Claude
Skills
Sign in
Back

liquid-theme-a11y

Included with Lifetime
$97 forever

Implement WCAG 2.2 accessibility patterns in Shopify Liquid themes. Covers e-commerce-specific components including product cards, carousels, cart drawers, price display, forms, filters, and modals. Use when building accessible theme components, fixing accessibility issues, or reviewing ARIA patterns in .liquid files.

General

What this skill does


# 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](#accordion) |
| Modal/dialog | `<dialog>` | `aria-modal="true"` | [Modal](#modal) |
| Tooltip/popup | `[popover]` attribute | `role="tooltip"` fallback | [Tooltip](#tooltip) |
| Dropdown menu | `<nav>` + `<ul>` | `aria-expanded` on triggers | [Navigation](#dropdown-navigation) |
| Tab interface | `<div>` | `role="tablist/tab/tabpanel"` | [Tabs](#tabs) |
| Carousel/slider | `<div>` | `role="region"` + `aria-roledescription` | [Carousel](#carousel) |
| Product card | `<article>` | `aria-labelledby` | [Product card](#product-card) |
| Form | `<form>` | `aria-invalid`, `aria-describedby` | [Forms](#forms) |
| Cart drawer | `<dialog>` | Focus trap | [Cart drawer](#cart-drawer) |
| Price display | `<span>` | `aria-label` for context | [Prices](#price-display) |
| Filters | `<form>` + `<fieldset>` | `aria-expanded` for disclosures | [Filters](#product-filters) |

## Page Structure

### Landmarks

```html
<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 distinct `aria-label`
- All content must live inside a landmark

### Skip Link

```css
.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

```css
/* 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: none` without 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](references/focus-and-keyboard.md) for full FocusTrap implementation.

## Component Patterns

### Product Card

```html
<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-labelledby` on `<article>` pointing to the title
- Descriptive alt text on images; empty `alt=""` if decorative

### Carousel

```html
<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

```html
<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-labelledby` pointing 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

```html
<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 matching `for`/`id`
- Use `<fieldset>/<legend>` for radio/checkbox groups
- Error messages: `role="alert"` + `aria-describedby` linking to input
- `aria-invalid="true"` on invalid inputs
- `autocomplete` attributes on common fields
- Required fields: `required` + `aria-required="true"` + visual indicator

### Product Filters

```html
<form class="facets">
  <div class="facets__group">
    <button
      type="button"
      aria-expanded="false"
      aria-controls="FilterColor-{{ section.id }}"
    >{{ 'filters.color' | t }}</button>
    <fieldset id="FilterCo

Related in General