Our Shopify WCAG compliance services test your store against WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 Level AA and fix what we find. We test by hand with keyboard navigation and screen readers, map every issue to a specific success criterion, and handle Shopify WCAG remediation in your theme's own code rather than with an overlay widget.
Every engagement starts with a free audit, so you see exactly what is wrong before you commit to any remediation work. This page is about meeting the WCAG standard itself. For US legal context see Shopify ADA compliance, and for EU stores the European Accessibility Act.
Shopify WCAG Compliance and Remediation Pricing
We help Shopify stores identify and fix WCAG accessibility issues directly in the theme code.
Starter WCAG Fix
Quick WCAG remediation for your homepage and key pages.
- Free WCAG accessibility audit
- Automated + manual issue review
- Homepage WCAG remediation
- Button, link, and label fixes
- Image alt text optimization
- Color contrast fixes
- Keyboard navigation check
- WCAG summary report
Core WCAG Remediation
Full site WCAG 2.1 AA and WCAG 2.2 AA focused remediation across key Shopify templates and pages.
- Everything in Starter, plus:
- Free WCAG audit
- Duplicate theme setup
- Product page fixes
- Collection page fixes
- Cart and search drawer accessibility
- Navigation and filter improvements
- Product card and "Add to Cart" labels
- Forms and error-message improvements
- Alt text optimization
- Keyboard-only testing
- NVDA screen reader testing
- Post-fix verification summary
Full WCAG Accessibility Sprint
Comprehensive WCAG 2.1 AA and WCAG 2.2 AA remediation with complete documentation.
- Everything in Core Remediation, plus:
- Full site template audit
- WCAG 2.1 AA and 2.2 AA issue review
- All templates remediation
- Homepage, product, collection templates
- Cart, search, contact, account pages
- Forms and checkout entry optimization
- Modals, drawers, filters, dynamic elements
- Color contrast fixes (theme CSS)
- Mobile accessibility review
- Accessibility statement guidance
- Post-fix validation report
- 30 days of post-launch support
Understanding WCAG Standards
WCAG, or Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, is the international standard for making web content more accessible to people with disabilities. WCAG 2.1 AA is still one of the most widely recognized accessibility benchmarks used by businesses, agencies, auditors, and legal teams. WCAG 2.2 AA is the newer version and adds additional requirements on top of WCAG 2.1 for more modern web and mobile experiences. Because WCAG 2.2 builds on WCAG 2.1, our Shopify accessibility remediation process is designed to support both: the widely recognized WCAG 2.1 AA baseline and the newer WCAG 2.2 AA standard. We help you meet these standards through native code remediation, not overlays or widgets.
- WCAG 2.1 AA: Current standard (most common)
- WCAG 2.2 AA: Updated standard (includes new requirements)
- 4 key principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust
- 50+ success criteria to address
- Native code fixes = real, lasting compliance
Not sure where to start? Get a free WCAG audit to understand your store's baseline. View our full pricing →
What Our Shopify WCAG Compliance Service Includes
Each engagement covers the full customer journey, not just the pages a scanner can reach.
Testing
- Manual WCAG testing against 2.1 and 2.2 Level AA criteria
- Automated testing with axe, WAVE and Lighthouse for coverage
- Keyboard and navigation testing across menus, modals and drawers
What we test
- Forms and interactive elements including variant selectors and search
- Theme and code accessibility in your Liquid, CSS and JavaScript
- Third-party Shopify apps tested individually
- Checkout accessibility from cart drawer to checkout
Outcome
- Remediation guidance with a recommended fix for every issue
- Retesting of each fix using the method that found it
- A written record of what was found, changed and verified
If you only want the assessment, a standalone Shopify accessibility audit covers the testing and reporting without the remediation.
Shopify WCAG Compliance Audit vs Remediation
Three distinct stages. Knowing which one you are buying makes quotes easier to compare.
| Stage | What it does | What you receive |
|---|---|---|
| Audit | Identifies and documents WCAG issues | Findings mapped to success criteria, ranked by impact |
| Remediation | Fixes the issues in your theme code | Corrected theme, published only after your approval |
| Retesting | Verifies each fix actually works | A written verification record |
Remediation without an audit means fixing whatever happens to be visible rather than what actually blocks customers. Retesting matters because fixes can break other things; focus handling added to one modal often affects others.
Why Shopify Stores Need WCAG Testing
Shopify provides a reasonable accessible foundation, but WCAG compliance depends on everything built on top of it. In our audits, failures cluster in five places:
Theme code
Custom CSS that removes focus indicators, colour schemes that fail 4.5:1 contrast (see color contrast accessibility for Shopify stores), and heading structures altered during design work.
