Magento and Accessibility: How to Make Your Online Store Accessible (WCAG 2.2, Hyvä-First)

Accessibility in Magento 2 is no longer a “nice to have.” It’s a core requirement that affects revenue, SEO, legal risk, and brand perception. When your storefront is accessible, more users can browse and buy, including customers using keyboards, screen readers, switch devices, and mobile assistive features. For European merchants and agencies, this expectation is even stronger: public and private organizations increasingly require WCAG alignment in RFPs and vendor checks.

This expert guide explains how to bring a Magento 2 storefront up to modern accessibility standards with a Hyvä-first, performance-safe approach. You’ll get practical patterns, code examples, test workflows, and a maintainable checklist you can actually use in a sprint. We’ll also show how to avoid frontend bloat while keeping Core Web Vitals intact—because speed and accessibility go hand-in-hand.

1) Why Accessibility Matters for Magento 2

Revenue & reach

Accessible journeys increase the number of customers who can complete key flows - search, add-to-cart, checkout. Barriers like poor focus states, unclear labels, or modal traps immediately translate to lost conversions. Accessible pages also reduce abandonment on mobile where many users rely on platform accessibility features.

SEO & Core Web Vitals

Accessibility and SEO align: good semantics improve parsing; descriptive alt text helps image discovery; logical headings clarify structure. The Hyvä approach removes unnecessary JavaScript, improving LCP/TBT while making interactive components easier to operate via keyboard and assistive tech.

Risk reduction

Many organizations require WCAG alignment in procurement. Accessible builds reduce remediation cost, cut support overhead, and simplify annual audits.

2) Standards & Legal Context (WCAG 2.2)

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) define testable success criteria at levels A, AA, and AAA. WCAG 2.2 brings refinements around focus appearance, drag alternatives, consistent help, and target size. For most commerce projects, aiming for WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA coverage is a realistic and commonly requested target.

Treat the guidelines as engineering specifications: each criterion should map to a story, acceptance tests, and automated checks where feasible. In practice: semantic HTML first, minimal ARIA, rock-solid keyboard access, and resilient UI patterns that do not depend on heavy JS to be operable.

3) Magento Frontend: Luma vs Hyvä (DX, Performance, Accessibility)

Legacy Luma stacks often ship with complex Knockout/RequireJS templates and CSS layers. This bloat can make it harder to maintain focus order, avoid duplicate landmarks, or guarantee keyboard access. Hyvä trims those layers, encouraging lean, server-rendered markup with predictable semantics.

Semantics: Fewer wrappers & custom bindings helps keep landmarks and headings clean.
Focus: With simpler DOM trees, managing tabindex and focus transitions is easier.
Performance: Less JS means reduced TBT and fewer race conditions that break screen readers.
DX: Hyvä’s “HTML first” mindset simplifies a11y reviews and automated audits.

4) Common Accessibility Issues in Magento Stores

Missing alternative text: Product images without meaningful alt text.
Non-semantic controls:
acting like buttons without role/keyboard support.
Keyboard traps: Off-canvas carts, modals, mega menus that cannot be exited via keyboard.
Insufficient focus styles: Low-contrast or invisible focus outlines.
Form labeling: Required fields without or programmatic names.
Headings & landmarks: Skipped levels (e.g., H1→H4) or duplicate main regions.
Color contrast: Bad contrast on price badges, CTAs, and breadcrumbs.

5) Implementation Guide (Patterns & Code)

5.1 Semantic structure & landmarks

Start with a logical document outline. Use one h1 per page, then hierarchical h2–h3. Wrap primary regions with HTML5 landmarks:

Category: Summer Shoes

...

5.2 Skip link & focus management

Provide a skip link to bypass nav and jump to content. Ensure keyboard focus is visible and logical.

Skip to content

5.3 Accessible interactive controls

Use native controls where possible. If you must use a div, add role/keyboard bindings and ARIA states.

// Prefer:


// If custom element is necessary:

Filters

5.4 Modals, drawers, off-canvas carts

Trap focus inside the dialog, restore focus on close, and announce via aria-labelledby/aria-describedby.

5.5 Forms: labels, errors, and help text

Every input needs a programmatic label. Provide clear error messages and associate them with fields.

Email address

We’ll send the receipt here.

5.6 Images & media

Provide descriptive alt text for product images. Decorative images can use empty alt="". For videos, supply captions and transcripts.

5.7 Keyboard order & focus styles

Ensure visible focus states and logical tab order following the visual layout. Avoid positive tabindex.

5.8 Live regions

Announce dynamic updates (e.g., “added to cart”) using aria-live politely.

