⚡ BigCommerce ADA Compliance: Quick Summary
✅ What BigCommerce Does Well
- Cornerstone theme keyboard nav
- Accessible checkout flow
- ARIA landmarks in default theme
- Skip navigation link
- Accessible form labels on standard fields
❌ Common Gaps
- Product image alt text (merchant-added)
- Color contrast in third-party themes
- App-injected widget accessibility
- Custom JavaScript components
- Video content captions
🎯 Your Action
- Audit your live store (not just the theme)
- Fix product image alt text
- Test installed apps for violations
- Publish an accessibility statement
- Monitor continuously
What We'll Cover
What BigCommerce Provides Out of the Box
BigCommerce has made meaningful investments in accessibility over the past several years. Compared to many e-commerce platforms, its default Cornerstone theme has better out-of-the-box WCAG coverage than most custom-built storefronts. Here's an honest breakdown of what you get:
Cornerstone Theme Accessibility Features
- ✅ Skip navigation link ("Skip to main content")
- ✅ Keyboard-navigable main menu
- ✅ Visible focus indicators on links and buttons
- ✅ Semantic HTML landmarks (main, nav, footer)
- ✅ Form labels on standard checkout fields
- ✅ ARIA attributes on interactive widgets
- ✅ Accessible cart drawer behavior
- ✅ Screen reader announcements on cart updates
- ⚠️ Color contrast varies by theme variant
- ❌ No alt text enforcement on merchant-added images
⚠️ The Key Distinction: Theme vs. Store
BigCommerce's accessibility improvements apply to the theme framework. Your actual store includes everything you've added: product images (with or without alt text), custom page content, installed apps, third-party widgets, and any theme customizations. These additions are where most BigCommerce WCAG violations originate. You need to audit your live store, not just the Cornerstone demo.
Most Common WCAG Violations on BigCommerce Stores
Missing or Generic Alt Text on Product Images
CriticalWCAG 1.1.1 (Level A)
This is the #1 violation in BigCommerce stores. BigCommerce allows merchants to add alt text to product images but doesn't require it. Many stores have hundreds of products with blank alt text, generic filename-based alt text (product-img-001.jpg), or alt text that's just the product name without description. Each image is a potential lawsuit trigger.
Insufficient Color Contrast
HighWCAG 1.4.3 (Level AA)
BigCommerce's default themes have configurable colors — and many merchants choose color schemes that fail the 4.5:1 contrast ratio requirement. Sale price tags in red or green on white, light gray body text, and promotional banners with insufficient contrast are frequent offenders. Third-party marketplace themes often perform worse than Cornerstone.
Inaccessible App-Injected Widgets
HighWCAG 4.1.2, 2.1.1 (Level A)
Review widgets (Yotpo, Trustpilot), popup/chat tools (Intercom, Klaviyo popups), size guides, and loyalty program widgets frequently inject inaccessible code. These apps have their own accessibility quality — and many don't meet WCAG standards. Installing them on your BigCommerce store creates violations beyond the platform's control.
Keyboard Traps in Custom Sliders and Carousels
HighWCAG 2.1.2 (Level A)
Custom homepage carousels, product image sliders, and promotional banners often use JavaScript libraries (Slick, Swiper) that have known keyboard accessibility issues. Users navigating by keyboard can get trapped inside the slider or lose focus entirely when the slide changes.
Videos Without Captions or Audio Descriptions
MediumWCAG 1.2.2, 1.2.5 (Level A/AA)
Product demo videos, brand story videos, and social-imported video content frequently lack closed captions. Auto-generated captions (YouTube, Instagram) don't meet WCAG accuracy standards. Any video with dialogue or meaningful audio must have accurate synchronized captions.
Missing Accessible Error Messages
MediumWCAG 3.3.1, 3.3.2 (Level A)
Form validation errors that only appear visually (color change, icon) without text announcements, or error messages not programmatically associated with their fields, fail WCAG. This affects custom contact forms, newsletter signups, and any checkout customizations.
Accessibility and BigCommerce Themes
Your theme choice has a significant impact on your BigCommerce store's baseline accessibility. Here's the breakdown:
Cornerstone (BigCommerce Default) — Best Accessibility
Cornerstone is the most accessibility-tested theme BigCommerce offers. It has keyboard navigation support, ARIA attributes, semantic HTML structure, visible focus indicators, and an accessible checkout. If you're selecting a theme and accessibility matters, Cornerstone is the right choice. BigCommerce updates it regularly with accessibility improvements.