Third-party apps
Popups, review widgets, chat and filter apps inject their own markup, and frequently introduce keyboard and screen reader failures.
JavaScript
Scripts that handle clicks but not keyboard events, or build controls from div elements with no accessible role or name.
Dynamic components
Cart updates, filter results and form errors that change the page without announcing it to screen reader users.
Checkout path
Cart drawers that never receive focus are the single most common barrier we find. Shopify checkout accessibility is tested as one complete journey.
What scanners miss
Automated tools catch roughly a third of WCAG failures. Focus order, keyboard traps and meaningful alt text all need a person to judge.
On plans below Shopify Plus, the checkout page itself cannot be edited. In practice that rarely matters, because customers are usually blocked before they reach it.
Standards We Test Against
We test against WCAG 2.1 Level AA, the standard US courts have consistently referenced in ADA cases, and WCAG 2.2 Level AA, the current W3C recommendation. Meeting 2.2 also satisfies 2.1, so there is no reason to target the older version alone.
The ADA itself names no technical standard, but WCAG is how accessibility is measured in practice. For US legal context see our Shopify ADA compliance services; for stores selling into the EU, the European Accessibility Act rests on the same standard. For all 50 criteria in detail, see the Shopify WCAG checklist.
What WCAG 2.2 Adds for Shopify Stores
WCAG 2.2 keeps every WCAG 2.1 criterion except 4.1.1 Parsing, which it removed as obsolete, and adds six new criteria at Level A and AA. These are the ones that tend to matter on a Shopify store:
- 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum): sticky headers, cookie banners and chat widgets must not completely cover the element that has keyboard focus.
- 2.5.7 Dragging Movements: price sliders and image carousels that need a drag also need a single-pointer alternative.
- 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum): controls such as quantity steppers, close buttons and swatches need a target of at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels, or enough spacing around them.
- 3.2.6 Consistent Help: where you offer help, such as chat or a contact link, it should sit in the same place on each page.
- 3.3.7 Redundant Entry: customers should not have to retype information they already gave in the same checkout or form flow.
- 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication (Minimum): logging in must not depend on a cognitive test, such as remembering a password in a form that blocks pasting.
Our Shopify WCAG remediation tests and fixes these alongside the 2.1 criteria in the same engagement.
Our WCAG 2.1 AA and WCAG 2.2 AA Compliance Process
Achieving WCAG alignment requires systematic testing and remediation across your Shopify store. Here’s exactly how we do it.
Step 1: Comprehensive WCAG Audit
We test your Shopify store against WCAG 2.1 AA and WCAG 2.2 AA criteria using a combination of automated tools and manual testing. Automated tools (Axe, WAVE, Lighthouse) catch technical violations like missing alt text and color contrast failures. Manual testing with VoiceOver, NVDA, and keyboard-only navigation catches the experiential issues automated tools miss.
We test every template in your theme: homepage, product pages, collection pages, cart, checkout (as much as Shopify allows), search results, blog posts, and custom pages. We also test third-party apps and custom functionality to identify accessibility barriers anywhere in your customer journey.
You receive a detailed compliance report mapping every issue to its specific WCAG success criterion (e.g., "Insufficient color contrast on 'Add to Cart' button violates WCAG 1.4.3"). This report serves as both your remediation roadmap and documentation of due diligence if you ever face a legal claim. Learn more about our complete audit process.
Step 2: Prioritized Remediation Planning
Not every WCAG violation carries the same risk or impact. We prioritize issues into four tiers:
- Critical (Fix Immediately): Issues that completely block access or violate multiple WCAG criteria. Examples: keyboard focus traps in checkout, missing form labels on required fields, color contrast below 2:1.
- High Priority (Fix Within 30 Days): Significant barriers that affect many users. Examples: missing alt text on product images, keyboard navigation failures in main menu, poor color contrast on important CTAs.
- Medium Priority (Fix Within 90 Days): Issues that create friction but have workarounds. Examples: suboptimal heading structure, missing skip links, inconsistent focus indicators.
- Low Priority (Fix When Convenient): Minor improvements that enhance experience but don't create major barriers. Examples: redundant alt text that could be more descriptive, heading levels that skip but still make sense, minor contrast issues on decorative elements.
This prioritization ensures you address the highest-risk issues first, achieving substantial compliance quickly even if full remediation takes weeks.