5.9 Color & contrast

Maintain WCAG contrast ratios (text 4.5:1 for normal, 3:1 for large). Test badges, price labels, and disabled states.

5.10 Hyvä-first theming guidelines

Prefer semantic HTML+CSS. Keep JS light and progressive.
Don’t override foundational landmarks with unnecessary wrappers.
Re-use accessible patterns across PLP/PDP, mini-cart, and checkout.
When integrating extensions, verify they don’t break headings, focus, or forms.

6) Testing & Continuous Monitoring

Keyboard pass: Navigate the whole journey without a mouse (skip link, menus, filters, cart, checkout).
Screen reader smoke test: Verify headings, landmarks, labels, and announcements (add-to-cart, errors).
Automated audit: Run a11y checks during CI and after deployments. Combine with performance tests (CWV).
Regression suite: Capture critical flows (search, PDP media, shipping step) to prevent future breaks.
Content QA: Ensure alt text, link text, and error copy are meaningful and concise.

Build these checks into your Definition of Done. Accessibility is not a one-off task; it’s a continuous quality practice.

7) Key UX Components: Search, Navigation, Checkout

Search (Product discovery)

Search field with a visible label (or aria-label), not just a placeholder.
Autocomplete list with role="listbox" and active option via aria-activedescendant.
Keyboard support: Up/Down to move, Enter to select, Esc to close; restore focus properly.

Need a Hyvä-compatible, fast search that stays a11y-safe? Explore qoliber Fast Search.

Navigation & filters (PLP)

Use native details/summary or well-labeled buttons for collapsible filters.
Announce filter state changes via live regions; keep focus in place after async updates.
Maintain heading order; don’t inject multiple h1 elements.

Checkout (PWA-like flow, Hyvä checkout)

Ensure every form control has a programmatic label and clear error messaging.
Trap focus within modals; provide escape routes; keep tabindex natural.
Preserve context after validation (focus the invalid field and describe the error).

Offering pickup improves experience and cost control without breaking Hyvä. See qoliber Store Pickup.

8) Comparison: Default Practices vs Hyvä-First Accessibility

Area	Default Pitfall	Hyvä-First Accessible Practice
Headings & landmarks	Skipped levels, duplicate `main`	Single `h1`, hierarchical `h2–h3`, proper landmarks
Images	Missing/placeholder `alt`	Descriptive `alt`, empty `alt` for decorative
Interactive controls	`div` clickables without roles	Native
Modals/drawers	No focus trap; no announcements	Trap focus, restore on close, label/describe content
Filters (PLP)	Async updates with focus loss	Preserve focus; polite live announcements
Checkout	Unlabeled fields, unclear errors	Programmatic labels, error associations, summaries
Performance	Heavy JS that blocks AT and input	Lean JS; server-rendered HTML; CWV-friendly

9) FAQ - Accessibility for Magento 2 (Rich Snippets)

Does accessibility improve SEO in Magento 2?

Yes. Semantic HTML, descriptive alt text, heading structure, and fast, usable UIs help search engines parse content and improve discoverability - while reducing bounce caused by poor UX.

Is Hyvä better for accessibility than Luma?

Hyvä’s lean, HTML-first approach makes accessible patterns easier to implement and maintain. It doesn’t guarantee compliance, but it reduces complexity that often causes accessibility regressions.

What accessibility level should we target?

Most commerce projects aim for WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA. Use the criteria as acceptance tests and automate checks in CI.

How do we test Magento accessibility quickly?

Do a keyboard-only run, a quick screen-reader pass, and automated audits. Focus on search, PLP filters, PDP media, cart, and checkout. Add regression tests for modals/drawers.

Can extensions break accessibility?

Yes—especially JS-heavy modules that replace native controls or inject complex DOM. Choose Hyvä-compatible, performance-first extensions and validate headings, landmarks, focus, and labels after installation.

Conclusion & Next Steps

Accessibility is engineering discipline, not an afterthought. A Hyvä-first Magento 2 stack gives you a cleaner foundation for WCAG 2.2 AA alignment - fewer scripts, simpler markup, predictable focus, and faster performance. Combine semantic HTML, robust keyboard support, accessible patterns for modals/menus/forms, live announcements, and thoughtful contrast to make every journey usable for every customer.

If you need developer-ready modules that respect performance and clean markup across the funnel, explore: qoliber Fast Search, qoliber Store Pickup, and our full library of Magento 2 extensions. We build Hyvä-compatible modules with a performance-first mindset so you can keep UX, SEO, and accessibility aligned.

Want an accessibility health check for your Magento 2 project? Contact us via the extensions pages above - our team can assist with audits, implementation, and developer coaching.

Article updated: October 2025

My Cart

My Cart