Free, any Shopify theme

Shopify Accessibility Checker

Scan a page of your Shopify store and see which accessibility issues come from your theme, your apps, your product content or your customizations, and where in Shopify to fix each one.

Theme sections
Apps and widgets
Product media
Collection grids
Cart and drawers
Announcement bars

Each page is rendered in a real browser and tested with axe-core against the machine-testable WCAG 2.2 Level A and AA success criteria. Automated testing does not replace a manual accessibility review.

The same checker, for Shopify stores

This page runs the free TagPipes Website Accessibility Checker: one page address, loaded in a real browser, tested with axe-core against the machine-testable WCAG 2.2 Level A and AA success criteria, reported in plain language. What is different here is the explanation around it, written for Shopify stores.

Where accessibility issues come from on a Shopify store

A storefront page is your theme plus everything apps and content add to it. The scan sees the finished page; knowing the layers tells you who fixes what.

1. The theme

Header, menus, product grid, product page sections, footer, colors and type. Themes listed in the Shopify Theme Store are reviewed against Shopify's accessibility requirements before they are listed, which is a useful floor. Customizing sections, colors and fonts in the theme editor can move a theme below that floor without anyone noticing.

2. Apps

Reviews, pop-ups, upsells, size guides, chat, wishlists, sticky add-to-cart bars and announcement bars each inject their own markup, often with icon-only buttons, missing labels and low-contrast badges. One app can add findings to every page of the store.

3. Product and collection content

Every product image has its own alt text field. Product descriptions bring their own headings and links. Collection images, blog posts and pages have the same fields. This layer is entirely in the merchant's hands.

4. Customizations and custom code

Theme code edits, custom Liquid sections, third-party page builders and scripts pasted into theme settings can remove labels, restyle focus outlines or replace a native button with a clickable div.

What the scan finds on a storefront page

The page is loaded in a real browser exactly as a shopper gets it, apps and all, and tested with axe-core against the machine-testable WCAG 2.2 A and AA criteria.

What this scan finds

Product, collection and banner images with no alt text
Variant pickers, quantity fields and search boxes without labels
Icon-only buttons with no name: cart, menu, wishlist, carousel arrows, close
Sale badges, announcement bars and footer text with too little contrast
Heading levels that skip, such as product titles or section headings styled as the wrong level
Cart drawers, quick-view modals and scrolling product carousels that keyboard users cannot reach
Missing landmarks and content outside them, often from app-injected bars
ARIA misuse in custom widgets, such as roles with missing required attributes

What needs a person

Whether product alt text describes the product, or just repeats its name
Whether variant selection, add to cart and the cart drawer work with a keyboard from start to finish
Whether pop-ups and cookie banners trap focus or steal it
Whether checkout can be completed with a screen reader
Whether error messages on forms and discount fields explain what to fix
Whether videos and size charts have text alternatives

Automated testing does not replace a manual accessibility review.

Where to fix common findings in Shopify

Most storefront findings are settings in the admin or the theme editor, not code.

1. Product image alt text

Products, open the product, click an image in Media, then Edit alt text. Describe the product as shown in that image; the product name alone repeats what the page already says. Collection and blog images have the same field.

2. Theme colors and contrast

Online Store, Themes, Customize, then Theme settings, Colors. Adjust text, button and badge colors until the report's measured ratio meets 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Check the announcement bar and footer separately; they often have their own settings.

3. Headings in sections and descriptions

Many sections let you choose the heading size independently of its level. Keep one h1 per page (the product or collection title), then h2 for sections. In product descriptions, use the editor's heading styles in order rather than bold text.

4. App buttons and widgets

Check the app's settings for label and color options first. If the app cannot be configured to pass, contact the developer with the finding, or remove it. The report lists exactly which elements the app is responsible for.

5. Icon buttons in the theme

Cart, menu and search icons should carry visually hidden text or an aria-label. Newer themes do this by default; if yours does not, it is a small theme code edit for a developer, or an update if the theme author has already fixed it.

6. Checkout

Checkout pages are rendered by Shopify. You control branding, colors and logo through checkout settings; the markup itself is Shopify's. Scan your storefront pages first, since that is where your changes take effect.

Which store pages to check

Check one page per template: the home page, a collection page, a product page, the cart, the search results page and a policy page. Findings in the header, navigation and footer repeat on every page, so fixing them once fixes them everywhere. Product pages are where shoppers decide, so scan the product templates you actually use, including any with custom sections.

If your store still has the storefront password page switched on, the scan will see the password page rather than your store. Scan the live storefront or a public preview link.

Frequently asked questions

TagPipes monitors, configures and reports. It does not determine legal compliance and does not provide legal advice. Output is informational and reflects observed state at the time of observation. Rawsoft's expertise is technology, not law; please confirm any regulatory interpretation with your own counsel.

One checker, the same real-browser scan, explained for the question you came with. Every report opens at the same place.

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