Link without a name
WCAG 2.2 2.4.4 Link purpose (in context), Level A
50 occurrences, found on: Home page, Collection page, Product page, Cart page
- Why it matters for shoppers
- A screen reader announces “link” and nothing else, so the shopper cannot tell where it leads.
- Where it usually lives in a Shopify theme
- Icon links in the header (account, cart), social media icons in the footer, image-only links on product cards and collection tiles.
- Direction for a fix
- Add visually hidden text or an aria-label to icon links, for example “Cart” or “Instagram”. For an image link, give the image an alt text.
- Examples from the demo store
Image without an alt attribute
WCAG 2.2 1.1.1 Non-text content, Level A
18 occurrences, found on: Collection page
- Why it matters for shoppers
- A screen reader skips the image or reads out its file name, so a blind shopper does not learn what the product photo shows.
- Where it usually lives in a Shopify theme
- Product card and product media snippets, image banners, slideshow and image-with-text sections, and sometimes the logo in the header.
- Direction for a fix
- Output the alt text stored with the image, fall back to the product or section title, and give purely decorative images an empty alt="".
- Examples from the demo store
Form field without a label
WCAG 2.2 1.3.1 Info and relationships, Level A
5 occurrences, found on: Home page, Collection page, Product page, Cart page
- Why it matters for shoppers
- Without a label a screen reader only says “edit text”, so the shopper cannot tell whether the field is for an e-mail address, a quantity or a discount code.
- Where it usually lives in a Shopify theme
- Newsletter sign-up in the footer, the search field in the header, quantity fields in the cart, price range filters on collections.
- Direction for a fix
- Connect every field to a label element with for and id (it may be visually hidden) or give it an aria-label. A placeholder is not a label.
- Examples from the demo store
input (type="text")input#ShareUrl-template--21573956206784__main (type="text")
The same id is used more than once
WCAG 2.2 4.1.2 Name, role, value, Level A
282 occurrences, found on: Home page, Collection page, Product page, Cart page
- Why it matters for shoppers
- Labels, error messages and aria references can point at the wrong element, so a field or control may lose its name.
- Where it usually lives in a Shopify theme
- Sections rendered twice on one page, such as desktop and mobile headers, cart drawer and cart page, or country and language selectors in both header and footer.
- Direction for a fix
- Make generated ids unique, for example by adding the section id to them.
- Examples from the demo store
"Details-menu-drawer-menu-item-2", 2×"AnnouncementCountryForm", 2×"AnnouncementCountryList", 2×
aria-labelledby or aria-describedby points to a missing element
WCAG 2.2 4.1.2 Name, role, value, Level A
23 occurrences, found on: Home page, Collection page, Product page, Cart page
- Why it matters for shoppers
- The element was meant to take its name or description from another element that is not on the page, so the screen reader has nothing to read.
- Where it usually lives in a Shopify theme
- Product cards that point at sale or sold-out badges which are only rendered in some cases, form error messages, dialogs.
- Direction for a fix
- Output the reference only when the target element is rendered, or always render the target.
- Examples from the demo store
aria-labelledby → "Summary-"aria-labelledby → "Badge-template--21573956501696__image_banner_with_featured_collection_kCax6J-7759747023040"aria-labelledby → "Badge-template--21573956501696__image_banner_with_featured_collection_kCax6J-7758594212032"
Heading levels skip a step
WCAG 2.2 1.3.1 Info and relationships, Level A
1 occurrence, found on: Product page
- Why it matters for shoppers
- People who move through a page by headings expect the levels to nest. A jump from h2 to h4 suggests a missing part.
- Where it usually lives in a Shopify theme
- Section headings, product card titles and footer column headings, where the level is chosen for its font size.
- Direction for a fix
- Choose heading levels from the structure of the page and set the size with a class.
- Examples from the demo store
Icon without a text alternative or a decorative mark
WCAG 2.2 1.1.1 Non-text content, Level A
29 occurrences, found on: Home page, Collection page, Product page, Cart page
- Why it matters for shoppers
- If the icon carries meaning, such as a payment method or “free shipping”, a screen reader user misses it. If it is decoration, it should be hidden from screen readers.
- Where it usually lives in a Shopify theme
- Icon snippets, payment icons in the footer, trust and feature icons.
- Direction for a fix
- Hide decorative icons with aria-hidden="true". Give meaningful icons role="img" and an aria-label or a title element.
- What the test can see
- The test cannot tell a decorative icon from a meaningful one, so each of these needs a quick look.
- Examples from the demo store
svg.hiddensvg.iconsvg.five-stars
Focus moves when the page loads
WCAG 2.2 3.2.1 On focus, Level A
4 occurrences, found on: Home page, Collection page, Product page, Cart page
- Why it matters for shoppers
- Screen reader users start somewhere unexpected and miss the top of the page.
- Where it usually lives in a Shopify theme
- Search fields and pop-ups with the autofocus attribute.
- Direction for a fix
- Remove autofocus and move focus only after the shopper opens something.
- Examples from the demo store
More than one h1 heading on the page
WCAG 2.2 1.3.1 Info and relationships, Level A
1 occurrence, found on: Cart page
- Why it matters for shoppers
- With two or more first-level headings it is harder to tell which one names the page.
- Where it usually lives in a Shopify theme
- A logo wrapped in an h1 on every page, or section headings that can be set to h1 in the theme editor.
- Direction for a fix
- Keep h1 for the main title of the page. Wrap the logo in an h1 only on the home page and let sections start at h2.