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Accessible Cart

Fixing “Links do not have a discernible name” in Shopify

Icon links for cart, account, search and social media are announced as just “link” by screen readers.

Found on 45% of 3,151 Shopify homepages we tested in our 2026 study.

What the message means

A link needs text a screen reader can announce. When a link contains only an SVG icon or an image without alt text, a blind shopper hears “link” and nothing else.

Where it comes from in a Shopify theme

Header icons (cart, account, search), social icons in the footer, a logo without alt text, and product cards that wrap the image in a second link to the same product.

How to fix it

Add visually hidden text inside the link. Shopify themes already include a visually-hidden class:

<a href="{{ routes.cart_url }}" class="header__icon header__icon--cart">
  {% render 'icon-cart' %}
  <span class="visually-hidden">{{ 'templates.cart.cart' | t }}</span>
</a>

{%- comment -%} snippets/social-icons.liquid {%- endcomment -%}
<a href="{{ settings.social_instagram_link }}" class="link list-social__link">
  {%- render 'icon-instagram' -%}
  <span class="visually-hidden">Instagram</span>
</a>

Duplicate links on product cards

If both the product image and the title link to the product, hide the image link from assistive technology so shoppers don't hear the product twice: add aria-hidden="true" and tabindex="-1" to the image link and keep the title link as the accessible one.

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