Annex

Fixing Resize Text on Shopify (WCAG 1.4.4)

Text must be able to scale to 200% without losing content or functionality.

Why it matters

Disabling zoom in the viewport meta tag is a single line, but it locks low-vision customers out of the store entirely on mobile. The information printed smallest — price, size chart, shipping terms — is exactly the information that needs enlarging.

Shopify — where to look

Theme code: the viewport meta tag in layout/theme.liquid.

What to do

Reduce the tag to width=device-width and initial-scale=1; remove the user-scalable and maximum-scale restrictions.

Verification status

Checked by reading the platform’s own source code. Dawn ships an unrestricted viewport (width=device-width,initial-scale=1), so a restriction here was added by hand.

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

  1. View source and check the viewport meta tag for user-scalable=no or a maximum-scale below 2.
  2. Set desktop browser zoom to 200% and confirm the price, Add to Cart button and navigation are still visible and usable.
  3. Try pinch-zooming on mobile.

Other platforms

The full criterion

Read the full explanation of WCAG 1.4.4 Resize Text, or the formal W3C definition.