Link without a name
WCAG 2.2 2.4.4 Link purpose (in context), Level A
17 occurrences, found on: Home 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
a.slideshow-cards__link-overlaya.overlay-linka.list-logo
Form field without a label
WCAG 2.2 1.3.1 Info and relationships, Level A
13 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#Search-In-Modal (type="search")input#NewsletterForm--template--27758540882263__newsletter (type="email")input#NewsletterForm--sections--27758539473239__footer (type="email")
Button without a name
WCAG 2.2 4.1.2 Name, role, value, Level A
8 occurrences, found on: Home page, Collection page, Product 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.heading-group__navigation-buttonbutton.featured-products__navigation-buttonbutton.collection-hero__navigation-button-prev
Clickable element that is not a button or link
WCAG 2.2 4.1.2 Name, role, value, Level A
3 occurrences, found on: Home page, Collection page, Product page
- Why it matters for shoppers
- A div or span with a click handler cannot be reached with the Tab key and is not announced as clickable.
- Where it usually lives in a Shopify theme
- Custom colour swatches, accordions, tabs and quick view triggers built from div or span elements.
- Direction for a fix
- Use a button element for actions and a link for navigation.
- Examples from the demo store
The same id is used more than once
WCAG 2.2 4.1.2 Name, role, value, Level A
18 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
"Search-In-Modal", 2×"QuickView-10404765696343", 3×"ModalCloseOverlay-10404765696343", 3×
aria-labelledby or aria-describedby points to a missing element
WCAG 2.2 4.1.2 Name, role, value, Level A
3 occurrences, found on: Home 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 → "title-template--27758540882263__featured_collection-10407199998295"aria-labelledby → "title-template--27758540882263__featured-products-10407231455575"aria-labelledby → "title-template--27758540882263__featured-products-10404825170263"
Heading levels skip a step
WCAG 2.2 1.3.1 Info and relationships, Level A
2 occurrences, found on: Product page, 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
82 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