Is Dawn 5.0 theme ADA compliant?

Shopify Discussion

Topic summary

A merchant asks whether Shopify’s Dawn 5.0 theme meets ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance standards. A Shopify representative explains that while merchants are responsible for ensuring their stores comply with accessibility laws in their jurisdictions, Shopify’s free OS 2.0 themes—including Dawn—paired with Checkout represent the platform’s most ADA-compliant offering. These themes have undergone full audits and remediation to meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards. The representative recommends consulting Shopify’s Accessibility Partners for professional audits and remediation.

Critical pushback emerges from multiple merchants:

  • Several report being sued despite using Shopify themes, citing specific non-compliance issues with Dawn (contrast problems due to RGB variables, ARIA issues, redundant links in collection feeds)
  • Merchants express frustration that themes marketed as compliant still fail screen reader tests and other accessibility requirements
  • Concerns raised that automated accessibility plugins don’t provide adequate legal protection
  • Multiple users note the financial burden: paying for lawsuits plus thousands more for theme reprogramming
  • One commenter shares data showing Shopify stores face disproportionately high lawsuit rates

The discussion remains unresolved, with affected merchants seeking affordable solutions and questioning whether Shopify should bear responsibility for theme-level compliance issues.

Summarized with AI on November 2. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
2

Hey there, Christina!

Welcome to the Community! Definitely a great place to gather some input regarding anything about the platform!

With regards to your inquiry, it is possible to create an ADA compliant store using Shopify however, this is a matter that we refer you to your own counsel as every jurisdiction is different.

It is the your responsibility to ensure that your storefront complies with all applicable laws and regulations in the your jurisdiction and in the jurisdiction of each of your customers, including all laws and regulations which relate to web accessibility.

You can reach out to one of our Accessibility Partners for more assistance. These Partners specialize in auditing and remediation of web sites to meet WCAG 2.1 AA compliance:

Also, at this time, Shopify’s free OS 2.0 themes (including the Dawn theme), paired with Checkout, is Shopify’s most ADA compliant offering.

Shopify Checkout has gone through a full audit and remediation project to meet WCAG 2.1 AA. Remaining issues are still being addressed. Checkout’s accessibility compliance level is high and continues to improve with time.

Shopify’s free OS 2.0 themes are recommended as they have gone through a full audit + remediation process to meet the WCAG 2.1 AA standard. This means the theme’s design and code do a lot of heavy lifting in creating an accessible experience by default.

Examples of these details can be found in the blog post, “7 Tips to Increase the Accessibility of Your Debut Theme Shopify Store”.