How Dime Beauty Established Permanent Shopify Accessibility Compliance with Code-Level Remediation

Dime Beauty is an EWG-certified clean skincare brand founded by Baylee and Ryan Relf that has built a passionate customer base through clinically effective formulations and transparent ingredient practices. As a lean, high-growth DTC brand driving significant traffic to their Shopify store, Dime needed an accessibility solution that would protect them from legal risk without consuming precious developer resources or derailing their digital roadmap.

The Challenge: Finding a Permanent Accessibility Solution

For Kate Branagan, Digital Product Lead at Dime Beauty, accessibility represented a constant source of concern. Running digital operations for a high-visibility brand with a small team meant every project competed for limited resources.

"We're a super, super lean team," Kate explains. "It's basically just me doing all the website development. So accessibility takes a lot of time and a lot of fine tooth combing, and it's something that I just have a hard time making time for."

Initially, Dime took what seemed like a practical approach: they installed accessiBe, an accessibility overlay app, to provide basic compliance coverage. The promise was simple—a plug-and-play solution that would handle accessibility without requiring development work.

However, Kate began recognizing the limitations of overlay-based solutions. Accessibility overlays apply JavaScript on top of existing code without fixing the underlying issues in the Shopify theme itself. As she researched the space and consulted with industry peers, it became clear that these surface-level solutions weren't creating the permanent, defensible compliance Dime needed, or making the site accessible for those who need these adjustments.

"People with the apps were still getting sued," Kate recalls from conversations at industry conferences. "So then it's like okay, we have to come up with a solution. We either have to make this a priority for me or we have to outsource a solution to make sure that we get this taken care of and that we're always compliant."

With accessibility work stalled and no clear path forward with their existing approach, Dime needed a partner who could take ownership of the problem—not just identify it.

The Solution: Code-Level Shopify Accessibility Remediation

When evaluating TestParty as an alternative accessibility solution, Kate prioritized one thing above all else: actual execution that would create permanent fixes.

"The thing that stands out for me is that you guys actually change it on the site," Kate explains. "Instead of just overlaying alt tags or overlaying whatever, it's actually in the code changed forever."

This fundamental difference mattered for several reasons:

Permanent Fixes That Survive Theme Updates

Unlike overlay solutions that can break whenever a Shopify theme is updated or customized, TestParty's code-level changes persist permanently in the codebase.

"It's a compounding fix," Kate notes. "It's not just like a once fix on this theme and then we move to a new theme and it breaks or it doesn't fix it because we rebuilt it somehow."

This "compounding fix" approach meant that accessibility improvements built on themselves over time rather than resetting with every development cycle.

Transparent, Flexible Partnership

From the initial sales conversation through implementation, Dime experienced a level of partnership that stood out against typical vendor relationships.

"I like how fast everything goes. I like that you guys are very flexible and very willing to work with us on price and things like that," Kate says. "I know a lot of companies aren't super willing to do that. So that's really big for us."

The pricing flexibility was particularly important for Dime's lean team, allowing them to invest in proper accessibility remediation without disrupting other budget priorities.

CEO-Level Commitment to Customer Success

For a lean team evaluating a critical compliance partner, TestParty's hands-on approach from leadership provided confidence that the relationship would remain strong long-term.

"Michael is on every call," Kate observes, referring to Michael Bervell, CEO of TestParty. "I love that. I think that's really cool. It speaks very highly of you if you're willing to get on and hear the feedback and talk to your customers, and you're the CEO. But it's also nice that you're like, hey, I want to get on every call. I want to be involved."

The Process: Collaborative Implementation Without Developer Burden

TestParty's implementation process for Dime's Shopify store eliminated the coordination overhead that typically bogs down accessibility projects:

Direct GitHub Integration

Rather than sending tickets or PDFs of issues to fix, TestParty's engineering team worked directly in Dime's codebase, submitting pull requests for review and approval.

This gave Kate complete visibility into every change while eliminating the need to interpret audit findings or write accessibility fixes herself.

Slack-Based Communication

Instead of formal ticketing systems with multi-day response times, TestParty operated through Slack channels that felt like working with an in-house team member.

"We were working together in Slack like we were in the same office," Kate explains, contrasting this with previous experiences where she would "open a ticket and then wait a week just to hear back."

