Checkout reliability

Checkout accessibility: what a store owner can observe

You can answer that only by trying the checkout you have, with a keyboard and with text enlarged, and writing down what happens. W3C's WCAG 2 overview says the success criteria are what determine conformance, and that WCAG 2.2 is the version W3C encourages. It also says laws may use WCAG and points to a separate list this page does not apply for you. Visible labels, keyboard operation, a sensible focus order, a visible focus indicator, text errors, 200 percent text size, and 4.5:1 text contrast are separate criteria, and each one has limits stated on its own page. A completed worksheet is not a conformance claim, a legal conclusion, or a Prism certification. Describe the work you need. Prism will confirm scope, responsibilities, fees, and terms before work begins.

For: An owner of a research-use-only peptide store who wants to know whether a buyer can understand and operate the checkout that is actually installed.

Updated 2026-09-21

Observe the checkout you have, and do not grade it

The question is whether a buyer can understand and operate this checkout, including with a keyboard rather than a pointer. The answer is a set of notes from that checkout, not a badge. W3C's overview says WCAG is a technical standard and that content meets WCAG by meeting the success criteria. A short observation list does not cover every criterion, and it does not decide which version a law requires.

This page is about operating the checkout. It is not the page for a slow checkout, and it is not the page for finding a catalog item in search. Mobile layout problems that are only about screen size, without the input and reading checks below, belong in the mobile diagnosis rather than here.

Prism's published website review looks at product descriptions, marketing claims, store policies, and business disclosures. The features page says the review is informational and is not a legal opinion or a compliance certification. It does not say Prism certifies a checkout against WCAG. Do not describe a consultation as that certification.

Labels, keyboard, and focus are three different checks

WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.3.2 says labels or instructions are provided when content requires user input. Its understanding page says the intent is that people know what input is expected. The same page says this criterion does not, by itself, require the labels to be marked up and associated with the controls. That association is a separate criterion, 1.3.1, which this worksheet does not treat as already passed because the words are visible.

The understanding page for 2.1.1 says the goal is that everything can be done with a keyboard except freehand movements, and that pointer actions need a keyboard equivalent. The criterion text starts from functionality being operable through a keyboard interface without specific timings for individual keystrokes, and it states an exception. Use the keyboard on the live checkout: place the order only in a test you can void, or stop before payment if you cannot. Record any control you cannot reach.

Success criterion 2.4.3 says that when sequential navigation affects meaning or operation, focusable components receive focus in an order that preserves meaning and operability. Success criterion 2.4.7 says any keyboard-operable interface has a mode of operation where the keyboard focus indicator is visible. The understanding page says the indicator must not be time limited. A focus ring that disappears, or a cursor that jumps in an order that skips the payment button, is a note. It is not yet a claim that the whole checkout fails or passes WCAG.

Errors, enlarged text, and contrast are checks you can see

Success criterion 3.3.1 says that if an input error is automatically detected, the item in error is identified and the error is described to the user in text. The understanding page says that showing the form again with no hint is not enough. Submit the checkout with a required field left blank, in a test that does not create a real charge if you can avoid it, and write the words the page shows.

Success criterion 1.4.4 says that, except for captions and images of text, text can be resized without assistive technology up to 200 percent without loss of content or functionality. The understanding page says the author's responsibility is not to prevent the browser from scaling the content. At 200 percent, look for a total, a required acknowledgment, or a pay control that is cut off.

Success criterion 1.4.3 says the visual presentation of text and images of text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1, and it lists exceptions. The understanding page includes large text among those exceptions and says text that is part of a logo or brand name has no contrast requirement. This page does not restate the large-text ratio, because the exception's full measurement was not copied here. If you are not measuring a ratio, write "not measured" rather than a pass.

A required acknowledgment is not the same test

A checkbox for store policies has two separate questions. The accessibility question is whether it has a label, can be reached from the keyboard, and shows focus. The other question is what the control proves about the policy. Stripe's dispute-prevention page says card issuers can reject a checkbox that contains only a link, and that there should be reasonable evidence the customer was presented with a full copy of the policies. That is Stripe's description of dispute evidence. It is not a WCAG criterion, and it is not a rule this page applies to every provider.

You can record what the checkbox says and whether you could operate it without a mouse. You cannot decide that the acknowledgment will be accepted in a dispute, or that the policy text is legally sufficient. Policy wording is a different review from this observation.

Who can change the result

You can see a missing label, a control the keyboard cannot reach, a focus indicator that vanishes, an error that is only a color, text that overflows at 200 percent, and a contrast check you did not measure. The person who can change the theme, the checkout block, or the payment field is the person who maintains that component. A hosted payment field can be the provider's component. Its behavior is in that provider's documentation, which this page does not replace.

W3C's overview says WCAG 2.2 adds criteria to earlier versions and does not deprecate WCAG 2.1 or 2.0, and that content which conforms to 2.2 also conforms to those earlier versions. It also says the European accessibility framework and other laws are tracked on W3C's policy list. This page does not open that list and does not say which law applies to your store.

A Prism consultation can include a checkout question you describe in ordinary language. Do not treat this observation worksheet as an accessibility conformance audit; confirm the scope of any requested assessment. Scope, fees, and terms are discussed before work. The provider still decides eligibility. What remains unknown is every criterion you did not test and every component you did not reach.

