How to fix empty table header on Shopify

Steps for Shopify

1. In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store → Themes → click 'Customize' (or 'Edit code' for direct file access).
2. Click 'Edit code' to open the theme code editor. Tables in product descriptions are usually in sections like `product-template.liquid`, `page.liquid`, or custom section files.
3. Use the search (Ctrl+F / Cmd+F) in the code editor to find `<th` tags with no inner text.
4. Add descriptive text or an `aria-label` attribute to each empty `<th>`, then save.
5. For tables inside product descriptions or page content edited via the rich-text editor, go to the relevant Product or Page in the admin, switch the description editor to HTML view (the `<>` icon), and edit the `<th>` tags there.
6. Install the 'Accessibility Checker' app (e.g., accessiBe or Equal Web) from the Shopify App Store to scan for remaining issues after your fix.

<th scope="col">Price (USD)</th>

<!-- Visually hidden label for a decorative/spacer corner cell -->
<th scope="col" aria-label="Product thumbnail"></th>

<!-- Icon-only header with aria-label -->
<th scope="col" aria-label="Add to cart"></th>

What is empty table header?

A table header cell (`<th>`) is the label that sits at the top of a column or the start of a row in an HTML table — it tells everyone what kind of data that column or row contains (e.g., "Product Name," "Price," "Quantity"). An "empty table header" means one or more of those label cells exists in your page's code but contains no readable text. The cell may look fine visually (perhaps it's a decorative spacer or uses an icon), but it has nothing for a screen reader to announce. Screen readers rely on header text to describe a table's structure, so when a header is blank, users who are blind or have low vision lose the context they need to understand the data.

**Accessibility & legal risk:** Empty table headers violate WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), which is the benchmark used in accessibility lawsuits and regulatory audits (ADA, EN 301 549, EAA 2025). A single empty header in a product-comparison or pricing table can make that entire table unusable for customers who rely on assistive technology — costing you sales and exposing you to legal liability. **SEO:** Search engines also use table structure to understand tabular content; properly labelled headers improve the semantic clarity of your pages, which can contribute to better crawlability and richer structured understanding of your data. **Conversions:** Accessible, well-labelled product or size tables are easier for all customers to scan, reducing the friction that causes shoppers to abandon a purchase.

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