Updated September 2026
Your store should work for everyone who wants to buy from it, including people who use a screen reader, navigate with a keyboard, zoom their screen, or can't tell red from green. Accessibility is also no longer only good practice: in the EU, the European Accessibility Act has applied to many online shops since June 28, 2025.
Shopify gives you a good starting point. Building a store that people with visual, hearing, motor or cognitive disabilities can use comfortably still takes some care, and most of it is in your hands.
Why accessibility matters for your store
If your store can't be used with a keyboard alone, if images have no alt text, or if text is too pale to read, some customers simply can't buy from you. Fixing that grows the number of people who can, and the same fixes help everyone else too: clearer forms, readable text on a phone in the sun, and page structure that search engines understand.
The European Accessibility Act covers ecommerce services sold to consumers in the EU. Microenterprises (fewer than 10 employees and no more than €2 million in annual turnover or balance sheet) are exempt from its service requirements. If you sell into the EU and you're bigger than that, it applies to you; if you're unsure, check with someone qualified.
What to focus on
Structure and headings
Screen reader users move around a page by its headings, so use them in order and don't skip levels. Each page should have one main heading, which your theme usually provides.
Keyboard navigation
Many people use a keyboard or another input device instead of a mouse. Every link, menu, button and form field, all the way through checkout, should be reachable with Tab and usable with Enter or Space, with a visible focus outline showing where you are. If you or a developer edit your theme's CSS, don't remove the focus styles.
Color contrast and text size
Shopify's guidance for themes: body and button text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background, and large text (24 px and up), icons and input borders at least 3:1. Body text should be at least 16 px. Links should be underlined or otherwise marked, not only by color.
Alt text, captions and transcripts
Add alt text to product images in the Shopify admin and to other images in the theme editor. Describe the image as if to someone with their eyes closed ("linen wrap dress in sage, shown from the front"), and leave purely decorative images empty. For videos with dialogue, add captions or a transcript on the page.
Forms and checkout
Every form field needs a visible label, not just placeholder text, and error messages should say what's wrong and how to fix it. Shopify's checkout is built and maintained by Shopify; the parts you control are your theme's cart, product forms, newsletter sign-ups and any apps you add.
A ten-minute check you can do today
Start with your best-selling product page and follow it through to checkout. Whatever you find there usually repeats across the store, because it comes from the same theme templates.
The benefits of an accessible store
- More people can buy. Removing barriers lets customers who were locked out finish their purchase.
- A better store for everyone. Clear labels, readable text and predictable navigation help every shopper, especially on a phone.
- Search engines understand it better. Good headings and alt text are also good SEO.
- Less legal risk. As more places write accessibility into law, a store that already meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is in a better position.
Where to go from here
Shopify's accessibility guidance for online stores and its theme accessibility best practices go into detail. For related fixes, see optimizing your store for mobile users, our beginner's guide to Shopify SEO, and how to find images missing alt text in Files. If you'd like a hand checking your theme, talk to us.