How to fix label title only on BigCommerce

Steps for BigCommerce

1. Go to Storefront → Themes → Advanced → Edit Theme Files (in the Stencil theme editor, or download the theme for local editing via the BigCommerce CLI).
2. Locate templates/components/search/search-form.html for the search box, and templates/components/cart/item-quantity.html for quantity inputs.
3. Add a <label for='search_query'>Search</label> paired with id='search_query' on the input, or add aria-label='Search' to the input if the design requires no visible label.
4. For checkout fields, BigCommerce's Optimized One-Page Checkout is hosted — open a support ticket or use the Checkout SDK / Checkout JS SDK customization to inject labels, or configure a third-party checkout that is WCAG-compliant.
5. Re-upload / push the theme and verify in the storefront using axe DevTools.

What is label title only?

Every input field on a web form — search boxes, email fields, quantity selectors, checkout fields — needs a visible label that sighted users can read and that assistive technologies like screen readers can announce. The `title` attribute (which appears as a browser tooltip on hover) and `aria-describedby` (which provides supplementary description) are not substitutes for a proper label. When a field relies only on these mechanisms, many users — including those using screen readers, voice-control software, or who simply have low vision — cannot tell what the field is for. This WCAG rule (label-title-only) flags any form field that lacks a proper visible label and depends solely on hidden or supplementary labeling methods.

Accessibility failures on checkout and search forms directly reduce conversions: if a customer cannot understand what to type into a field, they abandon the form. Legally, WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance is required or strongly recommended in many jurisdictions (ADA in the US, EN 301 549 in the EU, AODA in Canada), and failing it exposes your store to complaints, audits, and litigation. Search engines also parse form labels to understand page content and site usability — a well-labeled search or newsletter form sends better signals than one Google's crawler cannot interpret. Fixing this issue improves usability for everyone, including mobile users who cannot hover to see tooltip text.

See the complete Label title only guide for every platform and the full background.