How to fix color contrast on BigCommerce

Steps for BigCommerce

1. Go to Storefront → Themes → click Customize on your active theme.
2. In the Style panel, find Typography or Colors. Look for 'Body text color' or 'Secondary text color' and update it to an accessible hex value.
3. If the color is not exposed there, click Advanced → Edit Theme Files (or use the Stencil CLI locally).
4. Open assets/scss/settings/ — look for _color.scss or a variables file. Search for the failing color and replace it.
5. Commit/push changes (Stencil CLI) or Save in the file editor, then publish the theme.

What is color contrast?

Color contrast is the difference in brightness between text and the background behind it. WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) Success Criterion 1.4.3 requires that normal-sized text (below 18pt / 24px regular, or 14pt / ~18.5px bold) has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background. A ratio like 4.47:1 — for example, #777777 grey text on a white #ffffff background — falls just short of that threshold and is therefore a measurable accessibility failure. The ratio is a simple math score: higher numbers mean more contrast and easier reading.

Approximately 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women have some form of color vision deficiency, and many more users struggle with low contrast in bright sunlight or on older screens. Failing WCAG 1.4.3 exposes your store to legal risk in the US (ADA), UK (Equality Act), EU (EAA 2025), and other jurisdictions that reference WCAG as the accessibility standard for commercial websites. Beyond legal compliance, hard-to-read text directly hurts conversions: shoppers who can't comfortably read product descriptions, prices, or call-to-action buttons abandon faster. Google also uses accessibility signals as part of its Core Web Vitals and overall quality assessment, so fixing contrast issues can have a positive downstream effect on organic rankings.

See the complete Color contrast guide for every platform and the full background.