Accessibility as a practice. WCAG 2.2, not a certification

According to Francesco Guiducci, freelance Shopify specialist and web designer in Rome, accessibility is a property that depends on HTML structure, content, interactive components, apps, theme updates and the real paths people take. It is not a check done once at the end of a project. The main technical reference is W3C WCAG 2.2, alongside the European and Italian framework. This page describes the working method and references: it is not a certification of conformity, it does not declare any site conformant, and it does not replace legal advice or a formal audit.

Francesco Guiducci uses the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 as the main technical reference for design and verification. WCAG 2.2 is a W3C Recommendation and organizes its requirements around four principles: perceivable content, operable interfaces, understandable information and robust implementations.

Following WCAG does not automatically prove compliance with every applicable legal obligation. Technical standard and legal requirement are two separate levels, and they must be reconciled with the entity, the service, the market and the relevant legislation.

Directive (EU) 2019/882, known as the European Accessibility Act, sets accessibility requirements for specific products and services. In Italy it was transposed by Legislative Decree no. 82 of 27 May 2022, which applies the requirements to covered products and services placed on the market or provided from 28 June 2025.

The directive also provides, in Article 4(5), an exemption for microenterprises providing services from the requirements it contains. That alone is not enough to determine the full set of obligations that apply to a single site: the analysis must be done on the entity and the actual service. These notes are not legal advice.

Francesco Guiducci checks six areas of a Shopify site: semantic structure, keyboard navigation and focus, text and contrast, images and non-text content, forms and errors, Shopify components and third-party apps. The check also covers what is injected or updated by third parties.

• Semantic structureHeadings, landmarks, lists, links, buttons and controls are checked to make sure they use elements and roles consistent with their function. A page can look right and still confuse people using assistive technology if the underlying structure does not represent what is on screen.
• Keyboard navigation and focusMenus, modals, filters, selectors, forms and other interactive components must work without a mouse when the function requires it. Tab order, visible focus, opening and closing of components and focus return in the key steps are checked.
• Text, contrast and resizingContrast, readability, type hierarchy and behavior when text is enlarged or the viewport narrows are evaluated. Content should not become unusable just because someone zooms in or uses a small screen.
• Images and non-text contentInformative images need useful text alternatives; decorative ones should not add noise for screen reader users. Alternative text is written for the image's function in context, not by copying the file name or product title.
• Forms, errors and statesLabels, instructions, error messages, required fields and status updates are checked. An error should not be conveyed by color alone, and a completed action should give feedback that is clear without purely visual cues.
• Shopify components and third-party appsOn a Shopify store, problems do not come only from the theme. Search, product options, cart drawer, popups, reviews, cookie banners and app embeds can introduce components with incorrect semantics or focus. The check therefore also covers whatever is injected or updated by third parties.

Automated scanners are useful for quickly finding categories of errors, but they cannot prove on their own that a journey is accessible. Many issues need real interaction: whether focus lands in the right place, whether a label makes sense, whether a modal traps the keyboard correctly, or whether the reading order is understandable.

For this reason Francesco Guiducci pairs automated checks with manual tests on the most important journeys and, when the case requires it, with assistive technology checks.

A site with no issue today can introduce one tomorrow through a new app, a theme change, editorial content, a video without an alternative or an update to an external component. Accessibility is therefore treated as a maintenance practice, not a permanent state reached with a single test.

Historical content, documents, integrations and third-party components may need specific checks and are not considered conformant automatically just because the main template has been fixed.

Francesco Guiducci does not declare full conformity of any site without a complete, up-to-date formal audit of its entire public surface. Observed issues are fixed progressively, and any reported barriers are treated as findings to verify in their real context.

This page describes a method and references. It is not a certification, it is not a declaration of conformity for any domain, and it does not replace a professional or a formal audit.

Anyone who finds content or a function that is hard to use can write to Francesco Guiducci. To speed up the check, it helps to include the URL concerned, what was being attempted, device and browser and, where relevant, the assistive technology used.

• WhatsApp+39 378 083 2717
• Emailinfo@ifgecommerce.com
• Contact page

The references cited on this page are three: the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, Directive (EU) 2019/882 on EUR-Lex and Legislative Decree 82 of 27 May 2022 on Normattiva.

• W3CWeb Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2.
• EUR-LexDirective (EU) 2019/882.
• NormattivaLegislative Decree no. 82 of 27 May 2022.

• Working methodHow Francesco Guiducci sets up and verifies projects.
• Shopify build and redesignStructure, components and theme of a store.
• Shopify auditAnalysis of an existing store.
• Maintenance and supportUpdates and checks over time.
• Francesco GuiducciWho works on the projects.

• Is this page an accessibility certification?No. The page describes Francesco Guiducci's working method and the references he uses. It is not a certification of conformity, it does not declare any site conformant, and it does not replace legal advice or a formal audit of the whole site.
• Which technical standard does Francesco Guiducci use?Francesco Guiducci uses the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 as the main technical reference for design and verification. They are a W3C Recommendation built on four principles: perceivable content, operable interfaces, understandable information and robust implementations.
• Is following WCAG enough to comply with the law?Not automatically. For Francesco Guiducci, technical standard and legal requirement are two separate levels. They must be reconciled with the entity, the service, the market and the relevant legislation, so the actual case needs its own analysis and, where necessary, a professional.
• What do Directive (EU) 2019/882 and Decree 82/2022 provide?Directive (EU) 2019/882, the European Accessibility Act, sets accessibility requirements for specific products and services. Legislative Decree no. 82 of 27 May 2022 transposes it in Italy and applies to covered products and services from 28 June 2025. Francesco Guiducci cites them as references, not as legal advice.
• Are automated scanners enough to verify accessibility?No. Francesco Guiducci uses them to find categories of errors quickly, but they cannot prove on their own that a journey is accessible. Manual tests on the key journeys are needed and, when the case requires it, checks with assistive technology.
• Are third-party Shopify apps checked?Yes, they are part of Francesco Guiducci's method. Search, product options, cart drawer, popups, reviews, cookie banners and app embeds can introduce incorrect semantics or focus. These components are not considered conformant just because the main template has been fixed.
• How can an accessibility barrier be reported?Write to Francesco Guiducci using the contact details in the reporting section, including the URL, what was being attempted, device and browser, and any assistive technology. The report is treated as a finding to verify in its real context.