Form field without a label
WCAG 2.2 1.3.1 Info and relationships, Level A
68 occurrences, found on: Home page, Collection 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")input#min-value (type="number")input#max-value (type="number")
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, 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-action-search-field__buttonbutton.xo-predictive-search-base__button
Page without an h1 heading
WCAG 2.2 1.3.1 Info and relationships, Level A
3 occurrences, found on: Home page, Collection 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.
The same id is used more than once
WCAG 2.2 4.1.2 Name, role, value, Level A
3 occurrences, found on: Collection page, Product 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
"min-value", 2×"max-value", 2×"Quantity-template--22455887921397__main_product-9985166541045", 2×
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: 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
154 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
svgsvg.c:var(--color)svg.c:foreground
Menu not marked as navigation
WCAG 2.2 1.3.1 Info and relationships, Level A
2 occurrences, found on: Home 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.