Accessibility for Shopify Liquid Themes
Core Principle
Every interactive component must work with keyboard only, screen readers, and reduced-motion preferences. Start with semantic HTML — add ARIA only when native semantics are insufficient.
Decision Table: Which Pattern?
| Component | HTML Element | ARIA Pattern | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expandable content | <details>/<summary> | None needed | Accordion |
| Modal/dialog | <dialog> | aria-modal="true" | Modal |
| Tooltip/popup | [popover] attribute | role="tooltip" fallback | Tooltip |
| Dropdown menu | <nav> + <ul> | aria-expanded on triggers | Navigation |
| Tab interface | <div> | role="tablist/tab/tabpanel" | Tabs |
| Carousel/slider | <div> | role="region" + aria-roledescription | Carousel |
| Product card | <article> | aria-labelledby | Product card |
| Form | <form> | aria-invalid, aria-describedby | Forms |
| Cart drawer | <dialog> | Focus trap | Cart drawer |
| Price display | <span> | aria-label for context | Prices |
| Filters | <form> + <fieldset> | aria-expanded for disclosures | Filters |
Page Structure
Landmarks
<body>
<a href="#main-content" class="skip-link">{{ 'accessibility.skip_to_content' | t }}</a>
<header role="banner">
<nav aria-label="{{ 'accessibility.main_navigation' | t }}">...</nav>
</header>
<main id="main-content">
<!-- All page content inside main -->
</main>
<footer role="contentinfo">
<nav aria-label="{{ 'accessibility.footer_navigation' | t }}">...</nav>
</footer>
</body>- Single
<header>,<main>,<footer>per page - Multiple
<nav>elements must have distinctaria-label - All content must live inside a landmark
Skip Link
.skip-link {
position: absolute;
inset-inline-start: -999px;
z-index: 999;
}
.skip-link:focus {
position: fixed;
inset-block-start: 0;
inset-inline-start: 0;
padding: 1rem;
background: var(--color-background);
color: var(--color-foreground);
}Headings
- One
<h1>per page, never skip levels (h1 → h3) - Use real heading elements, not styled divs
- Template:
<h1>is typically the page/product title
Focus Management
Focus Indicators
/* All interactive elements */
:focus-visible {
outline: 2px solid rgb(var(--color-focus));
outline-offset: 2px;
}
/* High contrast mode */
@media (forced-colors: active) {
:focus-visible {
outline: 3px solid LinkText;
}
}- Minimum 3:1 contrast ratio for focus indicators
- Use
:focus-visible(not:focus) to avoid showing on click - Never
outline: nonewithout a visible replacement
Focus Trapping (Modals/Drawers)
- Trap focus inside modals, drawers, and dialogs
- Return focus to trigger element on close
- First focusable element gets focus on open
- Query all focusable elements:
a[href], button:not([disabled]), input:not([disabled]), select, textarea, [tabindex]:not([tabindex="-1"])
See focus and keyboard patterns for full FocusTrap implementation.
