Accessibility Lawsuits Rose by 37% in 2025 - Why Small Businesses Can No Longer Ignore Their Websites

Americans doing business online are facing a rapidly changing legal landscape. In the first half of 2025 alone, more than 2,000 ADA website accessibility lawsuits were filed, a 37% increase compared to the same period in 2024. What’s more, nearly 70% of these lawsuits targeted e-commerce retailers, many of them small businesses with annual revenues under $25 million.

That surge isn’t confined to major brands or national chains. Small businesses that sell products online or take customer information through their website are increasingly being drawn into litigation driven by simple accessibility barriers. Local governments and business departments from coast to coast are starting to notice and quietly raising the bar for how they expect business websites to function.

Why local governments are paying attention

Local officials may not be filing lawsuits, but they deal with the effects. Complaints from residents with disabilities often surface at city halls and county business offices before they become legal filings. As awareness grows, many municipalities are updating guidance for business permits, local grants, tourism programs, and small-business resources to include basic expectations for accessible websites.

For owners, that means digital accessibility is becoming part of the conversation in local business planning meetings, not just something for big corporations or tech departments.

The ecommerce connection

According to recent data, about 69% of ADA-related web accessibility cases in 2025 were filed against online retailers. Why eCommerce? Because online shopping involves multiple steps where barriers can block a customer’s ability to browse, add to cart, and complete purchase flows, triggering legal claims when people using assistive technology encounter problems. Common issues include:

• Product images are missing descriptive alt text
• Poor color contrast on buttons and calls to action
• Unlabeled icons like shopping carts or “add to cart” buttons
• Checkout forms that don’t work with screen readers or keyboard navigation

These seemingly small gaps can stop a sale and expose a business to legal risk, even if the owner had no intention of excluding anyone.

Local impact beyond litigation

Small business owners often assume accessibility rules are only for household-name brands, but the numbers tell a different story. A majority of eCommerce defendants in 2025 were companies with less than $25 million in revenue, highlighting how even locally owned shops and boutique online stores are vulnerable.

That’s why more local governments are including accessibility considerations in business guidance and why many chambers of commerce and small business associations are sharing resources on accessibility best practices with members.

Catching issues before they escalate

For many business owners, the focus is understanding where their website stands before smaller accessibility issues grow into larger problems.

At Clym, we regularly see businesses become aware of accessibility gaps only after a customer, partner, or regulator raises a concern. At that point, changes often need to happen quickly and without much context. Periodic checks can shift this from a reactive situation to a more informed one, giving teams earlier visibility into how their website is performing.

Running regular website scans helps surface common accessibility barriers and provides a high-level view of a site’s structure and content across regions. Many businesses combine this with broader accessibility tools to review issues, document findings, and track follow-up actions over time. Over time, these scans can help businesses spot recurring patterns, monitor changes, and decide where follow-up work may be appropriate.

Understanding the legal landscape is part of that picture. Expectations around accessibility are not identical across states or countries. Tools like Compass add context by showing which accessibility and website-related laws may be relevant based on business size, industry, and location, helping explain why a site that seems acceptable in one region may raise questions in another.

Beyond testing and legal context, many businesses also take steps to communicate their approach publicly. Publishing an accessibility statement gives users a clear explanation of the site’s accessibility efforts, known limitations, and a way to get in touch if they encounter difficulties. This type of transparency is increasingly common and helps set expectations for visitors.

Some businesses also choose to add an accessibility widget or an accessibility issue reporting option to their website. These tools give users a direct way to adjust certain settings or flag accessibility barriers, creating a clearer channel for feedback and helping concerns surface earlier in the process.

A local issue reaching broader audiences

As web interactions become central to how customers find and support local businesses, accessibility is increasingly seen as a business risk and opportunity, not just a legal requirement. For small business owners, the takeaway is clear: inaccessible websites don’t fly under the radar anymore. They attract attention from residents, local officials, and plaintiffs alike.

Staying proactive now may save businesses money, protect their reputation, and make their online presence welcoming to every customer.