Flexible Theme Management

Dime's development workflow involves maintaining multiple GitHub theme branches for testing and development. TestParty adapted seamlessly to this reality.

"I make a million themes in GitHub and I'm like, can you please push your changes into 17 themes? And Jason's like, absolutely," Kate recalls, referring to Jason Tan, CTO of TestParty. "Jason's awesome. He's very communicative with me. He's very flexible."

The result was a collaborative relationship that accommodated Dime's actual workflow rather than forcing them to adapt to a rigid vendor process.

The Impact: Legal Protection, Operational Freedom and True Customer Accessibility

The most immediate benefit for Dime was establishing defensible WCAG compliance that provides genuine legal protection for their high-traffic Shopify store.

"Since we are a larger-facing company and we do have so many touchpoints and we're driving a lot of traffic to our site, we have to make sure that we're compliant. It's not an option anymore," Kate emphasizes.

With TestParty handling monthly Shopify accessibility audits and remediation, Dime now has:

A Defensible Paper Trail

Every month, Dime receives comprehensive audit reports documenting accessibility testing and fixes. These reports provide exactly what's needed to demonstrate good-faith compliance efforts.

"If someone comes at us and is like, you guys aren't compliant, we can take our history of remediation and things that we fixed and say, no, you're wrong actually," Kate explains.

Freed Internal Resources

Without accessibility projects consuming development cycles, Kate can focus on initiatives that directly drive business growth.

"It's something that requires one person to be mindful of all of the time," Kate notes. "And instead of just hiring one person in-house to do that, it's easier to just outsource it once a month that it gets done. And I don't have to think about it. I don't have to try to make time for it in my day. It just gets done."

Confidence to Optimize Without Hesitation

Perhaps most importantly, Dime can continue improving their digital experience knowing that the site will remain accessible to all their users. The team can now prioritize conversion optimization and UX improvements knowing that TestParty will maintain compliance as the site evolves.

Why Code-Level Remediation Creates Lasting Value

Dime's experience highlights critical differences between temporary overlay solutions and permanent code-level remediation. Overlay widgets apply JavaScript on top of existing code without fixing underlying accessibility issues in the Shopify theme. When themes are updated, customized, or rebuilt, these overlays often break or fail to address new issues introduced by changes.

In contrast, TestParty's code-level approach makes permanent fixes directly in the Shopify theme. These changes persist through updates, compound over time as improvements build on each other, and provide the comprehensive WCAG compliance needed for genuine accessibility.

As Kate puts it: "It's actually in the code changed forever. That's what we need."

Advice for E-Commerce Teams Evaluating Accessibility Solutions

When asked what advice she'd give to other organizations considering accessibility providers, Kate emphasizes thorough evaluation:

"Do your research and do a lot of it. Just make sure that you understand what your level of need is and what the potential impact of cutting corners on something like [accessibility]."

She continues: "If you can only afford $20 a month on accessibility, that's fine, but just make sure you understand what the consequences of not taking care of that could cost. It might cost you more than the $20. So it might be worth it to just spend the money up front and make sure that you're protected."

For Shopify stores specifically, Kate's experience demonstrates the importance of:

• Prioritizing permanent code fixes: Surface-level widgets don't create lasting accessibility
• Evaluating partnership quality: Responsive communication and flexibility matter enormously
• Understanding total cost: Include potential legal risk and developer time in your ROI calculation
• Seeking comprehensive solutions: Monthly audits and ongoing remediation prevent accessibility debt

Looking Forward: Accessibility as Standard Practice

For Dime Beauty, accessibility has transformed from a fire drill into a routine operational practice—one that no longer competes with other priorities because it runs reliably in the background.

"There were no surprises," Kate reflects on the TestParty experience. "It was all very clearly laid out for us—what the process is, who our developer would be. Jason's awesome. He's very communicative, very flexible."

The partnership has also opened Dime's eyes to adjacent benefits of proper accessibility implementation, including SEO improvements from comprehensive alt text and better site structure.

As Dime continues scaling their clean beauty brand, they now have confidence that their digital experience is truly accessible to all customers—not just compliant on paper, but genuinely usable for people relying on assistive technology.

Ready to establish permanent accessibility compliance for your Shopify store with code-level fixes? Schedule a demo with TestParty to see how we help DTC brands achieve lasting WCAG compliance without consuming developer resources.