Component Patterns
Product Card
<article class="product-card" aria-labelledby="ProductTitle-{{ product.id }}">
<a href="{{ product.url }}" class="product-card__link" aria-labelledby="ProductTitle-{{ product.id }}">
<img
src="{{ product.featured_image | image_url: width: 400 }}"
alt="{{ product.featured_image.alt | escape }}"
loading="lazy"
width="{{ product.featured_image.width }}"
height="{{ product.featured_image.height }}"
>
</a>
<h3 id="ProductTitle-{{ product.id }}">
<a href="{{ product.url }}">{{ product.title }}</a>
</h3>
<div class="product-card__price" aria-label="{{ 'products.price_label' | t: price: product.price | money }}">
{{ product.price | money }}
</div>
<button
class="product-card__quick-add"
tabindex="-1"
aria-label="{{ 'products.quick_add' | t: title: product.title }}"
>
{{ 'products.add_to_cart' | t }}
</button>
</article>Rules:
- Single tab stop per card (the main link)
tabindex="-1"on mouse-only shortcuts (quick add)aria-labelledbyon<article>pointing to the title- Descriptive alt text on images; empty
alt=""if decorative
Carousel
<div
role="region"
aria-roledescription="carousel"
aria-label="{{ section.settings.heading | escape }}"
>
<div class="carousel__controls">
<button
aria-label="{{ 'accessibility.previous_slide' | t }}"
aria-controls="CarouselSlides-{{ section.id }}"
>{% render 'icon-chevron-left' %}</button>
<button
aria-label="{{ 'accessibility.next_slide' | t }}"
aria-controls="CarouselSlides-{{ section.id }}"
>{% render 'icon-chevron-right' %}</button>
<button
aria-label="{{ 'accessibility.pause_slideshow' | t }}"
aria-pressed="false"
>{% render 'icon-pause' %}</button>
</div>
<div id="CarouselSlides-{{ section.id }}" aria-live="polite">
{% for slide in section.blocks %}
<div
role="group"
aria-roledescription="slide"
aria-label="{{ 'accessibility.slide_n_of_total' | t: n: forloop.index, total: forloop.length }}"
{% unless forloop.first %}aria-hidden="true"{% endunless %}
>
{{ slide.settings.content }}
</div>
{% endfor %}
</div>
</div>Rules:
- Auto-rotation minimum 5 seconds, pause on hover/focus
- Play/pause button required for auto-rotating carousels
aria-live="polite"on slide container (set to"off"during auto-rotation)aria-hidden="true"on inactive slides- Each slide:
role="group"+aria-roledescription="slide"
Modal
<dialog
id="Modal-{{ section.id }}"
aria-labelledby="ModalTitle-{{ section.id }}"
aria-modal="true"
>
<div class="modal__header">
<h2 id="ModalTitle-{{ section.id }}">{{ title }}</h2>
<button
type="button"
aria-label="{{ 'accessibility.close' | t }}"
on:click="/closeModal"
>{% render 'icon-close' %}</button>
</div>
<div class="modal__content">
<!-- Content -->
</div>
</dialog>Rules:
- Use native
<dialog>element aria-labelledbypointing to the title- Close on Escape key (native with
<dialog>) - Focus first interactive element on open
- Return focus to trigger on close
Cart Drawer
Same as modal pattern but with additional:
- Live region for cart count updates:
<span aria-live="polite" aria-atomic="true"> - Clear "remove item" buttons with
aria-label="{{'cart.remove_item' | t: title: item.title}}" - Quantity inputs with associated labels
Forms
<form action="{{ routes.cart_url }}" method="post">
<div class="form__field">
<label for="Email-{{ section.id }}">{{ 'forms.email' | t }}</label>
<input
type="email"
id="Email-{{ section.id }}"
name="email"
required
aria-required="true"
autocomplete="email"
aria-describedby="EmailError-{{ section.id }}"
>
<p
id="EmailError-{{ section.id }}"
class="form__error"
role="alert"
hidden
>{{ 'forms.email_required' | t }}</p>
</div>
</form>Rules:
- Every input has a visible
<label>with matchingfor/id - Use
<fieldset>/<legend>for radio/checkbox groups - Error messages:
role="alert"+aria-describedbylinking to input aria-invalid="true"on invalid inputsautocompleteattributes on common fields- Required fields:
required+aria-required="true"+ visual indicator
Product Filters
<form class="facets">
<div class="facets__group">
<button
type="button"
aria-expanded="false"
aria-controls="FilterColor-{{ section.id }}"
>{{ 'filters.color' | t }}</button>
<fieldset id="FilterColor-{{ section.id }}" hidden>
<legend class="visually-hidden">{{ 'filters.filter_by_color' | t }}</legend>
{% for color in colors %}
<label>
<input type="checkbox" name="filter.color" value="{{ color }}">
{{ color }}
</label>
{% endfor %}
</fieldset>
</div>
<div aria-live="polite" aria-atomic="true">
{{ 'filters.results_count' | t: count: results.size }}
</div>
</form>Price Display
{% if product.compare_at_price > product.price %}
<div class="price" aria-label="{{ 'products.sale_price_label' | t: sale_price: product.price | money, original_price: product.compare_at_price | money }}">
<s aria-hidden="true">{{ product.compare_at_price | money }}</s>
<span>{{ product.price | money }}</span>
</div>
{% else %}
<div class="price">{{ product.price | money }}</div>
{% endif %}- Use
aria-labelto provide full price context (sale vs. original) aria-hidden="true"on the visual strikethrough to avoid duplicate reading
Accordion
<details>
<summary>{{ block.settings.heading }}</summary>
<div class="accordion__content">
{{ block.settings.content }}
</div>
</details>Native <details>/<summary> provides keyboard and screen reader support automatically.
