This article will serve as a starter guide on making your Shopify or eCommerce websites compliant with laws such as the ADA, EAA, Section 508, and more. Most of the practical techniques outlined here will follow the guidance set by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to ensure your Shopify websites meet WCAG 2.2 AA compliance.

Before we delve into making your Shopify or eCommerce store accessible, let’s review some stats on the usage of Shopify and why, as an eCommerce business, you must invest in making your Shopify eCommerce store accessible.

Here is some actionable data from Yaguara that can help you gain more insights into Shopify usage. Here is a quick overview:

Shopify ranked 4th among the top 5 eCommerce platforms worldwide, with a market share of 10.32% in 2024.
Shopify holds 29% of the e-commerce platform market share in the United States as of 2024.
According to CMS usage data, Shopify owns 6.20% of the CMS market share as of April 2024.
Shopify currently powers 4,628,418 active websites globally.
Shopify holds a 23% share in the top 1 million websites in 2024.
62% of Shopify stores are US-based.

This data highlights Shopify’s significance in the eCommerce industry, powering over four million eCommerce businesses worldwide, with 62% of them based in the United States.

Let’s do a quick recap of the accessibility laws.

Accessibility Laws

ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act
AODA: Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act
EAA: European Accessibility Act

Each country around the world has its own accessibility laws, most of which use the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA as a standard to measure compliance and enforce accessibility.

One of the main reasons most e-commerce businesses choose Shopify as a platform to start their online stores is its ease of use. Most of the website functionality is achieved through drag-and-drop design elements, a built-in checkout flow, and access to multiple payment gateway service providers across the globe.

SaaS e-commerce platforms like Shopify have fueled the growth of e-commerce, leading to an interesting scenario where businesses often don’t need dedicated developer teams. Since most functionality, design, and features are built into the platform, business owners frequently create their Shopify e-commerce websites by following DIY guides or hiring freelance/part-time Shopify developers through outsourcing platforms.

However, when it comes to accessibility, many Shopify stores do not follow best practices during development.

Shopify websites are generally made up of various components depending on the desired features and functionality. The Shopify theme provides the design and user experience, while plugins offer additional functionality like reviews, product comparison, and more.

Accessible Shopify Themes

In August 2021, Shopify released guidance on ensuring Shopify themes are accessible and how to test them for accessibility conformance. Shopify has a dedicated accessibility team led by Scott Vinkle, a well-respected accessibility professional.

Shopify themes are built with layout, templates, sections, and blocks that work together to organize each page. Most of the design work, which defines the look and feel of the Shopify store, happens here.

Here are some tips for ensuring your Shopify theme follows accessibility best practices:

Essential Shopify Theme Accessibility Requirements

Contrast: Ensure all elements and text meet the necessary WCAG color contrast requirements. Regular text should have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1, and non-text contrast should meet a 3:1 ratio.
Text Spacing: Ensure sufficient spacing between lines, characters, and paragraphs, typically achieved through CSS.
Zooming and Scaling: Ensure zooming and scaling of the web page are not disabled. Ensure that there is no loss of content or functionality when the page is zoomed to 200%-400%. This is also handled in CSS.
Touch Target: In a mobile-first world, where most e-commerce sales occur on mobile, we need to ensure that there is sufficient touch target size between elements. This enables users to interact with elements on the store with ease and helps with checkout conversions.
Visible Focus: Provide a visible focus outline for elements when users navigate the store using a keyboard.
Links and Buttons: Ensure that links and buttons are properly distinguished with appropriate hover, focus, and active states.
Semantic HTML Structure: Use proper heading hierarchy (H1, H2, H3, etc.) and semantic HTML elements like <nav>, <main>, <section>, and <article> to create a logical document structure for screen readers.
Alternative Text for Images: Provide meaningful alt text for all product images, decorative images should have empty alt attributes, and complex images should have detailed descriptions.
Keyboard Navigation: Ensure all interactive elements are accessible via keyboard navigation using Tab, Enter, Space, and arrow keys where appropriate.
Screen Reader Compatibility: Use proper ARIA labels, landmarks, and live regions to ensure screen readers can effectively communicate page content and changes to users.
Form Accessibility: Include proper labels, error messages, and instructions for all form fields, and provide a clear indication of required fields.
Color Independence: Never rely solely on color to convey important information; always provide additional visual or textual cues.

How to Scope an Accessibility Audit for Your Shopify Store

When your eCommerce website has thousands of pages, there’s no need to test every single one for accessibility failures. Since most pages are template-based and built using reusable components, we can efficiently scope an accessibility audit by focusing on key page types that represent your site’s overall experience.

