Fixing Page Titled on Shopify (WCAG 2.4.2)
Every page needs a unique title element that describes what the page is about.
Why it matters
The title is the first thing a screen reader announces when a user moves between tabs. If all 200 products in the catalogue carry the title 'Shop', the customer cannot tell which product they are on. It is also the line that appears in search results, so the fix improves click-through at the same time.
Shopify — where to look
Theme code: the title element in layout/theme.liquid; per-product and per-collection SEO fields in Admin.
What to do
Derive the title from the page object (product name, collection name) and append the store name. Include the page number in paginated listings.
Verification status
Checked by reading the platform’s own source code. Dawn builds the title from page_title, so it already varies per page. A repeated title usually means the SEO field was left blank in Admin or the tag was overwritten.
Source: https://github.com/Shopify/dawn/blob/main/layout/theme.liquid
Reference themes change. If your store runs a different or older theme, confirm the file before editing it.
How to verify the fix
- Open several product pages in separate tabs and see whether the tab titles let you tell them apart.
- Go to page 2 of a category listing — does the title change?
- Check the cart, checkout, account and 404 pages individually. These are the ones usually forgotten.
Other platforms
- Fixing Page Titled on WooCommerce
- Fixing Page Titled on Webflow
- Fixing Page Titled on Wix
- Fixing Page Titled on Squarespace
The full criterion
Read the full explanation of WCAG 2.4.2 Page Titled, or the formal W3C definition.