Accessibility

Web accessibility is about making websites usable for as many people as possible. Accessible websites benefit everyone, including people with disabilities, visitors using mobile devices, or those with slow network connections.

Theme accessibility standards

Fluorescent themes aim to meet the highest standards of web accessibility, outlined by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Our themes and Shopify support these guidelines, and we continue to update our themes to meet these standards as they evolve.

This article focuses on how to keep your online store accessible while customizing its theme. You'll find a couple guidelines to get you started and further resources for testing and learning more about accessibility.

Follow accessibility guidelines

In some cases, there are accessibility guidelines that our themes support but cannot enforce. For instance, because themes allow site colors to be fully customized, it is the store owner’s responsibility to select colors that meet accessibility standards.

When customizing your theme, we recommend following Shopify's guidelines on Accessibility for themes ↗. You'll find guidelines and recommendations for:

• Text accessibility ↗

• Alt text for images ↗

• Slideshows and videos ↗

• Keyboard support ↗

You may also want to use the A11y Project Checklist to make make sure your site complies with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

We recommend starting with two guidelines that are commonly overlooked:

Color contrast for text

If the background color is too similar to the text, it can make it difficult to read. This can be especially challenging for people with visual impairments, such as color blindness. You can use free online tools, like Accessible Web’s Contrast Checker, to help you select colors that meet accessibility standards.

Alternative text for images

Alt text, or alternative text, is a text description added to an image’s HTML code. The text description may be read aloud by assistive technology, like screen readers, used by people with visual impairments. Alt text also appears when an image does not load. Learn how to Add alt text to product images ↗ and theme images ↗.

Find professional help

You may want to contact a development company or design firm that specializes in accessibility compliance. One firm that specializes in Shopify work is Diff, but there's a great list of experts available on the A11y Project website.

Review apps for accessibility

Shopify apps may not comply with these guidelines, and using multiple apps can impact accessibility. When installing apps, keep accessibility guidelines in mind and contact app developers if you have any questions.