Step 3: Native Code Remediation
Here's where we differ fundamentally from widget based solutions. We make permanent fixes directly in your Shopify theme's source code including Liquid templates, CSS stylesheets, and JavaScript files. These fixes become part of your theme and remain in place permanently (unless you change themes or deliberately modify the code).
Our native code fixes include:
- HTML Remediation: Adding semantic HTML5 elements (nav, main, footer, article), implementing proper heading hierarchy, adding ARIA landmarks for screen reader navigation, associating form labels with inputs using for/id attributes, and adding alt text to all images with meaningful descriptions.
- CSS Remediation: Adjusting color values to meet 4.5:1 contrast ratio minimum, adding visible focus indicators for keyboard navigation, ensuring text remains readable when zoomed to 200%, fixing responsive breakpoints that break on mobile devices, and removing CSS that hides content from screen readers inadvertently.
- JavaScript Remediation: Fixing keyboard event handlers (ensuring Enter key works, not just mouse click), implementing proper focus management for modals and drawers, adding ARIA live regions to announce dynamic content updates, ensuring custom components maintain keyboard tab order, and making Ajax interactions accessible to screen readers.
All fixes are implemented in a development copy of your theme first, thoroughly tested, then deployed to your live store only after verification. We never touch your live theme until we're certain the fixes work correctly. Read more about our Native Code Remediation approach.
Step 4: Testing and Verification
After implementing fixes, we conduct comprehensive verification testing:
- Screen reader testing with VoiceOver and NVDA to confirm blind users can navigate successfully
- Keyboard-only navigation testing of every interactive element
- Automated scanning to verify technical compliance
- Cross-browser testing (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge)
- Mobile testing (iOS and Android)
- Checkout transaction testing (complete a real order using only keyboard and screen reader)
We document all verification testing in a compliance report showing before/after states for each WCAG criterion. This documentation proves you've taken reasonable steps to achieve accessibility, which can be valuable if you ever face a legal claim.
Step 5: Accessibility Statement and Documentation
After remediation, we can help you prepare an accessibility statement for your Shopify store. This statement documents:
- Your commitment to accessibility
- The WCAG standards used for review
- The testing you've performed
- When the site was last evaluated
- Contact information for reporting new issues
- Known limitations (if any, particularly in Shopify's locked checkout)
This accessibility statement serves three purposes: it demonstrates good faith efforts to accommodate users with disabilities, it provides a point of contact for customers who encounter issues, and it documents your compliance efforts for legal protection.
Step 6: Ongoing Compliance Guidance
WCAG compliance isn't a one time achievement as you need to maintain it as your store evolves. We provide guidance on how to maintain compliance when:
- Adding new product pages (use our alt text guidelines)
- Installing new Shopify apps (test for accessibility before activating)
- Updating your theme (request our review of changes)
- Running promotional campaigns (ensure popups and banners are accessible)
- Creating new content (follow WCAG-compliant content guidelines)
For stores that need ongoing support, our Custom/Enterprise plan includes quarterly re-testing, monthly monitoring for new issues, and priority support when you're unsure if a change will affect accessibility.
Native Code Rather Than Overlays
Accessibility overlay widgets run in the browser after your page loads. They do not change the underlying code, so barriers can remain for anyone whose assistive technology the overlay does not successfully intercept. They are also a recurring cost, typically several hundred dollars a year indefinitely.
We fix issues in the theme itself through native code accessibility remediation. If you already run an overlay, we audit with it disabled, fix what is underneath, then remove it. More on widget removal.
Request a Shopify WCAG Compliance Audit
Start with a free homepage audit. You get a recorded walkthrough within 24 hours showing exactly where a customer gets stuck and which WCAG criteria are affected.
Request a Shopify WCAG compliance auditShopify WCAG Compliance FAQs
Q: What is Shopify WCAG remediation, and how is it different from an audit?
A: An audit finds and documents the WCAG failures on your store. Shopify WCAG remediation fixes them in your theme's Liquid, CSS and JavaScript, then retests each fix. Most stores need both, and you can buy the audit first and decide on remediation afterwards. See our Shopify accessibility audit if you only want the assessment.
Q: What’s the difference between WCAG 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2?
A: WCAG 2.1 (published June 2018) includes all of WCAG 2.0 plus 17 additional success criteria focused on mobile accessibility, low vision, and cognitive disabilities. WCAG 2.2 (published October 2023) adds 9 more criteria on top of 2.1. Each version is backward compatible meeting 2.1 means you meet 2.0, and meeting 2.2 means you meet 2.1.
