Link Purpose (In Context)
The purpose of every link must be determinable from the link text alone, or from the link text together with its programmatically-determined context.
What it requires
Screen-reader users often navigate by jumping through a list of all links on a page. Generic link text — "click here", "read more", "learn more" — strips the context that surrounding visual layout provides for sighted users, leaving the screen-reader user with a list of identical "read more" links and no way to tell them apart.
The fix is either: descriptive link text ("Read the WCAG 2.2 checklist"), or pair generic text with `aria-label` / surrounding `<h3>` so the accessible name is meaningful.
Common Shopify failure
Blog index pages with "Read more →" repeated under each post excerpt. Product card grids with "Buy now" buttons that have no per-product aria-label.
How to fix it
Either rewrite link text to include the post title ("Read the WCAG 2.2 checklist"), or add `aria-label="Read more about ${ post.title }"` on the link.
Merchant QA checklist
- Scan the storefront page where this pattern appears: product pages, collection pages, cart drawer, customer-account pages, and any landing page built with theme sections.
- Confirm the issue is fixed in the rendered browser output, not only in the Liquid file. Shopify section settings, app blocks, and third-party scripts can reintroduce the same 2.4.4 failure after a theme edit.
- Re-test the affected component with keyboard navigation and a screen-reader accessibility tree before publishing the theme, especially when the fix changes markup or ARIA attributes.
How AccessComply handles it
AccessComply treats WCAG 2.4.4 as a rendered-storefront issue first. The scanner checks the live DOM and computed styles, maps the finding back to the Shopify theme file that produced it, then classifies the fix as a guided partial fix. When automation is safe, the app writes the smallest theme-code change needed and keeps the original theme backup available. When merchant judgment is required, the issue is surfaced for manual review instead of pretending the page is fixed.
Primary source: W3C — WCAG 2.0 Understanding 2.4.4