Homepage
This is the first page users see when they visit your website, so it should be easy to navigate and understand. Audit the navigation menu, search bar, and any links or buttons on the page.
Product Category Pages
These pages display lists of products in a specific category. Audit the filters, sorting options, and all links or buttons. If the category page uses a “Split Product” layout, ensure that each product is still fully accessible.
Product Pages
Product pages are critical in eCommerce. Audit product descriptions, images, and any forms or input fields. If products have multiple options or variations, make sure these are accessible to all users.
Shopping Cart and Checkout Pages
These pages drive conversions. Audit the entire checkout process, including all forms and fields required to complete a purchase.
Store Locator
If your site includes a store locator, audit the search functionality, map display, and all interactive elements like links and buttons.
Login and Account Management Pages
These pages allow users to sign up, log in, and manage their accounts. Audit the login process, password recovery, and related forms or fields.
Contact and Support Pages
These pages are essential for providing help. Audit contact forms, displayed email addresses, and any links or support-related buttons.

While the above scope provides a solid start for manual accessibility testing of Shopify websites, running automated tools for continuous monitoring is also valuable. Automated accessibility tools typically detect only about 30% of accessibility issues, but they offer quick wins and help identify common failures early, making it easier to mitigate them before they impact users.

Critical Shopify Component Accessibility Failures

Here are some manual accessibility failures commonly found in a Shopify store.

Product Filters

Product filters are key for any eCommerce store, as users often sort products by color, size, price, and more. However, many eCommerce stores have product filters that either don’t work properly or are not programmed semantically.

From my experience as a person with a visual disability, most Shopify stores struggle with inaccessible product filters. In some cases, the entire product filter section is completely unusable with screen readers.

Here are some common accessibility problems with product filters in a Shopify store:

Common Failures:

Filter checkboxes lack proper programmatic labels
Filter groups missing semantic structure (fieldset/legend)
No keyboard navigation between filter options
Filter state changes don’t announce to screen readers
Clear/reset buttons lack descriptive text
Price range sliders are inaccessible to keyboard users

Solutions to Implement:

Wrap filter groups in <fieldset> with descriptive <legend> elements
Use proper <label> elements associated with form controls
Implement ARIA live regions to announce the filter results
Add keyboard navigation for custom controls
Provide skip links to bypass lengthy filter lists
Use role=”group” for related filter options

Search Functionality:

We all use the search functionality on a website at least once, and in an eCommerce store with thousands of products, search plays a key role in helping users find what they’re looking for. When search is not accessible to people with disabilities, it creates barriers to navigation and also reduces productivity for users with disabilities.

Here are some common accessibility failures in the search functionality of Shopify stores:

Common Failures:

Search input lacks proper labels or uses a placeholder as a label
The search suggestions dropdown is not keyboard accessible
Auto-complete results are not announced to screen readers
No way to dismiss search suggestions with the Escape key
Search results page lacks proper heading structure
Loading states are not communicated to assistive technologies

Solutions to Implement:

Use explicit <label> for search input, not just placeholder text
Implement ARIA combobox pattern for search with autocomplete
Add aria-live=”polite” for search result announcements
Provide clear instructions for search interaction
Use proper heading hierarchy for search results
Add loading indicators with aria-busy and screen reader text

Ratings and Reviews

Purchasing a product on an eCommerce website rarely happens without reading reviews or checking product ratings. Ratings and reviews play a crucial role in decision-making. However, many ratings and review widgets embedded in eCommerce or Shopify stores are not fully accessible, making it difficult for people with disabilities to perceive this important information.

Here are some common accessibility failures and possible fixes for ratings and review widgets:

Common Failures:

Star ratings are displayed as decorative images without alternative text
Rating values are not accessible to screen readers
Review form lacks proper validation and error messaging
No keyboard access to rating input controls
Helpful/unhelpful buttons lack descriptive labels
Review pagination is not properly labeled

Solutions to Implement:

Use text-based star ratings with aria-label (e.g., “4 out of 5 stars”)
Implement rating input using radio buttons or custom controls with proper ARIA
Add comprehensive form validation with clear error messages
Use role=”img” with aria-label for star rating displays
Provide descriptive button text like “Mark this review as helpful.”
Implement proper pagination with descriptive link text

Quantity Selection

Here are some common failures and fixes for quantity widgets:

Common Failures:

Plus/minus buttons lack accessible names
Quantity input field is not properly labeled
No feedback when quantity limits are reached
Custom quantity selectors are not keyboard accessible
Quantity changes don’t update cart totals accessibly

Solutions to Implement:

Use aria-label on increment/decrement buttons (“Increase quantity”, “Decrease quantity”)
Associate quantity input with visible label using for attribute
Implement min/max validation with clear error messages
Add ARIA live regions for quantity change confirmations
Use aria-describedby to link quantity limits information
Ensure custom controls follow button or spinbutton ARIA patterns

Shopping Cart

The shopping cart is the most important screen on an eCommerce website. Imagine being able to add products, select color, size, and quantity—but then not being able to use the shopping cart itself. If the cart is inaccessible, the entire user flow is broken, creating barriers for people with disabilities.

