Shopify accessibility: what to check in your theme and apps

Is your Shopify shop covered?

Selling to consumers online is an e-commerce service. Since 28 June 2025, the European Accessibility Act, in Germany the BFSG, applies to it, whatever platform the shop runs on. Only microenterprises with fewer than ten employees and no more than €2 million in annual turnover or balance sheet total are exempt.

Shopify provides the platform, but the shop is yours: the theme you chose, the changes to it, the apps and the content.

What we find in Shopify shops

In test scans of well-known Shopify shops, the same errors came up again and again:

• Slider buttons without a name. The arrows of product sliders and image galleries are often just an icon, which a screen reader announces as "button".
• A visible label that differs from the name. A cart icon that says "Cart (2)" on screen but is called something else in the code. People who control the computer by voice say what they see, and nothing happens.
• Click targets that are too small. Dots under sliders and buttons in product bundles are often smaller than 24 by 24 pixels.
• Hidden fields that still take focus. Apps for bundles and upsells sometimes hide elements from screen readers while keyboard users can still land on them.
• Text that is too pale. Sale prices, small print and links in announcement bars.

Most errors come with the theme and the apps

Themes in the Shopify Theme Store must meet accessibility requirements before they are listed. The problems usually arrive afterwards: through changes to the theme, sections from page builders, and apps for reviews, bundles, chat and cookie consent that add their own code to every page.

Why an accessibility app is not the answer

The Shopify App Store has apps that promise accessibility with a toolbar or an "overlay". They change how the shop looks for the visitor, but they do not fix the theme or the code of the other apps. We do not sell such a widget, and we advise against relying on one.

Where the errors are fixed

• The theme. Header, product tiles, cart drawer and footer appear on every page. Luentis groups findings by template, so one error in the product tile shows as one error with the pages it appears on.
• Apps. If an app produces errors you cannot fix through its settings, ask the developer or replace the app.
• Content. Alt texts for product images, clear link texts and headings in the right order belong in the Shopify admin.

What the scan does not cover

We check public pages. The customer account and the Shopify checkout are behind the cart and are not part of the scan. Whether an alt text makes sense, or whether the cart works with the keyboard, takes a person to judge. Our guided check helps you with that.

How to go about it

1. Check your homepage for free and see which errors the automatic rules find.
2. With the single audit, we check up to 250 pages and show which errors sit in the theme, with the code to fix them.
3. Fix the theme first, then the apps, then the content.
4. Answer the guided check and publish your accessibility statement.

More on what shops have to check is in the guide to online shops.