We want every shopper to be able to search, ask, and buy through Syntheum Lite, and every merchant to be able to run it — regardless of ability or assistive technology.
Statement issued 23 July 2026 · reflects an audit dated 23 July 2026
Standard targeted
Syntheum Lite targets WCAG 2.2 Level AA (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) for the surfaces we build and control:
The shopper search widget embedded in storefronts — its collapsed launcher, keyword result grid, and conversational assistant panel, on desktop and in the mobile overlay.
The merchant dashboard — Home, Analytics, Optimize (including the drag-and-drop merchandiser), and Settings.
The surrounding storefront (theme, product pages, checkout) is built by the merchant's theme and by Shopify, and is outside the scope of this statement.
What was tested, and how
Automated scanning.axe-core 4.10 against the production widget bundle in all three widget states, at desktop and mobile viewports — zero violations at the time of audit.
Keyboard-only operation.Scripted full-flow traversal: reach the launcher by Tab, open the assistant, converse, traverse result cards, add to cart, and close with Escape. Focus moves into the dialog on open, is contained while it is open (native modal dialog), and returns to the launcher on close.
Screen-reader behaviour of streamed answers.Sophie's replies stream in visually, but assistive technology is only addressed at natural boundaries — "typing", the completed reply, result counts ("20 results for …"), empty states, and cart outcomes — through a dedicated status region, so streaming never produces token-by-token announcement noise. Verified programmatically; see known issues for the human-tester pass.
Colour contrast.Every foreground/background pair in both the widget palette and the dashboard design system computed against the WCAG contrast formula; all text now meets 4.5:1 (non-essential disabled states exempt per WCAG).
Drag-and-drop alternative.The merchandiser grid is fully keyboard-sortable (pick up with Space, move with arrow keys, drop with Space) with spoken announcements that use product names and slot numbers; every drag action also has a plain-button equivalent (Pin, Hide, Restore).
Motion.All animation and smooth scrolling honour prefers-reduced-motion.
Known issues and limitations
Human screen-reader passes are still scheduled. Streamed-announcement behaviour has been verified programmatically (ARIA semantics and announcement timing), but full NVDA (Windows) and VoiceOver (macOS/iOS) walkthroughs by a human tester have not yet been completed.
Merchandiser tray drop via keyboard. Dropping a dragged product onto the "hidden from this search" tray with the keyboard is unverified; the equivalent Hide button provides the same action without dragging.
Long assistant replies are announced as one block. Sophie's completed answer is spoken once, in full; replies are capped at roughly 100 words by design.
Host-theme dependencies. The widget renders inside the merchant's theme and inherits its font family; the accessibility of surrounding theme content, product pages, and checkout rests with the theme and Shopify.
Found a barrier? Tell us and we will prioritise it — contact us through the app's support channel on its Shopify App Store listing, or through the account contact you already use with us. Please mention the assistive technology and browser involved.
Review cadence
This statement is reviewed whenever the widget or dashboard ships a significant interface change, and at least twice a year. The underlying audit — method, findings, and verification results — is kept in our engineering records.