Currently, most courts and regulations require WCAG 2.1 Level AA. WCAG 2.2 Level AA is the newest standard but isn't yet widely mandated. We recommend meeting 2.1 AA as the legal baseline, with 2.2 as a future enhancement.
Q: How long does WCAG remediation take?
A: Our Starter plan takes 3 to 5 business days (homepage and key pages). The Core plan takes 5 to 7 business days across the key templates, and the Full Sprint takes 7 to 10 business days across all templates. Custom/Enterprise timelines vary with complexity and are quoted after scoping.
The timeline depends on your store's size (number of templates, products, custom pages), theme complexity (vanilla Dawn vs heavily customized theme), third-party apps (each app must be tested), and custom functionality.
Q: Will WCAG fixes break my theme or change how it looks?
A: Rarely. 95% of WCAG fixes are invisible to sighted users and they improve the underlying code without changing visual design. Examples: adding alt text to images, fixing heading hierarchy, adding ARIA labels, improving keyboard navigation.
The few changes that affect visual design are improvements for everyone: increasing color contrast, making focus indicators visible, enlarging touch targets on mobile. We're careful to preserve your brand identity while achieving compliance.
Q: Do I need to meet WCAG if I only sell in the US?
A: Yes. While WCAG is an international standard, US courts use WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the measure of ADA Title III compliance for websites. The Department of Justice has explicitly endorsed WCAG as the standard for web accessibility in ADA guidance documents and legal briefs.
Even though there's no official federal regulation mandating WCAG for private businesses (yet), courts consistently rule that websites must meet WCAG 2.1 AA to be considered ADA-compliant.
Q: What if Shopify's checkout is locked and I can't fix it?
A: This is a common concern. Shopify's standard checkout has limited customization options to maintain PCI compliance and fraud prevention. Shopify Plus offers more control with checkout.liquid customization.
We document all checkout accessibility issues and clearly indicate which are within your control and which are Shopify's responsibility. In legal cases, courts have held that store owners are only liable for elements they can control. Learn more about our Checkout Accessibility service.
Q: Can I do WCAG remediation myself, or do I need a developer?
A: Some WCAG fixes you can implement yourself with basic Shopify knowledge: adding alt text to product images via admin, adjusting some color values in theme settings, and improving content structure and heading usage.
However, most WCAG remediation requires editing theme files (Liquid templates, CSS, JavaScript): fixing keyboard navigation, implementing proper focus management, adding ARIA attributes, correcting heading hierarchy in theme code, and modifying checkout (on Plus plans).
Q: How do I maintain WCAG compliance after remediation?
A: Once we achieve WCAG compliance, your fixes are permanent in your theme code. However, you need to maintain compliance as your store evolves. We provide maintenance documentation with every project. For stores that need hands-on support, our Custom/Enterprise plan includes quarterly re-testing and monthly monitoring to catch new issues automatically.
Q: Is WCAG compliance the same as ADA compliance?
A: WCAG is the technical standard; ADA is the law. ADA Title III prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities but doesn't specify technical requirements for websites. Courts use WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the measure of whether a website is ADA-compliant.
Think of it this way: ADA says "your website must be accessible to people with disabilities." WCAG says "here are 50 specific technical criteria that define accessibility." Courts say "if you meet WCAG 2.1 AA, you've met ADA requirements."
So while they're technically different, in practical terms: WCAG 2.1 AA compliance = ADA compliance for websites. Learn more about our ADA Compliance service.
Related Shopify Accessibility Services
Shopify Accessibility Audit
Manual testing and a prioritised report, without the remediation.
Shopify ADA Compliance Services
Audit and remediation for stores selling to customers in the US.
Native Code Accessibility
Fixes written into your theme rather than layered on with a widget.
Shopify Checkout Accessibility
The cart drawer, cart page and checkout path fixed as one journey.
EAA Compliance for Ecommerce
The European Accessibility Act rests on the same WCAG work, for stores selling to EU consumers.
VPAT and ACR Report Services
A formal conformance report against WCAG for buyers who require one.
Request a Shopify WCAG Compliance Audit
Ready to find out if your Shopify store meets WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards and what it would take to achieve compliance?
Request our free WCAG mini-audit and receive a personalized Loom video within 24 hours testing your homepage against key WCAG success criteria. We'll show you specific violations, demonstrate how they affect users with disabilities, and explain the legal risk each one poses.
No credit card required. No pressure. No sales calls. Just honest assessment from WCAG compliance specialists who focus exclusively on Shopify stores.
Request Free WCAG AuditOr view our full compliance services if you're ready to begin WCAG remediation.