BigCommerce is a SaaS e-commerce platform used by growing and mid-market retailers. Its Stencil theme engine gives merchants control over storefront HTML through Handlebars templates, but accessibility depends entirely on theme quality and implementation choices. Under the EAA, BigCommerce stores selling to EU consumers must meet EN 301 549 requirements.
Common BigCommerce accessibility issues
Stencil theme accessibility varies by theme
BigCommerce's Stencil themes range from reasonably accessible (Cornerstone) to significantly lacking. Many third-party themes from the Theme Marketplace have poor heading structure, missing landmark roles, and inaccessible navigation patterns.
Product filtering lacks screen reader support
BigCommerce's faceted search dynamically updates product grids via AJAX, but most themes don't announce filter results to screen readers or manage focus after the grid reloads. Keyboard users lose context after applying filters.
Quick-view modals are frequently inaccessible
Many BigCommerce themes implement product quick-view as a modal overlay. These modals often fail to trap focus, lack proper ARIA roles, can't be closed with the Escape key, and don't return focus to the trigger element when dismissed.
Cart and mini-cart drawer accessibility
The slide-out cart drawer common in BigCommerce themes often lacks keyboard trapping, has no ARIA live region to announce cart updates, and uses quantity controls that aren't properly labelled.
Product option selectors lack accessible names
Colour swatches, size buttons, and custom product options in BigCommerce themes frequently rely on visual appearance alone. Screen reader users can't distinguish which swatch is 'Navy' versus 'Black' when options are only differentiated by colour.
How Lumi works with BigCommerce
Lumi scans your BigCommerce storefront across product pages, category pages, brand pages, the cart, and checkout. Our five engines detect issues in Stencil theme markup, app-injected widgets, and dynamic content like faceted search and cart drawers. Monitor continuously to catch regressions from theme customisations and app installs.
BigCommerce-specific WCAG gotchas
Cornerstone theme is a starting point, not a finish line
BigCommerce's default Cornerstone theme has better accessibility than most third-party themes, but it still has gaps - particularly in product filtering, modals, and dynamic cart interactions.
Checkout is partially outside your control
BigCommerce's hosted checkout (Optimized One-Page Checkout) is managed by BigCommerce, meaning store owners can't directly fix accessibility issues in the checkout flow. Document these as platform-level issues.
Apps inject uncontrolled markup
BigCommerce apps (reviews, upsells, pop-ups) inject HTML that you can't modify through the Stencil theme. These are common sources of accessibility failures that require the app developer to fix.
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Frequently asked questions
Is BigCommerce accessible?
BigCommerce has made accessibility improvements and their Cornerstone theme covers many basics, but no BigCommerce store is automatically WCAG 2.2 AA compliant. Theme customisations, apps, and content all affect compliance.
Does the EAA apply to BigCommerce stores?
If your BigCommerce store sells to EU consumers, the EAA applies. This is true regardless of where your business is incorporated - the EAA covers services provided to EU consumers.
Can I fix BigCommerce checkout accessibility issues?
BigCommerce's hosted checkout is managed by BigCommerce and can't be modified at the template level. If you find accessibility issues in the checkout, report them to BigCommerce support. For more control, consider using the Checkout SDK to build a custom checkout.
Related resources
Last reviewed: April 2026. Content is reviewed quarterly for accuracy.