WooCommerce itself has put real work into accessibility, but your store is WooCommerce plus a theme plus plugins plus your own content. Most problems we see come from that combination. Use this checklist to work through the parts you control.
1. Know what WooCommerce does and doesn't cover
- WooCommerce says that version 10.0, used with a core WordPress or accessibility-ready theme, is fully conformant with WCAG 2.2 level AA on the frontend (WooCommerce 10.0: Investing in Accessibility (WooCommerce Developer Blog, July 14, 2025)).
- Its conformance report was tested on the Twenty Twenty-Four theme with default settings and notes that "the conformance levels reported may not apply to websites built with other or customized themes". It also does not cover add-on plugins or extensions (WooCommerce Accessibility Conformance Report (WooCommerce)).
In other words: an up-to-date WooCommerce is a good foundation, but your theme and plugins decide much of what shoppers actually experience.
2. Theme
- ☐ Keep WooCommerce, WordPress and your theme up to date.
- ☐ If you are choosing a new theme, prefer one labelled accessibility-ready, and test it yourself.
- ☐ Check that the theme does not disable zoom on mobile (look for
user-scalable=noin the page source). - ☐ Check that keyboard focus is clearly visible on links, buttons and form fields.
3. Product and banner images
- ☐ Every meaningful image has alt text. In WordPress you can set alt text in the Media Library, which becomes the default when the image is inserted, or per image in the Image block settings (Image block (WordPress.org documentation)).
- ☐ Decorative images are marked decorative or have empty alt text (Alt text for images (WP Accessibility Knowledge Base)).
- ☐ Text inside images (sale banners) is also available as real text or in the alt text.
4. Forms: search, quantity, variations, checkout
- ☐ Every field has a proper label. On one WooCommerce store in our scans, quantity boxes were labelled only by a "Qty" tooltip (
titleattribute), which is not a reliable label for everyone. - ☐ Variation drop-downs (size, color) have visible labels.
- ☐ Error messages explain what went wrong and how to fix it.
5. Links, icons and buttons
- ☐ Social media, cart, account and search icons have a text name. On one WooCommerce store we scanned, every social icon link in the footer had no name.
- ☐ "Read more" or "Shop now" links make sense on their own, or include the product or category name.
6. Plugins
- ☐ List the plugins that add things to the storefront: sliders, pop-ups, reviews, wishlists, live chat, quick view.
- ☐ Test each with a keyboard, and remove or replace ones that trap keyboard focus or hide content.
- ☐ WooCommerce's own extension guidance asks developers to meet WordPress accessibility coding standards and recommends aiming for WCAG 2.2 Level AA (Accessibility Best Practices for extensions (WooCommerce developer docs)). Ask plugin vendors whether they test against it.
7. Page structure
- ☐ One main heading (H1) per page, such as the product name, and headings in order below it.
- ☐ Only one main content region. One store we scanned had two "main" regions on its category page.
8. Contrast
- ☐ Body text at least 4.5:1 against its background and large text at least 3:1 (Understanding Success Criterion 1.4.3: Contrast (Minimum) (W3C WAI)).
- ☐ Sale badges, prices and filter labels checked too: in our WooCommerce scans, sidebar filter headings were among the low-contrast items.
9. Test it yourself
- ☐ Run an automated scan of your homepage, a category page, a product page and the cart.
- ☐ Do a 10-minute keyboard test of the whole buying path.
- ☐ Re-test after plugin and theme updates.
Check your own store in a minute or two. Our free scanner opens your homepage, a collection page, a product page and your cart in a real browser and lists the problems it can detect automatically, in plain English.
Technical fixes, not legal advice. This guide explains website accessibility from a technical point of view. We are not a law firm, and nothing here is legal advice. No scan, fix or guide can guarantee legal compliance, the outcome of any demand letter or lawsuit, or protection from future claims. If you have received a legal claim, please consult a qualified attorney about it.
Sources
- WooCommerce 10.0: Investing in Accessibility (WooCommerce Developer Blog, July 14, 2025)
- WooCommerce Accessibility Conformance Report (WooCommerce)
- Accessibility at Woo (WooCommerce)
- Accessibility Best Practices for extensions (WooCommerce developer docs)
- Image block (WordPress.org documentation)
- Alt text for images (WP Accessibility Knowledge Base)
- Understanding Success Criterion 1.4.3: Contrast (Minimum) (W3C WAI)