How to fix empty table header on Adobe Commerce (Magento)

Steps for Adobe Commerce (Magento)

1. SSH into your server (or use your hosting file manager) and navigate to your active theme directory: app/design/frontend/<Vendor>/<theme>/.
2. Search for PHTML template files that render tables: grep -r '<th' . --include='*.phtml' to find all files with table header markup.
3. Open the relevant .phtml file (e.g., Magento_Catalog/templates/product/list.phtml or a comparison template) and add text or `aria-label` to any empty `<th>` elements.
4. If using a third-party theme or module, create a template override in your custom theme rather than editing vendor files directly.
5. Run bin/magento cache:flush after saving, then verify with axe DevTools.

What is empty table header?

A table header (`<th>`) is the label that explains what the data in a column or row means — like "Product Name," "Price," or "Quantity." When a `<th>` element exists in your HTML but contains no text (or only invisible content), screen readers announce it as blank, leaving blind and low-vision shoppers with no idea what that column or row is about. This is an accessibility failure under WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value). Empty table headers most commonly appear in comparison tables, product specification tables, pricing grids, and order-history tables on ecommerce sites.

Screen reader users — a significant portion of shoppers with visual impairments — rely entirely on table headers to navigate data tables. An empty header makes a table incomprehensible and can force them to abandon your product comparison or checkout entirely, costing you conversions. In many jurisdictions (USA under ADA, EU under EAA, UK under PSED) inaccessible websites expose businesses to legal complaints and lawsuits; accessibility litigation has been rising sharply year over year. Fixing this issue also signals to Google's crawlers that your page structure is well-formed, which can modestly support your organic rankings.

See the complete Empty table header guide for every platform and the full background.