BusinessRnD · draft v2 · built 2026-10-21 06:15 UTC
Cards have Go deeper, Maybe and Kill buttons. Press Send feedback to save. Your marks from all tabs collect at the end of each page.
Website lawsuits hit consumer brands, and Shopify is now the most-sued platform. Government and health-care deadlines moved a year later, so those buyers can wait.
| Segment | Why they buy | Where we find them | Call |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Shopify brands in food and drink, fashion, beauty and home | Food and fashion were 61% of 2025 suits. Shopify sites drew 47% of suits in the first half of 2026 | Store Leads list ($250 for one month) plus our own scan. 60% of stores show an email | Lead |
| Stores already paying for a widget | 1 in 4 sued sites had a widget installed | The widget's script is visible in the page source | Lead (sharpest hook) |
| US local businesses: restaurants, cafés, clinics | Food is the top-sued industry. California demand letters target businesses with premises | Free platform tagging (Wappalyzer, HTTP Archive) plus the site's contact page | Test (rebuild and host) |
| Health providers with HHS funding | WCAG 2.1 AA required from 11 May 2027 (15+ staff) | Not in this test | Later |
| Small governments | Federal Title II deadline moved to 26 Apr 2027 (50k+ people) and 26 Apr 2028 (smaller) | Census list, but slow procurement | Skip for now |
| EU businesses | The EU Accessibility Act applies since June 2025, but small firms are exempt. No cold email to Germany or Poland | n/a | Skip outbound |
xychart-beta
title "Share of sued websites by platform, Jan-Jun 2026 (%)"
x-axis ["Shopify", "Custom", "WordPress", "Squarespace", "Wix"]
y-axis "% of suits" 0 --> 50
bar [46.6, 32.3, 13.0, 3.2, 2.4]
flowchart TD
A["Agent finds and scans a US site with barriers"] --> C["Private preview page with their homepage fixed"]
C --> D["Email 1 with the preview link"]
D --> E{"Reply?"}
E -->|"no"| F["Email 2 on day 3, Email 3 on day 8, then stop"]
E -->|"yes"| G["AI assistant answers and says it is an AI"]
G --> H{"Which platform?"}
H -->|"Shopify or WordPress"| I["We fix a copy of their theme, they press Publish"]
H -->|"Small Wix or Squarespace site"| J["Rebuilt site preview, then we host it"]
H -->|"Custom code or no access"| K["Download pack for their developer"]
I --> L["Pay link, delivery, re-scan, monitoring offer"]
J --> L
K --> L
Your idea, tested. Result before payment: yes, for everyone. A new site for everyone: no.
So the rebuilt site is a second step, for brochure sites only.
| Platform | The first email shows | After they reply | We deliver by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify | Their homepage, fixed | They share a 4-digit collaborator code | Fixing a theme copy, approved on Shopify's preview link. Or a theme-file swap |
| WordPress | Same | They add a temporary admin user | A child theme or patch |
| Custom code | Same | We work with their developer by AI chat | A patch or pull request |
| Wix, Squarespace | Same, plus a screenshot of a rebuilt homepage | We send a rebuilt-site preview link | Hosting the new site, or fixes in their editor |
| Webflow | Same | They invite us as Designer | Fixes inside Webflow |
| Risk | Where it bites | How we defuse it |
|---|---|---|
| Looks like phishing | Hosted copies of their site | Screenshots, not a working copy. Preview banner, neutral domain, no forms, hidden from search, deleted after 14 days |
| Copyright on their content | A full rebuilt site shown before they pay | One annotated page, shown only to them. Full build only after a reply |
| "Compliant" claims (the FTC fined accessiBe $1M) | Emails, preview page, statement | We say "barriers fixed" and "lower risk", never "compliant" |
| They get sued anyway | After delivery | Terms promise no legal outcome. We give a dated fix log and a statement |
| We break their checkout | Fixes we apply | We work on a theme copy, never touch checkout, and they press Publish |
| Option | Price | What they get | Ready in |
|---|---|---|---|
| You download it | $590 | Code changes for up to 5 page types, a guide for their developer, a report and statement text | 2 days |
| We apply it | $890 | Up to 10 page types fixed in a theme copy, keyboard and screen-reader test of 3 key flows, a report, a statement page, 30 days of fixes | 3 days |
| We rebuild and host it | $690 + $79/mo | A brochure site of up to 10 pages rebuilt, hosting, a monthly re-check, 5 small edits a month by chat | 5 days |
| Monitoring | $99/mo ($149 for big stores) | Monthly re-scan, fixes on 5 new pages, an up-to-date statement, a dated fix log | Monthly |
| Demand-letter rush | +$300 | Same-day start, delivery in 72 hours | 72 h |
The accessibility statement. It is a plain-language page with:
A defence lawyer calls such a statement "a negotiating fact".
