The storefront is built and tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, level AA, so the site works whatever tools you use to browse and buy.
Conformance status
An audit performed in July 2026 checked the storefront theme (the part of the site Lab401 builds and controls) against WCAG 2.1 AA; every failure it found has been fixed. The site is partially conformant. The theme carries no known failures, however some third-party components listed below fall short. The full method and findings are published below.
High-contrast mode
The site's standard palette keeps some low-contrast elements for brand reasons. A high-contrast mode re-tints them all to a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1, the AA threshold. It can be switched on in three ways:
- Press the "High contrast" button at the bottom of any page, under the language selector.
- Press Tab twice from the top of any page, then Enter - the toggle is the second tab stop.
- Turn on your operating system's higher-contrast setting - the site follows it automatically (prefers-contrast).
Your choice is stored in your browser and kept across visits.
What the site supports
- Keyboard navigation throughout - a skip-to-content link, a visible focus indicator on every control, and menus that open with Enter and close with Escape.
- Screen-reader structure - labelled landmarks, one page heading per page, named links and buttons, and labelled form controls.
- Zoom and reflow - the layout works at 400% zoom and at a viewport 320 pixels wide, and pinch-zoom is never blocked.
- Reduced motion - animations are reduced when the operating system asks for less motion (the prefers-reduced-motion setting).
Known limitations
- Embedded YouTube players carry YouTube's own controls, which have accessibility faults Lab401 cannot fix.
- Checkout runs on Shopify's hosted platform, which Shopify tests and maintains separately - its conformance is not covered by this statement.
- Shopify injects tracking frames and a follow button for its Shop app. The markup of both is outside theme control.
Reporting a problem
If any part of this site does not work with your assistive technology, report it via support@lab401.com with the page address and the tool you were using.
Test Record: July 2026
Method
- Automated audit - axe-core 4 (Deque's open-source WCAG engine), run in a scripted browser (Playwright-driven Chromium) against 13 pages at desktop size (1440x900), with 3 of them repeated at mobile size (390x844). The pages were home, two product pages, two collections, FAQ, contact, cart, search results, blog index, a blog article, login and a policy page.
- Keyboard audit - a scripted traversal checking the skip link, focus visibility across 60 tab stops, that menus open with Enter and close with Escape, and the product form.
- Screen-reader review - inspection of the accessibility tree (the structure a screen reader announces) on each page, covering landmarks, heading order, image alternatives, frame titles, form labels and duplicate element IDs.
- Reflow and zoom - layout checks at a 320-pixel viewport and at 400% page zoom.
Findings and fixes
The audit found nine distinct WCAG A or AA failures, most recurring across pages because components are shared. The table sets out each one, its scale and its fix:
| Finding | WCAG | Scale | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site logo link unnamed | 2.4.4 Link purpose | every page | Logo alternative text now falls back to the shop name |
| Slideshow links unnamed or duplicated | 2.4.4 Link purpose | home, 4 per slide set | Labels derived from slide content; duplicate link removed from the tab order |
| Gallery thumbnails unnamed | 4.1.2 Name, role, value | 5 per product | Each thumbnail now announces "View image N of M" |
| Accessory list controls unnamed | 4.1.2 Name, role, value | 4 per product | Thumbnail duplicates hidden; add and quantity buttons named |
| Country selector on the FAQ unlabelled | 4.1.2 Name, role, value | 1 | Labelled "Destination country or region" |
| Text contrast below 4.5:1 | 1.4.3 Contrast (minimum) | about 180 elements | High-contrast mode re-tints every failing colour |
| Scrollable tables unreachable by keyboard | 2.1.1 Keyboard | 5 regions | Scrollable regions are now keyboard-focusable |
| Media frames untitled | 4.1.2 Name, role, value | 1-3 per page | Untitled frames now carry a title naming their source |
| Element IDs repeated between header and footer components | 4.1.1 Parsing | 3 components | Each ID now appears once per page |
The audit also recorded two structural weaknesses that are not A or AA failures. Both were repaired in the same round. The home page gained a page heading, and decorative widget headings were demoted so the outline of each page starts at its title.
Contrast approach
Default brand colours are unchanged. Contrast is delivered through a high-contrast mode, using WCAG technique G174, which permits a control that switches the page to a version meeting the 4.5:1 ratio. One toggle sits in the footer under the language selector. A second, revealed on keyboard focus, comes straight after the skip link, so it is the second tab stop on every page. The mode also switches on automatically when the operating system requests more contrast. Every replacement colour was measured. The lowest ratio is 6.27:1 and the highest 9.74:1.
What already passed
- Skip-to-content link, first in the tab order and visible on focus.
- Visible focus indicator on all 60 sampled tab stops.
- Main menus open with Enter and close with Escape, using the browser's built-in disclosure controls.
- Labelled search, variant, quantity and login controls. The automated audit found no violations on the login page.
- Layout reflow at a 320-pixel viewport with no horizontal scrolling, and zoom never blocked.
Out of scope
Four components are outside theme control and are recorded as known limitations. These are YouTube's player interface, Shopify's tracking frames, the Shop follow button and the Shopify checkout, which Shopify maintains and tests separately.
Verification
The storefront's functional test suite passed against the same preview - 157 checks covering cart, variants, accessories, pack building, filters, tax display, currency and language switching.