How to fix aria dialog name on BigCommerce

Steps for BigCommerce

1. Go to Storefront → My Themes → click 'Advanced' → Edit Theme Files (Stencil themes).
2. Locate the relevant Handlebars template — common files are templates/components/cart/preview.html (mini-cart), templates/components/common/modal.html, or a quick-search/product-quick-view partial.
3. Find the element with role="dialog" (or the <dialog> tag) and add aria-labelledby="[id-of-heading]" or aria-label="[dialog purpose]".
4. If you use Page Builder widgets or third-party scripts for popups, check the widget's HTML settings panel for an ARIA label field, or add a Script Manager snippet that patches the attribute on DOMContentLoaded.
5. Save and push changes; test with a screen reader or the axe browser extension.

<div role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-labelledby="cart-dialog-title">
  <h2 id="cart-dialog-title">Your Shopping Cart</h2>
  <!-- dialog content -->
</div>

<!-- OR, when no visible heading exists -->
<div role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label="Newsletter signup">
  <!-- dialog content -->
</div>

What is aria dialog name?

Any time your store shows a popup, modal, or overlay — such as a cookie notice, quick-view product panel, cart drawer, age-verification gate, or newsletter signup — that element needs an accessible name. An "accessible name" is a short label that screen readers announce when the dialog opens, telling the user what the popup is for. It is provided either by pointing to a visible heading inside the dialog (aria-labelledby) or by writing a brief label directly on the element (aria-label). Without one, screen-reader users land in the dialog with no context about its purpose.

Screen readers used by blind and low-vision shoppers announce the accessible name of a dialog the moment it opens. Without a name, a user hears only "dialog" — with no indication of whether it is a cart, a promo, a warning, or something else — making the popup effectively unusable. This violates WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value), which is a legal requirement under the ADA, the European Accessibility Act, and similar laws in many countries. Beyond legal risk, an inaccessible checkout or cart modal directly reduces conversions among the estimated 7–8 % of online shoppers who rely on assistive technology. Fixing this also benefits keyboard-only users and voice-control software that rely on the same label.

See the complete Aria dialog name guide for every platform and the full background.