Common Accessibility Issues in Shopify Stores (How to Fix Them?)

In Shopify stores, accessibility means ensuring that every client can navigate, comprehend, and utilize your site without difficulties due to their skills. This involves the customers with visual, auditory, cognitive, or mobility disabilities. There is more to accessibility than a moral sense; it is essential to take care of it since it is a part of your business.

As it is legal, SEO and usability directly affect your business in terms of growth and development. The act of non-compliance may result in lawsuits according to legislation such as ADA, WCAG, or EAA. Simultaneously, the perfected accessibility will enable your store to perform better in search, earn the trust of your customers, and increase conversions.

Research indicates that more than 16% of the world population has disabilities, and most of them utilize assistive technologies to purchase their goods online. By eliminating accessibility barriers, you enable your store to be used by millions of potential consumers.

To take the initiative further, feel free to read more about Shopify accessibility audits so that you will be able to rest assured that your shop is fully accessible to everyone.

Importance of Accessibility of Shopify Stores

The accessibility should not be limited to some box checking. It is more about providing an inclusive experience to all visitors, which directly translates into increased engagement and conversions. Read on to see why it is something your Shopify store should get serious about.

Legal Requirements

The problem with Shopify ADA complaints is that they may put your business at risk if left unaddressed. The online accessibility standards are universally dictated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and the European Accessibility Act (EAA). Unless your shop complies with these demands, it may face legal action, fines, and negative publicity.

Business Benefits

The solution to difficulties with accessibility of Shopify websites is not the sole advantage. The stores are easily accessible, allowing more people, including those who use keyboards and screen readers, to reach them. Search engines also attach importance to the clear structure of a site and elements of description, and you gain more favorable results under the condition of SEO. Ease of access develops trust and loyalty, which is a major determinant of business repeat.

To ensure a comprehensive legal and functional assessment, our Shopify ADA compliance audit checks your store for compliance with the most recent accessibility requirements, providing a user-friendly shopping experience that suits everyone.

Common accessibility issues in Shopify stores and Solution

Even the most attractive Shopify themes may have accessibility mistakes. The most common problems and their solution are presented below.

Missing or Incorrect Alt Text in images

In the absence of a descriptive alt, the visually challenged audience is unable to cognize the contents of images. There are also lost worthy SEO signals by the search engines. The solution is simple: add appropriate and descriptive alt text to all products, banners, and icons. That will make sure that assistive technologies and search bots can make sense of the images.

Ineffective Color Contrast in Theme Design

It is difficult to read the contents of your text when there is a low difference between the text and background, especially for users with visual impairments. WCAG suggests a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for regular text. Whether the color schemes in your store can be read or not, test it and manipulate them. This may imply the darkening of writing colors and the lightening of the back color, which would not affect your brand style.

Limitations of keyboard Navigation

Some customers are unable to use a mouse due to mobility issues and rely on keyboards exclusively. These users can drop off at your store right away, should it not be fully accessible, even with the Tab key. Solve this by including skip links and actual focus indicators and maintaining a proper tab order throughout your pages.

Checkout and Form Accessibility Problems

Lack of annotations on the form fields, vague descriptions of errors, and the absence of ARIA labels are among the most frequently discovered accessibility issues in the Shopify themes. These factors annoy the shoppers and cause cart abandonment. Apply the correct HTML markup to forms, make instructions clear, and show comprehensible error messages.

Mobile accessibility inequalities

Many Shopify stores do not permit zooming, or their touch targets are so small that they cannot enable mobile users with disabilities to interact with the site. Use a responsive design, enable pinch-to-zoom for zooming, and ensure clickable elements are large enough to tap without fail.

How to Test and Fix Shopify Accessibility Issues?

It is possible to prevent expensive repairs by detecting the problem at an early stage. Testing the accessibility of your Shopify store can be done manually or by using automated applications.

Manual and Automatic tools

Automatic checkers such as Wave, Axe, and Lighthouse can help identify possible Shopify WCAG non-compliance areas at blistering speed. Nonetheless, manual testing is still needed concerning user experience testing, screen reader compatibility, and testing the more complex interactions.

Ordinary Testing Process

Complete automated checks on an ad hoc basis to provide a review of ease of accessibility mistakes

Run automated scans for a quick overview of accessibility errors
Test with a keyboard to identify navigation issues
Use a screen reader to simulate the experience of visually impaired users
Review all alt text, labels, and contrast ratios
Document findings and prioritize fixes based on impact

To be more detailed, in our Shopify accessibility audit, we conduct both automated and manual verification to make sure that we do not miss anything.

When to Consider a Professional Shopify Accessibility Audit?

Granted that there are the correct tools, there are problems that need an expert level of interpretation to handle.

Advantages of Professional Audits

The professional knows the means of estimating compliance with the preservation of brand style and store functionality. They deliver straightforward, actionable reports and focus on identifying the best potential investment.

Prevention of Customer Complaints and Lawsuits

There is an increased consternation of accessibility lawsuits, particularly in e-commerce. Sharing economy Businesses of the Shopify storefront cannot afford to be left behind legal risks as well as all customers are provided with an enjoyable shopping experience.

Our Shopify compliance audit revealed lurking accessibility errors and provided a comprehensive roadmap for achieving compliance and usability.

Get Expert Help for Your Shopify Accessibility Needs

The issue of accessibility may damage your relations with customers and the overall brand. When you’re unsure about the requirements of the Shopify store accessibility checklist or need help with complicated repairs, CartCoders can provide comprehensive services from start to finish.

Problem-Solving Approach

Many Shopify store owners are unaware that their themes contain accessibility gaps until they receive complaints or face legal threats. We address this with thorough Shopify accessibility audits, which highlight all the problems and provide detail by detailed solutions.

What We Deliver

Our audit services include WCAG/ADA compliance testing, assistive technology testing, and actionable recommendations. We not only tell you what is wrong, but we also help you straighten it out. From alt text to complicated form validation, our team does it all to make sure your store has full accessibility.

Conclusion

Accessibility issues on your Shopify websites are more than a mere technological hitch; they are something that keeps real people from going forth with your brand. Correcting them makes your store more usable and increases SEO, avoiding legal dangers. Active auditing offers the best method to identify and rectify the errors of accessibility before they cause a dent in the sales or reputation.

CartCoders is the best Shopify app development company, focusing on professional Shopify website accessibility services that address all implications of the Shopify ADA compliance audit. Our team of web experts helps shape the ideal web accessibility audit, enabling a store to become fully inclusive. By counting on CartCoders, you will not only ensure legal compliance but also allow yourself to open your store to more customers, as well as ensure a higher level of trust and conversions.

Do you need your Shopify store to be truly accessible and, at the same time, look good and be easy to navigate? Reach out to CartCoders and address Shopify WCAG compliance issues. Every customer is entitled to an inclusive shopping experience, and it is our role to bring that to them.

Contact CartCoders now and schedule your full Shopify accessibility audit to build a store that works for everyone.

Categorized in:

Accessibility

Common Accessibility Issues in Shopify Stores (and How to Fix Them)

Shopify Accessibility Without Breaking Design