Caveat: Cornerstone's color variants have different contrast levels. The "Light" variant has better contrast than some darker variants. Always run a contrast check on your chosen color scheme.
Third-Party Marketplace Themes — Variable Quality
Themes from the BigCommerce Theme Marketplace (purchased from third-party developers) have highly variable accessibility quality. Many prioritize visual aesthetics over WCAG compliance. Before purchasing a third-party theme, test it with a screen reader or accessibility scanner on the demo. Check if the theme developer lists WCAG compliance in their documentation — few do. Plan to budget for accessibility remediation work when using any non-Cornerstone theme.
Fully Custom Themes — Highest Risk
Custom-designed BigCommerce themes built from scratch or heavily modified from Cornerstone carry the highest accessibility risk. Custom development often introduces WCAG violations — especially in custom navigation, interactive components, and JavaScript-driven features — unless accessibility is explicitly part of the development specification. If you have a custom theme, a full accessibility audit is essential.
The App Marketplace Problem
One of the most common sources of WCAG violations on well-maintained BigCommerce stores is the app ecosystem. Apps injecting JavaScript and modifying the DOM can introduce accessibility issues that bypass your theme's existing accessibility work.
High-Risk App Categories to Audit
- Review widgets (Yotpo, Okendo, Trustpilot) — modal dialogs, rating inputs
- Chat widgets (Intercom, Zendesk, Gorgias) — focus management, keyboard access
- Popup/email capture (Klaviyo, Justuno) — focus trapping, ESC key behavior
- Loyalty programs (Smile.io, LoyaltyLion) — widget overlay behavior
- Product personalizers (custom text/image uploaders) — form accessibility
- Size guides / fit finders — modal dialogs and interactive flows
- Video players (embedded Vimeo/YouTube) — caption requirements
- Social proof widgets (recent purchases, visitor counts) — moving content
BigCommerce does not audit third-party apps for WCAG compliance before listing them in the marketplace. You are responsible for testing any app you install against your WCAG requirements. The practical approach: after installing any new app, run an accessibility scan to identify any new violations the app has introduced.
How to Audit Your BigCommerce Store
Automated Scan (Start Here)
Run your live store URL through an automated accessibility scanner. RatedWithAI ($29/mo) uses the axe-core engine — the same used by Microsoft and the US government — to scan your rendered HTML and return prioritized WCAG violations. This catches ~50% of all WCAG issues and is the fastest way to identify your most critical problems. Start with your homepage, a category page, a product page, and your checkout flow.
Manual Keyboard Navigation Test
Tab through every page using only your keyboard (no mouse). You should be able to reach every interactive element, and focus should be clearly visible at all times. Test your navigation menu, product carousels, add-to-cart buttons, size selectors, and checkout forms. If focus disappears or you get stuck, you have a keyboard accessibility violation.
Screen Reader Test
Test your store with NVDA (free, Windows) or VoiceOver (built into Mac and iOS). Navigate to a product page and listen to how product images are announced. Check that form fields have meaningful labels. Verify that error messages are announced when you submit a form incorrectly.
Color Contrast Check
Use the WebAIM Color Contrast Checker or your browser DevTools to verify that your text colors meet the 4.5:1 contrast ratio requirement against their backgrounds. Pay special attention to sale prices, button text, navigation links, and any text over images.
Product Image Alt Text Audit
In your BigCommerce Admin, navigate to Products and sort by any filter. Go through your product catalog and verify that every product image has descriptive alt text — not just the product name, but a description of what's visible in the image. For large catalogs, this can be the most time-consuming but highest-impact fix.
