Contrast too weakTheme
Custom colour and theme tweaks often fall below the required contrast of 4.5:1.
Specifically for Shopware 6 · BFSG & EAA
Accessibility for your Shopware store.
Since 28 June 2025, online shops must be accessible. Shopware has improved its standard storefront a lot for this — but your store is more than the core. Here you’ll learn where barriers arise in practice, and how to find and fix them instead of hiding them.
Your Shopware store falls under the law.
Online shops count as a “service in electronic commerce” — and are therefore clearly covered by the BFSG and the EU-wide EAA. Only microenterprises are exempt (fewer than 10 employees and no more than €2 million in turnover or balance sheet).
Doesn’t Shopware handle this itself?
Partly yes: Shopware has significantly improved its standard storefront for the EAA — with semantic HTML and optimised templates, for example. That’s a good base.
But your store isn’t just the core. Your custom theme, your shopping experiences, your plugins and your product images come from you — and that’s where most barriers arise. Shopware’s good base tells you nothing about how accessible your specific, live store actually is.
The buying journey
The whole path to purchase must be accessible.
It’s not enough for the homepage to be fine. Accessibility has to hold across the entire ordering process — otherwise the purchase breaks off exactly where it counts.
Homepage
Navigation operable by keyboard, sufficient contrast in the theme.
Category & search
Filters and sorting usable without a mouse, results clearly announced.
Product detail
Alt text for product images, variant and quantity selection operable.
Cart
Quantity changes and status messages comprehensible for screen readers.
Checkout
Labelled form fields, clear errors, accessible sign-in.
Even a single non-operable step — such as a checkout captcha that works only as a puzzle — can make the entire purchase impossible for affected users.
In practice
Where barriers arise in Shopware stores.
Almost always through what goes beyond the standard: your theme, your content, your extensions. That’s exactly what the Welcoma scanner finds — with a pointer to the spot.
Non-operable sliders & bannersExperiences
Self-built Shopping-Experiences elements often can’t be operated by keyboard.
Product images without alt textProduct data
Images you upload rarely have text alternatives — for screen readers they stay empty.
Captcha as the only pathCheckout
A pure image or puzzle captcha violates the WCAG rules on accessible authentication.
Third-party extensionsPlugins
Plugins bring their own markup — missing labels and structure often go unnoticed.
Click targets too smallMobile
Buttons under 24 × 24 px are hard to hit reliably on a smartphone.
How Welcoma helps
Find, fix, prove.
An honest path instead of a fake fix — suited to your Shopware store.
Free scanUsable today
Checks your store URL against the WCAG criteria and shows you, prioritised, what to do — no plugin, for any Shopware version.
On-screen menu & pluginComing soon
The Shopware plugin brings the customisable on-screen menu straight into your storefront — installed in minutes, no code.
Statement generator
Creates your accessibility statement to BFSG specifications — including a feedback path for your customers.
Honestly: a widget alone won’t make your store compliant.
An overlay lays itself over your storefront but doesn’t fix the causes in the checkout, in shopping experiences or in product data. You only become compliant once the real issues are fixed — the on-screen menu additionally lowers barriers, but doesn’t replace the work.
More background
The legal situation in detail
What the requirements rest on exactly — and what the technical benchmark behind them is.
FAQ
Shopware & accessibility
Is my Shopware store affected by the BFSG?
As a rule, yes. An online shop counts as a service in electronic commerce and therefore falls under the BFSG and EAA. Only microenterprises with fewer than 10 employees and no more than €2 million in turnover or balance sheet are exempt.
Doesn’t Shopware make my store accessible automatically?
Shopware has strongly improved its standard storefront for the EAA — that’s a good base. But the accessibility of your specific store also depends on your theme, your shopping experiences, your plugins and your product data. The free scan checks your actual, live store.
Is there a Welcoma plugin for Shopware?
The Shopware plugin with the customisable on-screen menu is in preparation. You can already use the free scan for any Shopware URL today — no plugin required.
Is an accessibility widget enough for my store?
No. A widget lowers barriers and helps with documentation, but doesn’t fix the causes — for example in the checkout or in self-built experiences. You only become compliant once the underlying issues are solved.
Does the whole checkout really have to be accessible?
Yes. The legally relevant process covers the entire buying journey — from product search through product information to payment. If one step breaks, the purchase is practically impossible to complete for affected users.
Does the scan work with Shopware 6?
Yes. The scan works platform-independently based on your URL and checks the delivered page — regardless of which Shopware 6 version or theme you use.
Free scan
Check your Shopware store — honestly.
Enter your store’s URL and get an honest overview of your accessibility — free and with no obligation.