Link without a name
WCAG 2.2 2.4.4 Link purpose (in context), Level A
3 occurrences, found on: Home page, Product 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
1 occurrence, found on: Home 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
img.product-bundle__media-img
Alt text is a file name or a placeholder word
WCAG 2.2 1.1.1 Non-text content, Level A
26 occurrences, found on: Home page, Collection page, Product page, Cart 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
img.h-100img.mediaimg.w-100
The same id is used more than once
WCAG 2.2 4.1.2 Name, role, value, Level A
13 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
"sectionHeading-a20c2d3e12a5", 2×"dialogQuickShopTitle", 2×"pi-visa", 2×
aria-labelledby or aria-describedby points to a missing element
WCAG 2.2 4.1.2 Name, role, value, Level A
4 occurrences, found on: Home page, 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 → "sectionHeading-c0232b00430f"aria-labelledby → "sectionHeading-cf275b1c7c66"aria-labelledby → "sectionHeading-961c46488599"
Heading levels skip a step
WCAG 2.2 1.3.1 Info and relationships, Level A
2 occurrences, found on: Home 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
Page without an h1 heading
WCAG 2.2 1.3.1 Info and relationships, Level A
1 occurrence, found on: Collection 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.
Icon without a text alternative or a decorative mark
WCAG 2.2 1.1.1 Non-text content, Level A
10 occurrences, found on: Home page, Collection page, Product 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
Alt text over 125 characters
WCAG 2.2 1.1.1 Non-text content, Level A
4 occurrences, found on: Home page
- Why it matters for shoppers
- A screen reader user has to listen to a whole paragraph before reaching the price or the next product.
- Where it usually lives in a Shopify theme
- Product media alt text, often filled with the full product description.
- Direction for a fix
- Keep alt text to what the image shows in one short sentence and leave the details to the product description.
- Examples from the demo store