Here are some common failures and fixes for shopping carts:

Common Failures:

Cart items table lacks proper headers and structure
Remove Item buttons use generic text like “X” or icons only
Cart total updates don’t announce to screen readers
Empty cart state is not properly communicated
Checkout button lacks sufficient contrast or touch target size
Cart drawer/modal is not properly contained for keyboard users

Solutions to Implement:

Use proper <table> structure with <th> elements and scope attributes
Add descriptive text to remove buttons: “Remove [Product Name] from cart”
Implement ARIA live regions for cart updates and total changes
Use proper heading structure and descriptive text for an empty cart
Ensure the checkout button meets contrast and touch target requirements
Implement focus trapping and proper modal semantics for cart drawers

Product Images and Gallery

eCommerce stores are highly visual in nature and often contain thousands of images. Imagine if all these images lacked alt text–this would severely impact people with disabilities who rely on assistive technologies.

Here are some common failures and fixes for product images and galleries:

Common Failures:

Product images lack descriptive alternative text
Image zoom functionality is not keyboard accessible
Gallery navigation buttons are unlabeled
No indication of the current image in the carousel
Thumbnail images are missing proper focus indicators

Solutions to Implement:

Write descriptive alt text focusing on product features visible in images
Add keyboard support for zoom (Enter/Space to activate, arrow keys to pan)
Label gallery navigation with “Previous image” and “Next image”
Use aria-current=”true” on active thumbnails
Implement visible focus indicators on all interactive elements
Provide text alternatives for 360° product views

Checkout Process

The checkout flow is the most important step in the entire eCommerce journey. If users cannot complete the checkout process, it means they are unable to purchase the product. Since the checkout flow is the final step in the journey, it must be fully accessible and usable for all users, including people with disabilities.

Here are some common failures and fixes for checkout flows:

Common Failures:

Multi-step checkout lacks progress indicators
Form validation errors are not properly announced
Payment method selection is not accessible
Address autocomplete interferes with screen readers
Required field indicators rely solely on color
Error summaries are either missing or poorly implemented

Solutions to Implement:

Add progress indicators with proper ARIA labels and step information
Use aria-describedby to link error messages with form fields
Implement proper radio button groups for payment methods
Test address autocomplete with screen readers and provide alternatives
Use text indicators for required fields (not just asterisks)
Create comprehensive error summaries with links to problematic fields

Testing Recommendations

Testing your eCommerce or Shopify store doesn’t have to be a difficult task. There are some simple accessibility checks that you, as a store owner, or your QA team can quickly perform.

Here are a few quick accessibility checks:

Automated Testing: Use tools like axe-core, WAVE, or Lighthouse accessibility audits
Keyboard Testing: Navigate your entire store using only the keyboard
Screen Reader Testing: Test with NVDA (Windows), VoiceOver (Mac), or JAWS
Color Contrast Testing: Use tools like WebAIM’s Contrast Checker
Mobile Accessibility: Test touch targets and zoom functionality on mobile devices
User Testing: Include users with disabilities in your testing process

Implementation Priority

Once you have the accessibility audit results of your eCommerce or Shopify store, the next step is to fix the accessibility failures. Here is a roadmap on how to prioritize accessibility in your store and provide a seamless experience for all your users.

High Priority (Immediate):

Keyboard navigation
Screen reader compatibility
Form accessibility
Color contrast

Medium Priority (Next Sprint):

Touch targets
Focus indicators
Image alt text
Error handling

Lower Priority (Future Improvements):

Advanced ARIA implementations
Enhanced mobile features
Progressive enhancements

Conclusion

Making your eCommerce or Shopify store accessible doesn’t have to be difficult. By following the guidance in this article and adopting accessibility best practices, you can create a shopping experience that works for everyone — including people with disabilities. Accessibility is not just about compliance; it’s about opening your store to all users, building trust, and ensuring no customer is left behind.

If you’d like expert help in auditing or fixing accessibility issues in your Shopify or eCommerce store, reach out to DigitalA11Y. Our team can guide you through audits, remediation, and ongoing monitoring so your store delivers a truly seamless and inclusive experience for all shoppers.

Explore Shopify Accessibility Services

Shopify Accessibility Guide: WCAG Compliance for E-commerce Stores

Accessibility Laws

Accessible Shopify Themes

Essential Shopify Theme Accessibility Requirements

How to Scope an Accessibility Audit for Your Shopify Store