Price anchors: why we win
| Alternative | Price | Our answer |
|---|---|---|
| accessiBe widget | $490–3,990 a year | 1 in 4 sued sites had a widget. FTC order, $1M |
| UserWay widget | $490–2,490 a year; Shopify app $49–349 a month | Rated 3.2/5 on Shopify. One reviewer was sued while paying $1,300 a year |
| Free Shopify widgets | $0–75 a month | Same as above |
| AudioEye | Quote only. Its automated tier fixes about 50% of issues | Hidden price |
| Agencies | Quote only. AudioEye assumes $17k a year for audits | Slow, built for enterprises |
| A freelance developer | About $1,000 (50 fixes × 15 min × $82/h, AudioEye's own figures) | Most small brands have no developer |
| Path | One action from them | We handle the rest |
|---|---|---|
| We apply it, Shopify | Share the 4-digit collaborator code | We read brand colours, apps and key flows from the site; they confirm in one click |
| We apply it, WordPress | Add a temporary admin user | Same |
| We apply it, Wix or Squarespace | Invite us as Website Manager (Wix) or Administrator (Squarespace) | Same |
| You download it | Nothing. On Shopify they email us their theme file | They upload our fixed copy and press Publish |
| We host it | Change one DNS record, with our AI talking them through it | They check hours, prices and menu on the preview |
The shortest path: pay link, then one chat question ("Shopify code, WordPress user, or download?"), and we do the rest: 10–15 minutes of their time. We test product to cart to checkout start, the contact or booking form, and the main menu. We never ask for a password and remove our access at handover.
| Day | |
|---|---|
| 0 | Their homepage, fixed, as a private preview |
| 3 | The screen-reader clip, plus a free offer to check their other pages |
| 8 | Preview deletion date and the three prices, then silence |
Day 0 · Subject: Fernhill Bakery homepage, fixed (private preview) Hi Maria, I ran an accessibility check on your site. A screen reader can't get through your pickup form: the fields have no labels, and the search and cart buttons are read out as just "button". I fixed 9 of the 11 homepage issues on a private copy, so you can see and hear the difference: [link]. If you want the same fixes on your live site, it's a fixed price. If not, no reply needed. [Your name], [Studio] · P.S. AI agents run our scans; a person checks every paid job. · [Postal address] · Reply "stop" and I won't write again.
Day 3: One more thing: a 20-second clip of what a screen reader says on your order form, before and after: [link]. Most US accessibility claims cite the same basics: missing alt text, unlabelled forms, low contrast. Want the list for your other 4 pages? It's free.
Day 8: Your preview will be deleted on 3 Nov. Reply "later" and I'll check back in 3 months; otherwise this is my last email. If useful: you download the fixes $590 · we apply them $890 · we rebuild and host $690 + $79/mo.
