because of a broken form field or a missing focus indicator doesn’t want a technical audit — they want a fast way to tell someone and get help completing their order. That’s the actual job an accessibility statement does.

Why bother having one

W3C WAI lists three reasons directly: it shows “your users that you care about accessibility and about them,” it gives them “information about the accessibility of your content,” and it demonstrates “commitment to accessibility, and to social responsibility.” None of those require a perfect site — a statement that says “we’re working toward WCAG 2.1 AA and here’s how to reach us” is honest and useful even for a site with known gaps. WAI also notes some organizations are legally required to provide one — public bodies under the EU Web Accessibility Directive, and, separately, many private e-commerce services selling into the EU under the European Accessibility Act. Neither trigger applies to a U.S.-only retailer, but the underlying reasons (a clear complaint channel, a documented commitment) are useful regardless of jurisdiction. More on the legal question below.

What to include

WAI’s guidance splits this into two tiers. The required minimum is short:

1. A commitment to accessibility for people with disabilities.
2. The accessibility standard applied — for most e-commerce sites, this is WCAG 2.1 AA or WCAG 2.2 AA (Quietramp’s audits are scoped to WCAG 2.1 AA specifically).
3. Contact information in case users encounter problems — an email address is the minimum; a phone number and mailing address are optional extras from the same guidance.

Beyond that minimum, WAI lists several items it calls “advisable” rather than required:

• Known limitations — specific parts of the site that don’t yet meet the standard, so visitors aren’t left frustrated wondering if something is broken or if it’s just them.
• Measures taken — what your organization actually does (accessibility review before launch, a fix backlog, periodic re-testing).
• Technical prerequisites — supported browsers or assistive-technology combinations, if relevant.
• Environments tested — what you’ve actually checked the site against, rather than implying universal coverage.
• References to applicable laws or policies, if any apply to your business.

A short statement covering only the three required items is a legitimate, complete accessibility statement — it doesn’t need every advisable item to be honest and useful. Add the rest as your process matures, not before it’s true.

Write it in plain language, not spec language

WAI’s own advice here is specific and worth quoting directly, because it’s easy to get backwards if a developer or auditor drafts the statement instead of someone writing for customers: “Accessibility statements are primarily for users of your content… It is important to write in simple language… rather than use the language of developers and lawyers. In particular, accessibility statements should explain functionality and known limitations in common terms.” Their own example of the fix: instead of writing “WCAG Success Criterion 1.2.2 was not met,” write “videos do not have captions.”

That’s the bar for the whole page. If a limitation reads like a line from an audit report, it needs a plain-language rewrite before it goes live — “the size-guide table doesn’t work with a screen reader yet” instead of “SC 1.3.1 failure on .size-chart markup.”

Where to put it, and how to link it

WAI’s placement guidance is straightforward: “Accessibility statements should be easy to find. Linking them from several places, such as from the footer, help menu, sitemap, about page, and other prominent areas helps users to find them.” For an e-commerce store, the footer (next to Privacy Policy and Terms) plus the Help/Support center are the two spots that matter most — they’re where a shopper who’s already struggling with the site is most likely to look. WAI also recommends consistent link text across every page and, if you have a mobile app version of the same store, across that too — “Accessible Statement” or “Accessibility” used the same way everywhere, not swapped between “Accessibility,” “A11y Info,” and “Accessibility Info” on different pages.

A worked structure to start from

WAI’s own minimal example statement — written for a fictional “Citylights WebStore,” coincidentally e-commerce-shaped — follows a short, four-part structure worth copying directly:

1. Opening commitment — one or two sentences: “[Store] is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for people with disabilities. We are continually improving the user experience for everyone, and applying the relevant accessibility standards.”
2. Conformance status — which WCAG level you’re targeting, plus an honest word like “partially conformant” if that’s accurate. WAI defines “partially conformant” plainly: “some parts of the content do not fully conform to the accessibility standard.”
3. Feedback — how to report a problem (email at minimum) and, ideally, a response-time commitment (“we try to respond within 5 business days”).
4. Statement date — when it was written or last reviewed, so visitors can judge how current it is.

WAI’s complete example adds more sections — measures taken, known limitations with named fixes and timelines, browser/AT compatibility, and an assessment-approach note (self-evaluated vs. externally audited). None of that is required to start; the four-part minimal structure above is a legitimate finished page on its own.

If you’d rather not draft this from a blank page, Quietramp’s free accessibility statement generator walks through the same fields — standard, conformance status, evaluation basis, known limitations, feedback contact — and outputs ready-to-publish HTML or plain text.

Is this legally required?

For a U.S. e-commerce business selling only to U.S. customers, no single federal law mandates a published accessibility statement the way the EU Web Accessibility Directive requires one for EU public-sector sites. That doesn’t make the page pointless — it functions as a documented, dated record that your business has a stated accessibility commitment and an active channel for complaints, which is a reasonable thing to have in place independent of any specific legal requirement.

There’s a separate, more directly relevant EU rule if your store sells to EU consumers: the European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882). Unlike the Web Accessibility Directive, which reaches public bodies, the EAA’s accessibility requirements apply to private-sector e-commerce services offered to EU consumers, with an exemption for micro-enterprises (fewer than 10 employees and under €2 million in annual turnover) that provide services. Article 13(2) requires covered service providers to prepare information explaining how their service meets the applicable accessibility requirements and make it publicly available — in practice, a published accessibility statement is how that obligation gets satisfied. The compliance deadline was 28 June 2025. This is a question of who you sell to, not where your business is registered — a U.S.-based store with EU customers can still be in scope.

Whether your specific business has a jurisdiction-specific obligation (EAA scope, state law, an existing settlement agreement, industry-specific rules) is a legal question outside the scope of this article.

FAQ

Does an accessibility statement make my site legally compliant? No. It’s a disclosure and a complaint channel, not a compliance guarantee — and claiming “WCAG certified” or “ADA certified” status is not something any legitimate statement should do.

What if my site has known accessibility problems? List them honestly under “known limitations,” in plain language, ideally with a rough timeline if you have one. An honest statement with listed gaps is more credible than a statement that implies a perfect site.

Do I need a lawyer to write this? Not for the core three required items — those are factual (a commitment, a standard, a contact method). If you want the statement to also reference specific legal obligations in your jurisdiction, that section is worth a legal review.

How often should I update it? Whenever your conformance status materially changes, or at minimum once a year, so the “written on” date stays honest.

Get a human-reviewed audit to back up the statement

An accessibility statement is only as credible as what’s actually true about your site. Pairing one with a real audit — not just an automated scan — gives you an accurate “known limitations” list to put in it, instead of guessing. Quietramp’s audits combine an automated scan with a manual review and deliver a prioritized, developer-actionable PDF report. See a sample report or check pricing — $890 one-time, $99/month for ongoing re-checks after fixes ship.

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This article is general accessibility information, not legal advice. Whether an accessibility statement is required for your business, and what it should contain, can depend on your jurisdiction and circumstances — consult qualified counsel for legal risk questions. Nothing in this article or in any accessibility statement your business publishes constitutes a compliance guarantee.

This article was drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by a person for accuracy before publication.