Link without a name
WCAG 2.2 2.4.4 Link purpose (in context), Level A
129 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
a.stretched-linka.#media-linka.#product-card-swatch
Dropdown without a label
WCAG 2.2 1.3.1 Info and relationships, Level A
10 occurrences, found on: Home page, Collection page, Product page, Cart page
- Why it matters for shoppers
- A shopper who cannot see the page does not know whether the dropdown chooses a size, a colour, a sort order or a country.
- Where it usually lives in a Shopify theme
- Variant pickers on the product page, the sort menu on collections, country and language selectors.
- Direction for a fix
- Name each dropdown with a label element (for and id) or an aria-label such as “Size” or “Sort by”.
- Examples from the demo store
Form field without a label
WCAG 2.2 1.3.1 Info and relationships, Level A
8 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.#header-searchbar-input (type="text")input.#modal-popup-autofocus-fix (type="checkbox")
The same id is used more than once
WCAG 2.2 4.1.2 Name, role, value, Level A
16 occurrences, found on: 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
"pi-visa", 2×"pi-master", 2×"pi-american_express", 2×
Heading levels skip a step
WCAG 2.2 1.3.1 Info and relationships, Level A
10 occurrences, found on: Home page, Collection page, 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
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
4 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-describedby → "a11y-external-message"
Page without an h1 heading
WCAG 2.2 1.3.1 Info and relationships, Level A
1 occurrence, found on: 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.
Icon without a text alternative or a decorative mark
WCAG 2.2 1.1.1 Non-text content, Level A
95 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