Tabs
<div role="tablist" aria-label="{{ 'accessibility.product_tabs' | t }}">
{% for tab in tabs %}
<button
role="tab"
id="Tab-{{ tab.id }}"
aria-selected="{% if forloop.first %}true{% else %}false{% endif %}"
aria-controls="Panel-{{ tab.id }}"
tabindex="{% if forloop.first %}0{% else %}-1{% endif %}"
>{{ tab.title }}</button>
{% endfor %}
</div>
{% for tab in tabs %}
<div
role="tabpanel"
id="Panel-{{ tab.id }}"
aria-labelledby="Tab-{{ tab.id }}"
{% unless forloop.first %}hidden{% endunless %}
tabindex="0"
>{{ tab.content }}</div>
{% endfor %}- Arrow keys navigate between tabs (left/right)
- Only active tab has
tabindex="0", others-1
Dropdown Navigation
<nav aria-label="{{ 'accessibility.main_navigation' | t }}">
<ul role="list">
{% for link in linklists.main-menu.links %}
<li>
{% if link.links.size > 0 %}
<button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="Submenu-{{ forloop.index }}">
{{ link.title }}
</button>
<ul id="Submenu-{{ forloop.index }}" hidden role="list">
{% for child in link.links %}
<li><a href="{{ child.url }}">{{ child.title }}</a></li>
{% endfor %}
</ul>
{% else %}
<a href="{{ link.url }}">{{ link.title }}</a>
{% endif %}
</li>
{% endfor %}
</ul>
</nav>Tooltip
<button aria-describedby="Tooltip-{{ block.id }}">
{{ 'labels.info' | t }}
</button>
<div id="Tooltip-{{ block.id }}" role="tooltip" popover>
{{ block.settings.tooltip_text }}
</div>Mobile Accessibility
- Touch targets: minimum 44x44px, 8px spacing between targets
- No orientation lock: never restrict to portrait/landscape
- No hover-only content: everything accessible via tap
- Use
dvhinstead ofvhfor mobile viewport units
Animation & Motion
/* Always provide reduced motion */
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
*, *::before, *::after {
animation-duration: 0.01ms !important;
animation-iteration-count: 1 !important;
transition-duration: 0.01ms !important;
scroll-behavior: auto !important;
}
}- No flashing above 3 times per second
- Auto-playing animations need pause/stop controls
- Meaningful animations only — don't animate for decoration
Visually Hidden Utility
.visually-hidden {
position: absolute;
width: 1px;
height: 1px;
padding: 0;
margin: -1px;
overflow: hidden;
clip: rect(0, 0, 0, 0);
white-space: nowrap;
border: 0;
}Use for screen-reader-only content like labels and descriptions.
Color Contrast
| Element | Minimum Ratio |
|---|---|
| Normal text (<18px / <14px bold) | 4.5:1 |
| Large text (≥18px / ≥14px bold) | 3:1 |
| UI components & graphics | 3:1 |
| Focus indicators | 3:1 |
Never rely solely on color to convey information — always pair with text, icons, or patterns.