How to fix aria required attr on BigCommerce

Steps for BigCommerce

1. In your BigCommerce admin, go to Storefront → My Themes → (active theme) → Advanced → Edit Theme Files.
2. Locate the Handlebars template responsible for the widget — typically templates/components/header/navigation.html for nav dropdowns or templates/components/search/quick-search.html for the search combobox.
3. Add aria-expanded='false' and aria-controls='target-id' to the trigger element in the template markup.
4. Open assets/js/theme/ and find the matching JavaScript module (e.g. header.js or search.js). In the toggle handler, add: this.$trigger.attr('aria-expanded', isOpen ? 'true' : 'false');
5. Bundle and preview the theme changes, then verify with the axe browser extension.

What is aria required attr?

ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) roles tell screen readers and other assistive technologies what kind of widget an element is — for example, a button that opens a dropdown, a tab panel, or an accordion. Each ARIA role has a defined set of required attributes that must also be present for the widget to make sense. For instance, a button that expands a menu must include `aria-expanded` (so the screen reader can announce "expanded" or "collapsed") and typically `aria-controls` (so it points to the element it controls). When those required attributes are missing, the role declaration is incomplete and the assistive technology cannot convey the correct state or relationship to the user.

Screen reader users — who often navigate by keyboard only — rely entirely on ARIA state attributes to know whether a menu is open, a tab is selected, or an accordion panel is visible. Without `aria-expanded`, a screen reader user has no way to know whether a dropdown they just activated is open or closed. Without `aria-controls`, they may not find the content that just appeared. This directly breaks the shopping experience for blind and low-vision customers. WCAG 2.x Success Criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value) is a Level AA requirement, meaning it is referenced in most accessibility laws worldwide (ADA, Section 508, EN 301 549, AODA). Failing it exposes your store to legal complaints and demand letters. It also signals to Google's quality systems that the site has usability issues, which can indirectly affect organic rankings.

See the complete Aria required attr guide for every platform and the full background.