The European Accessibility Act: what Shopify stores must do

The European Accessibility Act applies to e-commerce services provided to consumers in the EU after 28 June 2025. If your store sells to EU consumers and your business is not a microenterprise, the store has to meet the Act's accessibility requirements. In practice that means building to the European standard EN 301 549, which is based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) at level AA.

This guide explains the Act for Shopify merchants in plain language. It is not legal advice: each EU country has written the Act into its own law, so check the details for the countries you sell to.

Who it applies to

The Act, Directive (EU) 2019/882, lists e-commerce among the services it covers. It is about selling to consumers, so it matters where your customers are, not only where your company is. A brand in the US, UK or Canada that sells to shoppers in Germany, France or the Netherlands can be in scope just like an EU brand.

• Microenterprises that provide services are exempt. The Act defines a microenterprise as a business with fewer than 10 people and an annual turnover, or balance sheet total, of no more than €2 million.
• The Act covers services to consumers. A store that only sells to other businesses is generally outside it, but many B2B stores also take consumer orders.
• The Act includes transition rules for some services that were already running before 28 June 2025, with a final date of 28 June 2030. A store you launch or redesign now should meet the requirements from day one.

What it requires

The requirements follow four principles: a store must be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. In a Shopify store, that comes down to things like:

• Every image that carries meaning has a text alternative, and decorative images are hidden from screen readers.
• Text has enough contrast against its background, including text over photos and on sale badges.
• Everything works with a keyboard: menus, filters, variant pickers, the cart drawer and checkout.
• Focus is always visible, and drawers and pop-ups do not trap it.
• Forms have labels, and errors are explained in text, not by color alone.
• Moving content, such as carousels and announcement bars, can be paused.

Service providers also have to explain how their service meets the requirements, in their terms or an equivalent public document. For a store, an accessibility statement linked from the footer is the usual place. Enforcement is handled by each member state, which sets its own authorities and penalties.

Where Shopify stores usually fall short

Shopify's checkout is maintained by Shopify. The parts you control are the theme and the apps, and that is where most problems sit:

• Color swatches with no text name, so a screen reader announces nothing useful.
• Icon buttons for search, cart and account with no accessible name.
• Low-contrast text on hero images and promotional banners.
• Mega menus and cart drawers that cannot be opened, used or closed with a keyboard.
• Pop-ups from marketing apps that steal focus or cannot be dismissed.
• Product images uploaded without alt text, at scale.

Accessibility overlay widgets do not fix any of these. They sit on top of the page, and the underlying code stays the same. The reliable route is to fix the theme and choose apps that are accessible.

How to bring a store up to standard

• Audit the store with automated tools and by hand: keyboard only, a screen reader, zoom to 200% and a narrow phone.
• Fix the theme first, because every page shares it. Then review each app you use.
• Set a process for alt text, so new products are accessible when they go live.
• Publish an accessibility statement and give customers a way to report problems.
• Test again after every theme update and new app.

Our accessibility audit checks a Shopify store against WCAG 2.2 AA in one week, for $450, with a prioritized list of fixes. If you sell across Europe, accessibility is part of our Selling in Europe service alongside languages, euro pricing and VAT.

We hold our own site to the same standard: every page is tested against WCAG 2.2 AA, in light and dark mode and on phones as narrow as 320 pixels, before each release. Our earlier guide covers ADA and WCAG for US stores.