The European Accessibility Act and Shopify: What Store Owners Need to Do

This article is general information, not legal advice. Check your obligations with a lawyer familiar with accessibility law in the countries where you sell.

What is the European Accessibility Act?

The European Accessibility Act (EAA), Directive (EU) 2019/882, is an EU law that requires certain products and services to be accessible to people with disabilities. EU countries had to apply their national versions from June 28, 2025. Ecommerce is one of the covered services.

The directive defines ecommerce services as services provided at a distance, through websites and mobile apps, at the consumer's request, with a view to concluding a consumer contract. In plain terms: an online store selling to consumers.

Each EU country enforces its own national law, with its own authority and penalties. In the Netherlands, for example, the ACM is the competent authority for consumer services.

Does the European Accessibility Act apply to my Shopify store?

It likely applies if you sell to consumers in the EU and your business isn't a microenterprise. It doesn't matter that Shopify hosts your store; you're the service provider.

Two caveats. First, the microenterprise exemption covers services, so if you also manufacture or import covered products (such as certain electronics), check those rules separately. Second, even exempt businesses benefit from accessibility: it widens your audience and usually improves usability for everyone.

What accessibility standard should a Shopify store meet?

Aim for WCAG 2.1 level AA. The EAA's harmonised standard, EN 301 549, includes WCAG 2.1 AA for web content, and meeting it gives a presumption of conformity with the law's requirements.

WCAG 2.2, published in October 2023, adds nine success criteria and is backward compatible, so content that meets 2.2 also meets 2.1. Our take: build to WCAG 2.2 AA where you can. It costs little extra on a new build and keeps you ahead of the planned EN 301 549 update.

What does the EAA require from an online store?

Beyond an accessible website, the EAA asks ecommerce services to make information and key processes understandable and usable. In practice that includes:

• An accessible storefront that follows the four principles: perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.
• Accessible identification, security and payment steps, from login to checkout.
• Information about the accessibility of the products you sell, where the manufacturer provides it.
• An accessibility statement explaining how your service meets the requirements, published in your terms and conditions or another clearly accessible place on your site.

What should you fix on a Shopify store?

Most issues live in your theme code and your content, not in Shopify's platform. Shopify's checkout is maintained by Shopify, but your theme, apps, images and copy are your responsibility.

1. Color contrast. Body text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1, large text 3:1. Icons and input borders also need 3:1. Light gray text on white and text over photos are the usual failures.
2. Keyboard access. Everything must work with Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter and Escape: menus, drawers, variant pickers, quick-add, filters and popups. Nothing should depend on hover.
3. Visible focus. Users must always see where they are. Many themes remove focus outlines for design reasons.
4. Alt text. Every image needs an alt attribute. Describe product images meaningfully; give decorative images empty alt text.
5. Forms. Every field needs a real label. Errors must be announced to screen readers and explained in text, not only in red.
6. Headings and structure. One H1 per page, logical H2 and H3 order, real lists and buttons instead of styled divs.
7. Touch targets. Shopify's own guidance asks for at least 44 by 44 pixels on primary controls.
8. Motion and media. Let users pause carousels and autoplay video, and caption product videos.
9. Popups and cookie banners. They must be reachable by keyboard, trap focus correctly and be easy to close.
10. Apps. Reviews widgets, chat, upsells and quizzes often inject inaccessible code. Test each one.

How do you test a Shopify store for accessibility?

Combine automated tools with manual checks. Automated scanners catch a portion of issues; keyboard and screen reader testing finds the rest.

• Automated: Lighthouse, WAVE and Accessibility Insights for Web, which Shopify also recommends for themes.
• Keyboard: unplug the mouse and buy something, from homepage to order confirmation.
• Screen reader: try VoiceOver (Mac and iPhone) or NVDA (Windows) on your product page and cart.
• Zoom: check the layout at 200% zoom and on a narrow phone screen.

Test your key templates first: home, collection, product, cart, search, account and contact pages, then the theme's header, footer and popups that appear everywhere.

Do accessibility overlays make a Shopify store compliant?

No. Overlays are scripts or widgets that add a toolbar or try to fix pages automatically. They don't change your underlying code, they can interfere with screen readers users already rely on, and they aren't a route to WCAG conformance.

Regulators have noticed. In April 2025 the US Federal Trade Commission finalized an order requiring accessiBe to pay $1 million over claims that its AI tool could make any website compliant with accessibility guidelines. Our take: spend the overlay budget on fixing your theme instead.

Is Shopify itself EAA compliant?

Shopify maintains the checkout and admin, and its theme guidance includes accessibility requirements. But compliance is about your service as a whole: your theme customizations, apps, images, product content and policies. A well-built theme is a starting point, not a guarantee, especially after customization.

How we can help

We design and build Shopify stores with accessibility in from the start: contrast checked in Figma, keyboard-friendly sections and clean theme code. If your current store needs work, see our Shopify store design service, or read how we approach theme vs custom design.