For stores with a widget, line two of the first email becomes: "You already run UserWay, but your theme code still has 11 barriers. About 1 in 4 sites sued in 2025 had a widget installed."
| Reply | What the AI does | You? |
|---|---|---|
| Price or scope question | Answers, then sends the Payoneer link and the setup chat | No |
| "Is this a scam?" | Explains the public scan: no login, studio details, payment only after they choose | No |
| "We got a demand letter" | Offers the rush, says we're not lawyers, sends the link | Notified |
| "Stop", or an angry reply | Suppresses the address in every inbox at once, with one short apology | No |
| Legal threat, refund, work over $1k, a government buyer | Drafts an answer and holds it for you | Yes |
How we answer: Within minutes, the AI tells them we're not lawyers and they should send the letter to theirs, and that we can start today. With their collaborator code we fix a theme copy within 72 hours and they publish it. They get a dated fix log and a statement their lawyer can use. You get a notification.
What it costs them: $890 plus the $300 rush. We recommend monitoring at $99 a month: 22% of sued sites get sued again.
How we answer: The AI shows the scan run with their widget switched on: 11 barriers are still in the code. 1 in 4 sites sued in 2025 had a widget. Our fixes live in their theme; whether to keep the widget is their choice.
What it costs them: $890. Dropping a $490-a-year widget pays back about half of that in the first year.
How we answer: If the site is 10 pages or fewer with no store checkout, they get a rebuilt-site preview within 48 hours. After that it's one DNS change, with the AI guiding them by voice. Bigger sites get fixes made in their editor through an Administrator invite.
What it costs them: $690 plus $79 a month, and they can drop the $19–25-a-month Squarespace plan. Editor fixes cost $890.
How we answer: No one can, and the FTC fined accessiBe $1M over claims like that. We guarantee the re-scan result on the pages we fix and a dated record of the work, and monitoring keeps both current.
What it costs them: Nothing to ask. Most then pick $890 plus $99 a month.
How we answer: They download their theme file from Shopify and upload it to our form. We send back a fixed copy, which they upload unpublished, preview and publish themselves. Product image descriptions come as a spreadsheet they import.
What it costs them: $590 and 20–40 minutes of their time.
gantt title S2 four-week test dateFormat YYYY-MM-DD axisFormat %d %b section Setup Domains and inbox warm-up :a1, 2026-10-21, 14d Scanner and preview page and AI replies :a2, 2026-10-21, 8d Payment link and terms and statement :a3, 2026-10-23, 4d section Quality gate 30 real previews judged :b1, 2026-10-27, 5d Test deliveries on dev stores :b2, 2026-10-29, 4d section Selling Soft launch 15 a day per inbox :c1, 2026-11-04, 6d Full rate 35 a day per inbox :c2, 2026-11-10, 8d section Decide Previews pass :milestone, m0, 2026-10-31, 0d 1000 contacts check :milestone, m1, 2026-11-14, 0d Go or kill :milestone, m2, 2026-11-17, 0d
About 1,500 US contacts in three groups: Shopify brands (40%), stores with a widget (20%), brochure sites offered the rebuild (40%). Open the Shopify Partner account on day 1, because access requests without a merchant's code need a 30-day-old account.
| When | Keep going if | Otherwise |
|---|---|---|
| 31 Oct | At least 21 of 30 previews ship as they are | Don't send; fix the preview builder |
| ~500 contacts | Bounces under 3%, spam complaints under 0.1%, 10%+ open the preview | Fix the list or the subject line |
| ~1,000 contacts | At least 1% replies and 1 sale | Swap the weakest group's hook |
| 17 Nov (~1,500) | At least 3 sales (~$2.4k) | 1–2 sales: run 2 more weeks on the best group. 0 sales: stop outbound S2 |
| Any time | No phishing flag on the preview domain, no early chargeback, refunds ≤15% | Flag: send screenshots only. Chargeback: wire only |
| Brochure group | At least 1 hosting sale | Drop the rebuild-and-host option |
Your time in the test is about 12–15 hours, mostly setup and judging the 30 samples.
research_notes/Round 3 GTM/s2_accessibility_gtm.mdNothing yet.
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