How to fix object alt on BigCommerce
Add a meaningful text alternative (via `title` attribute or `aria-label`) to every `<object>` element so screen readers can describe its content to users who cannot see it.
Steps for BigCommerce
- In the BigCommerce Control Panel, go to Storefront → My Themes → click 'Advanced' → 'Edit Theme Files' for your active theme.
- Browse to the relevant template file (e.g., templates/pages/product.html or a custom partial) and locate the <object> element.
- Add `title='Descriptive label here'` to the opening <object> tag.
- If the <object> appears in a page built with the Page Builder (Content → Web Pages), edit that page, find the HTML widget containing the <object>, and add the `title` attribute in the HTML source view.
- Save and publish, then verify using the axe DevTools browser extension on the live or preview URL.
What is object alt?
An HTML `<object>` element is used to embed content like PDFs, Flash files, SVGs, or other media directly in a web page. WCAG Success Criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content) requires that every non-text element — including `<object>` — has a text alternative that describes what it contains or does. When an `<object>` has no `title` attribute and no `aria-label`, screen readers (used by blind and low-vision shoppers) have nothing to announce, so that content is invisible to them. The fix is simple: add a short, descriptive label directly to the element.
Failing WCAG 1.1.1 is one of the most commonly cited violations in accessibility audits and lawsuits — in the US (ADA), EU (EAA/EN 301 549), and other jurisdictions, online stores are increasingly required to be accessible. A missing text alternative on an embedded product brochure, size guide PDF, or interactive viewer means blind customers cannot access that content at all, directly harming conversions and creating legal exposure. Google also uses accessibility signals as a quality indicator, and unresolvable non-text content can limit how well your pages are crawled and understood. Fixing it takes under five minutes per element and eliminates both the compliance risk and the customer experience gap.
See the complete Object alt guide for every platform and the full background.
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