Step-by-Step Fixes for Common BigCommerce Issues
Fix 1: Add Alt Text to Product Images
- Go to Products → All Products in your BigCommerce Admin
- Open each product and scroll to the Images section
- Click on each image thumbnail — an alt text field appears below
- Write descriptive alt text: not just "Blue shirt" but "Blue cotton button-down shirt with white collar, front view"
- For decorative images (background textures, dividers), enter an empty alt attribute by leaving the field blank
- For large catalogs, use BigCommerce's CSV export to bulk-update alt text in a spreadsheet
Fix 2: Improve Color Contrast in Your Theme
- Go to Storefront → My Themes → Customize
- Use the Style editor to locate color settings for body text, link colors, button text, and backgrounds
- Check each combination at the WebAIM Contrast Checker — text needs 4.5:1, large text 3:1
- Common fix: darken body text from #888 gray to #595959 or darker for sufficient contrast on white
- For sale price tags and promotional callouts, ensure the text color meets 4.5:1 against its background
- Publish changes and re-check with the scanner
Fix 3: Add an Accessibility Statement
- Go to Storefront → Web Pages → Create a Web Page
- Create a page at /accessibility (or /ada-accessibility)
- State your commitment to WCAG 2.1 AA, your current compliance status, and a feedback contact
- Include an email address or form where visitors can report accessibility barriers
- Add a link to this page in your footer — visible on every page
- Courts and plaintiff attorneys view an accessibility statement with a feedback mechanism as evidence of good-faith compliance effort
Fix 4: Test and Remediate Installed Apps
- Run an accessibility scan on your live store with all apps active (the normal live state)
- Then temporarily disable non-essential apps one at a time and re-scan
- When violations disappear after disabling an app, that app is the source
- Contact the app developer with your specific WCAG violations — reputable vendors will work to fix them
- If the developer won't fix it, evaluate whether the app's business value outweighs the accessibility risk
ADA Lawsuit Risk for BigCommerce Stores
E-commerce is consistently the #1 industry category for ADA web accessibility lawsuits nationally. BigCommerce powers a significant portion of mid-market e-commerce — exactly the revenue profile that plaintiff attorneys target. Large Shopify stores get the most lawsuits, but BigCommerce stores are not immune.
Higher Risk Indicators
- Over $1M annual revenue / significant web traffic
- Large product catalog with few alt text entries
- Third-party theme (not Cornerstone)
- Many installed apps including overlays, popups, widgets
- No accessibility statement on the site
- Any overlay widget installed (signals to plaintiff attorneys)
Lower Risk Indicators
- Using Cornerstone with accessible color settings
- All product images have descriptive alt text
- Accessibility statement published with feedback contact
- Regular accessibility audits documented
- WCAG violations identified and remediated
- No overlay widgets (less visible to plaintiff attorneys via BuiltWith)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is BigCommerce ADA compliant out of the box?
No. BigCommerce's Cornerstone theme has better accessibility defaults than many e-commerce platforms, but your live store is not ADA compliant by default. Product images require merchant-added alt text. Your theme's color settings may not meet WCAG contrast requirements. Installed apps can inject inaccessible code. Any custom theme modifications can break existing accessibility features. You need to audit your specific store instance to know your actual compliance status.
Can BigCommerce stores be sued for ADA violations?
Yes. BigCommerce stores are subject to ADA Title III requirements — the same as any public-facing e-commerce website. E-commerce is the most-sued industry category for ADA web accessibility claims nationally. The platform you use doesn't determine your ADA compliance risk — the actual accessibility of your storefront does. BigCommerce stores at mid-market revenue levels are increasingly targeted by plaintiff attorneys.
What is the best accessible BigCommerce theme?
BigCommerce's own Cornerstone theme is the most accessibility-tested option available. It has keyboard navigation support, semantic HTML, ARIA attributes, and an accessible checkout. If you're choosing between Cornerstone and a third-party theme, Cornerstone has better baseline accessibility. For any theme — including Cornerstone — you'll need to verify your specific color configuration meets WCAG contrast requirements and audit your live store after installing apps.
Should I install an accessibility overlay widget on my BigCommerce store?
No. Overlay widgets (accessiBe, UserWay, EqualWeb) are not recommended. accessiBe was fined $1 million by the FTC for deceptive WCAG compliance claims. More importantly, data shows that 22% of ADA web suits target sites with overlay widgets installed — plaintiff attorneys search for overlay scripts via BuiltWith and then test the underlying code. The WCAG violations in your BigCommerce store remain with an overlay installed. Use a code-level scanner to identify and fix actual violations instead.
How long does it take to make a BigCommerce store WCAG compliant?
Timeline depends on your store size and violation count. For a typical BigCommerce store with 100–500 products: auditing takes 1–2 days; fixing high-priority violations (alt text, contrast, keyboard nav) takes 2–5 days of developer time; fixing all WCAG 2.1 AA violations typically takes 1–3 weeks. Ongoing compliance monitoring takes a few hours per month. The largest time investment is usually bulk-updating alt text for large product catalogs — which can be streamlined with BigCommerce's CSV bulk edit functionality.