Checkout observation sheet

Try the live checkout. Write what happened, not a pass or fail for the whole store. Do not enter a real card number. Stop before placing a paid order if you do not have a test payment you can void. Worksheet entries are not submitted by this worksheet or saved by this site. Use only non-sensitive summaries; do not enter credentials, government identifiers, card or bank-account numbers, private receipt links, or customer details.

Worksheet entries are not submitted by Prism’s worksheet and are not saved by the site. Use record types, availability, anonymized observations, or match/mismatch results. Do not enter government identifiers, customer names or addresses, customer messages, receipt-access links, card or bank details, passwords, or keys. Send sensitive documents only through the provider’s verified secure channel.

Checkout observation sheet. The last column is for temporary notes.
What you tried	What the cited criterion is about	How you tried it	What happened
A label or instruction on each field that asks for input	WCAG 3.3.2 is about providing the label. Visible words do not, by themselves, satisfy the separate association criterion.	The checkout fields, read without relying on placeholder text that disappears.	A label or instruction on each field that asks for input: What happened
Every step reached from the keyboard	The 2.1.1 understanding page says pointer actions need a keyboard equivalent, with an exception for freehand movement.	Tab and the keys the page itself names. Do not use the mouse to skip a control.	Every step reached from the keyboard: What happened
The order in which focus moves	WCAG 2.4.3 asks for an order that preserves meaning and operability when the sequence matters.	One pass from the first field through the payment control.	The order in which focus moves: What happened
Whether keyboard focus stays visible	WCAG 2.4.7 requires a mode where the focus indicator is visible, and the understanding page says it must not be time limited.	The same keyboard pass. Note any control whose focus disappears.	Whether keyboard focus stays visible: What happened
An error you caused on purpose	WCAG 3.3.1 says an automatically detected error is identified and described in text.	Leave one required field empty and submit only if that will not capture a real payment.	An error you caused on purpose: What happened
Text at 200 percent	WCAG 1.4.4, with stated exceptions for captions and images of text, is about no loss of content or function at 200 percent.	The browser's text-size or zoom control, then the totals and the pay control.	Text at 200 percent: What happened
Text contrast, or a note that you did not measure it	WCAG 1.4.3 states 4.5:1 and lists exceptions, including logo text. An unmeasured row is not a pass.	A measurement tool you trust, or the words "not measured."	Text contrast, or a note that you did not measure it: What happened
A required policy acknowledgment, if the checkout has one	The label and keyboard checks are the accessibility notes. Stripe's prevention page separately discusses a checkbox that only links to a policy.	The control's visible words, and whether a full policy is shown before payment.	A required policy acknowledgment, if the checkout has one: What happened

These are temporary notes. Leaving or reloading this page may clear them. The consultation form does not include these entries.

Limits

A Prism consultation can help you organize the facts and discuss the website or processing question. The payment provider decides eligibility, pricing, reserves, and whether an account is opened or closed.
This sheet is not a WCAG conformance claim, a legal opinion, or a statement that the checkout meets any accessibility law.
An inquiry or completed worksheet does not establish conformance or certification.
Do not enter a real card number while you test.

Related guides

Sources checked 2026-09-21

W3C WCAG 2 overview — checked 2026-09-21. Success criteria determine WCAG conformance. W3C encourages WCAG 2.2, which adds criteria and does not deprecate 2.0 or 2.1. The overview points to a separate list for how laws use WCAG and does not decide that list here.
WCAG 2.2 understanding, labels or instructions — checked 2026-09-21. Success criterion 3.3.2 requires labels or instructions when content requires input, and says programmatic association is a separate criterion.
WCAG 2.2 understanding, keyboard — checked 2026-09-21. The 2.1.1 understanding page says functionality should be available from the keyboard except freehand movements, and that pointer actions need a keyboard equivalent.
WCAG 2.2 understanding, focus order — checked 2026-09-21. Success criterion 2.4.3 requires a focus order that preserves meaning and operability when sequential navigation affects either one.
WCAG 2.2 understanding, focus visible — checked 2026-09-21. Success criterion 2.4.7 requires a visible keyboard focus indicator, and the understanding page says that indicator must not be time limited.
WCAG 2.2 understanding, error identification — checked 2026-09-21. Success criterion 3.3.1 requires an automatically detected input error to be identified and described in text. Redisplaying the form with no hint is not enough.
WCAG 2.2 understanding, resize text — checked 2026-09-21. Success criterion 1.4.4 requires text, except captions and images of text, to resize to 200 percent without loss of content or functionality.
WCAG 2.2 understanding, contrast minimum — checked 2026-09-21. Success criterion 1.4.3 states a 4.5:1 contrast ratio and lists exceptions, including no contrast requirement for text that is part of a logo or brand name.
Stripe dispute-prevention practices — checked 2026-09-21. Stripe says a policy checkbox that only contains a link can be weak dispute evidence, and that a full copy of the policies should be presented. This is not stated as a WCAG rule.
Prism features — checked 2026-09-21. The published review covers product descriptions, marketing claims, store policies, and business disclosures. It is informational and is not a legal opinion or a compliance certification.

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