AODA on Shopify: complete compliance checklist

AODA in 60 seconds

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) is a 2005 Ontario law that mandates accessibility for the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors operating in Ontario — including a digital requirement that public-facing websites conform to WCAG 2.0 Level AA.

Shopify accessibility — what you are starting with

Shopify's default Dawn theme is relatively accessible; the failure modes are theme customisation, third-party apps (Klaviyo, Yotpo, Tidio), and merchant-added image-only content. Shopify itself publishes an accessibility statement but explicitly notes that "individual stores are responsible".

AODA setup checklist for Shopify

1. Start from Dawn or audit your theme: Dawn is Shopify's most-accessible reference theme. If using another theme, request the developer's accessibility statement.

2. Audit your app stack: Each installed app injects markup. Run axe on a typical product page after each new app install.

3. Editorial: alt text for every product image: Shopify's admin supports alt text per image — train merchants to fill it. Mandatory for WCAG 1.1.1.

4. Test express checkout flows: Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay overlays often fail keyboard / SR testing. Provide a non-express fallback.

Common AODA failures on Shopify

• Custom themes regressing baseline a11y

• Third-party app widgets (chat, popups, reviews) injecting inaccessible markup

• Variant selectors as buttons without labels

• Image-only product descriptions

• Inaccessible Apple Pay / Shop Pay overlays

Putting it together

Combine AODA's Level AA requirements with Shopify's native tooling. Bake accessibility into your component library and editorial workflow; instrument axe-core in CI for regression.