Form field without a label
WCAG 2.2 1.3.1 Info and relationships, Level A
44 occurrences, found on: Home 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.xo-variant-image__input (type="radio")
Button without a name
WCAG 2.2 4.1.2 Name, role, value, Level A
4 occurrences, found on: Home page, Collection page, Product page, Cart page
- Why it matters for shoppers
- The shopper hears “button” with no hint whether it closes a drawer, adds to cart or opens the menu.
- Where it usually lives in a Shopify theme
- Icon-only buttons: drawer close, slider arrows, quantity plus and minus, menu and search toggles.
- Direction for a fix
- Put an aria-label or visually hidden text on the button and hide the icon inside it with aria-hidden="true".
- Examples from the demo store
button.xo-predictive-search-base__button
Alt text is a file name or a placeholder word
WCAG 2.2 1.1.1 Non-text content, Level A
12 occurrences, found on: Home page, Product page
- Why it matters for shoppers
- Hearing “IMG_2841.jpg” or “image” tells a screen reader user nothing about the product.
- Where it usually lives in a Shopify theme
- Mostly content: alt text entered in the Shopify admin for product media and section images. Some themes fall back to the file name when the alt text is empty.
- Direction for a fix
- Describe the image in the admin, and in the theme fall back to the product or section title instead of the file name.
- Examples from the demo store
Page without an h1 heading
WCAG 2.2 1.3.1 Info and relationships, Level A
4 occurrences, found on: Home page, Collection page, Product page, Cart page
- Why it matters for shoppers
- Screen reader users often jump to the first-level heading to learn what a page is about.
- Where it usually lives in a Shopify theme
- The main title of a template: collection banner, product title in the main product section, cart title. Some templates style the title as a heading without using an h1.
- Direction for a fix
- Render the main title of every template as one h1.
No skip link
WCAG 2.2 2.4.1 Bypass blocks, Level A
4 occurrences, found on: Home page, Collection page, Product page, Cart page
- Why it matters for shoppers
- A keyboard user has to tab through the whole header and menu on every page before reaching the content.
- Where it usually lives in a Shopify theme
- Right after the opening body tag in layout/theme.liquid.
- Direction for a fix
- Make “Skip to content” the first focusable link, pointing at the main element, and show it when it receives focus.
aria-labelledby or aria-describedby points to a missing element
WCAG 2.2 4.1.2 Name, role, value, Level A
1 occurrence, found on: Collection 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 → "verticalTitle"
Heading levels skip a step
WCAG 2.2 1.3.1 Info and relationships, Level A
1 occurrence, found on: Cart 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
88 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.bg:foregroundsvgsvg.xo-variant-image__diagonal
Menu not marked as navigation
WCAG 2.2 1.3.1 Info and relationships, Level A
3 occurrences, found on: Home page, Product page, Cart page
- Why it matters for shoppers
- Screen reader users cannot jump straight to the menu.
- Where it usually lives in a Shopify theme
- Header menu and footer menus.
- Direction for a fix
- Wrap each menu in a nav element and name it with aria-label when there is more than one.