How to fix definition list on BigCommerce

Steps for BigCommerce

1. Go to Storefront → Themes → click Customize on your active theme, then exit the visual editor and use Edit Theme Files (or download the theme via Channel Manager → Themes → Download).
2. Search the Handlebars (.html) and partial template files for '<dl'. Common files: 'templates/components/products/product-view.html' and custom partials for specs or FAQs.
3. Correct the `<dl>` markup so only `<dt>`, `<dd>`, or wrapping `<div>`s are direct children.
4. Re-upload the corrected theme files or push via the Stencil CLI ('stencil push'), then verify on a staging channel before publishing to production.
5. If content is entered in the Page Builder (via HTML widget), open the widget, edit the raw HTML, and fix the list structure there.

<!-- ✅ CORRECT: valid <dl> structure -->
<dl>
  <div>
    <dt>Material</dt>
    <dd>100% Organic Cotton</dd>
  </div>
  <div>
    <dt>Weight</dt>
    <dd>180 gsm</dd>
  </div>
</dl>

<!-- ❌ INCORRECT: stray <p> and <span> directly inside <dl> -->
<dl>
  <p>Product Specs</p>      <!-- not allowed here -->
  <span>Material</span>    <!-- not a <dt> -->
  <dd>100% Organic Cotton</dd>
</dl>

What is definition list?

A definition list (`<dl>`) is a special HTML structure designed to pair terms with their descriptions — for example, a product spec sheet listing "Material: Cotton" or "Size: Medium". The rules for what can go inside a `<dl>` are strict: it may only contain `<dt>` (the term) and `<dd>` (the description) elements, optionally wrapped in `<div>` groupings. When a theme or page builder drops in extra tags, plain text, or skips required children, the list becomes "malformed." WCAG Success Criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) requires that information conveyed visually through structure also be conveyed correctly in the underlying code so assistive technologies can interpret it.

Screen readers used by blind or low-vision shoppers rely on correct HTML structure to announce lists properly — for example, "term 1 of 3: Material, definition: Cotton." A malformed `<dl>` breaks that announcement, so the information becomes meaningless noise or is skipped entirely, directly harming the shopping experience for those customers. From a legal standpoint, WCAG 1.3.1 is a Level A criterion — the baseline — meaning this is one of the failures most likely to appear in an accessibility audit, complaint, or lawsuit (ADA Title III, EN 301 549, UK Equality Act). Search engines also use semantic HTML to understand your page content; clean, structured markup around product details like specifications and FAQs can improve how that content is indexed and displayed in rich results.

See the complete Definition list guide for every platform and the full background.