EAA Guide
Shopify Store Accessibility Checklist for EAA & WCAG Compliance (2026)
The fastest way to make a Shopify store meet the European Accessibility Act is to fix the WCAG 2.1 Level AA basics: image alt text, colour contrast, keyboard operation, form labels, visible focus, and a clear heading structure. This checklist walks through each one with the exact Shopify setting to change.
If you have already confirmed the EAA applies to you, this is the "so what do I actually fix?" guide. Not sure whether the law applies to your store yet? Read: Does your online store need to comply with the EAA? first, then come back here.
Start by finding out where you stand
Before you change anything, scan your store so you are fixing real issues, not guessing. Paste any page into a free accessibility scanner and you get a plain-English list ranked by severity — then work down the checklist below.
1. Images & media
☐ Add descriptive alt text to every product and content image
Why: Screen readers announce alt text; without it a shopper hears nothing where your product photo is.
In Shopify: Set alt text per image in the product editor (click the image → Edit alt text) and in the Theme editor for banners.
☐ Mark purely decorative images as decorative (empty alt)
Why: Decorative graphics with descriptive alt text create noise that slows screen-reader users down.
In Shopify: Leave the alt field empty for background flourishes and spacer images so assistive tech skips them.
☐ Give videos captions and don't autoplay with sound
Why: Captions serve deaf and hard-of-hearing shoppers; forced audio is disorienting and fails WCAG.
In Shopify: Upload a caption track for hosted video, and turn off autoplay-with-sound in the section settings.
2. Color & contrast
☐ Ensure text meets 4.5:1 contrast against its background (3:1 for large text)
Why: Low-contrast sale prices and buttons are unreadable for low-vision shoppers — a very common failure.
In Shopify: Check your theme's accent and sale-price colors against their backgrounds; adjust the palette in Theme settings → Colors.
☐ Never rely on color alone to signal meaning
Why: "Items in red are out of stock" is invisible to color-blind users.
In Shopify: Pair color with text or an icon (e.g. add a "Sold out" label, not just a red dot).
3. Keyboard & focus
☐ Make every action reachable and operable with the keyboard alone
Why: Many disabled shoppers never use a mouse; if "Add to cart" needs a click, they cannot buy.
In Shopify: Tab through a product page start to finish — menu, variants, add-to-cart, cart drawer. Anything you can't reach needs a theme fix.
☐ Keep a visible focus outline on the currently focused element
Why: Without it, keyboard users can't tell where they are on the page.
In Shopify: Avoid themes or custom CSS that set outline:none. If yours does, restore a clear focus style.
☐ Make sure dropdowns, drawers, and pop-ups can be closed with the keyboard
Why: A cart drawer or newsletter modal that traps focus blocks the whole checkout.
In Shopify: Test that Esc closes overlays and focus returns to where it was; report trapping modals to the app or theme developer.
4. Forms & checkout
☐ Give every input a real, programmatic label
Why: Placeholder text is not a label — screen readers may not announce it, and it disappears on typing.
In Shopify: Search, newsletter, and contact forms are the usual offenders. Ensure each field has a visible <label>.
☐ Announce errors clearly and tie them to the field
Why: "Something went wrong" with no field reference leaves screen-reader users stuck at checkout.
In Shopify: Shopify's native checkout handles most of this; audit any custom form apps you have added.
5. Structure & navigation
☐ Use one H1 per page and a logical heading order
Why: Screen-reader users navigate by headings; a broken outline makes the page hard to scan.
In Shopify: Keep the product title as the H1; don't pick heading levels just for their font size.
☐ Provide a "skip to content" link and consistent navigation
Why: It lets keyboard users jump past the menu instead of tabbing through it on every page.
In Shopify: Most modern themes include a skip link; confirm yours does and that the main nav is consistent site-wide.
6. Text & links
☐ Write link text that makes sense on its own
Why: Screen readers can list all links out of context; twenty "Read more" links are useless.
In Shopify: Use descriptive text like "View the running-shoe range" instead of "Click here".
☐ Let text resize and reflow up to 200% without breaking layout
Why: Low-vision shoppers zoom in; content that gets cut off or overlaps fails WCAG.
In Shopify: Zoom your store to 200% in the browser and check product and checkout pages still work.
A word on accessibility apps and overlays
It is tempting to install a one-click accessibility widget and call it done. Do not. Overlays do not make a store compliant, they can interfere with the assistive technology shoppers already use, and they have themselves been the target of legal complaints. There is no shortcut around fixing the underlying issues in your theme and content.
Verify your fixes
After you work through the list, scan the three pages where EU shoppers most often get stuck — your homepage, a product page, and your checkout — and confirm the high-severity issues are gone.
FAQ
Can a Shopify accessibility app or overlay make my store compliant?
No. Accessibility overlays and one-click widgets do not make a store compliant and have been the subject of legal complaints themselves. Real compliance comes from fixing the underlying WCAG issues in your theme and content, not from a script layered on top.
Which Shopify themes are the most accessible?
Shopify's own free themes (such as Dawn) are built with accessibility in mind and are a strong starting point, but no theme is compliant out of the box once you add your own content, images, and apps. Treat the theme as a foundation, then run this checklist.
Do I need to fix third-party apps too?
Yes. Pop-ups, review widgets, cookie banners, and custom form apps often introduce keyboard traps and unlabelled controls. Anything a shopper interacts with is part of your accessibility obligation, regardless of who built it.
How often should I re-check accessibility?
Re-scan whenever you change your theme, add an app, or launch a new page type, and do a quick full pass a few times a year. Accessibility drifts as a store evolves, so periodic checks catch regressions early.
Does fixing accessibility help sales and SEO as well as compliance?
Yes. Many accessibility fixes — clear structure, descriptive links and alt text, readable contrast, keyboard support — also improve SEO and reduce friction for every shopper, so the work pays back beyond avoiding legal risk.
This checklist is general information, not legal advice, and automated scanning detects only a portion of accessibility barriers. For obligations specific to your business, consult a qualified professional in the relevant EU market.