Case study template for a Shopify ADA remediation: industry, letter received, failures found, days to remediate, outcome
A useful remediation case study has five fields: the industry and state, what was received and when, the failures found mapped to WCAG, the days from letter to remediated theme, and the outcome. It names no merchant, no plaintiff and no firm, and it contains no number that cannot be shown in the record.
This is the template Gersen uses to write up remediation work, published so that merchants and attorneys know what to expect from a case study and what to distrust in one. The example at the end is illustrative, written to show the format, and is not a real case. Real, anonymized case studies will be published on this site as merchants give their consent.
The five fields
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Industry, state and store size
Enough for a reader to recognize their situation, not enough to identify the merchant: "a fashion retailer in New York with one Shopify store and around forty products", not the brand. The industry matters because plaintiff firms target restaurants, fashion and beauty first, and the state matters because most filings come from New York, Florida and California.
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What was received and when
Demand letter or filed complaint, the date it arrived, the response deadline it named, and the number of failures it listed. Not the firm and not the plaintiff. If the letter named a remediation commitment period, record it.
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Failures found, mapped to WCAG 2.2
Two lists: what the letter named, and what the audit found beyond it. Each item with its success criterion and the template it lived on. This is the field readers compare against their own store, so it should be specific: "variant swatches built as div elements, not keyboard operable, 2.1.1, product template" rather than "keyboard issues".
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Days to remediate
Counted from the day the letter arrived to the day the remediated theme was published and retested, with the audit delivery date in between. Calendar days, not working days, because that is how the deadline in the letter is counted. If apps were replaced or removed, say so, because they change the timeline.
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Outcome
Only what can be shown: the response was sent inside the window with the audit and plan attached; the re-test by the plaintiff's expert, if there was one, and what it found; whether a second letter has arrived since. A settlement amount appears only with the merchant's written consent and the attorney's agreement, and only as the real figure.
What to anonymize
- The merchant's name, domain and any product names that identify it
- The plaintiff's name and the law firm
- Screenshots that show the logo or the store's design; use the code and the announced text instead
- Dates precise enough to match a court docket; the month and year are enough
What never to invent
- Numbers of any kind: failures, days, dollars. If the record does not have it, the case study does not either.
- Quotes from the merchant or the attorney. A quote is used only with written consent, verbatim.
- Outcomes: "the case was dismissed" is a fact with a document behind it, or it is not written.
- Guarantees: no case study says the store is now "compliant" or "protected". It says what was fixed and what has happened since.
Illustrative example
The example below is fictional and exists only to show the format. The industry, dates, counts and outcome are invented and should not be read as a result Gersen has obtained.
| Industry, state, size | Specialty food retailer, Florida, one Shopify store, about 60 products, theme based on Dawn with 9 apps installed |
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| Received | Demand letter, arrived early in the month, 30 days to respond, 12 failures listed, remediation commitment of 60 days requested |
| Failures named in the letter | Product images without alt text (1.1.1), unlabeled cart and search buttons (4.1.2), variant swatches not keyboard operable (2.1.1), newsletter field without a label (3.3.2), focus outline removed (2.4.7), autoplaying announcement bar (2.2.2) |
| Failures found beyond the letter | Cart drawer without focus management (2.1.2, 2.4.3), low contrast sale prices (1.4.3), headings out of order on collection pages (1.3.1), review app stars as images without alt (1.1.1), pop-up app not closable from the keyboard (2.1.1) |
| Days to remediate | Audit delivered on day 6; theme remediated, retested and published on day 34; one app replaced, one app removed; accessibility statement published on day 34 |
| Outcome | Response sent on day 9 with the audit and plan; remediation commitment met inside the 60 days; evidence package delivered to counsel; no re-test findings reported; no second letter as of publication |
How this becomes a case studies page
Each real case, written in this format with the merchant's consent, becomes an entry on a case studies page on this site, with the five fields as its structure and the remediation record behind it. Until then, the process, the deliverables and the code are described on the service page, in the 10 WCAG failures in almost every Shopify lawsuit and in how to document remediation for plaintiff's counsel.
Frequently asked questions
Why anonymize at all?
Because the case study describes a legal matter. The merchant's name, the plaintiff's name and the firm belong to the parties, and most settlements carry confidentiality terms. Industry, state, store size and the failures found are enough for a reader to recognize their own situation.
Can the outcome include the settlement amount?
Only with the merchant's written consent and the attorney's agreement, and only as a real figure. If neither is available, write the outcome in terms that are true without a number: the letter was answered inside the window, the re-test found no remaining failures from the letter, no second letter has arrived since.
What if the case is still open?
Wait. A case study is a record of what happened, and a case that is still being negotiated has no outcome yet. Publishing it early can also affect the negotiation.
Should case studies carry schema markup?
Yes, as Article, with the date, the author and the industry in the about field, so search engines and answer engines can match them to the questions merchants ask. Never mark them up as Review or as a Rating, which they are not.
Have a case to write up?
Merchants and attorneys who want their remediation documented in this format, for their own records or for publication with consent, can write to gersen@gersenmedina.com.
Gersen Medina is a Shopify accessibility specialist who remediates ADA and WCAG 2.2 issues on Shopify stores that have received demand letters or lawsuits. Working with U.S. companies since 2014, his remediation work has helped dozens of merchants avoid hundreds of thousands of dollars in accessibility litigation exposure. About Gersen