How to fix region on BigCommerce

Steps for BigCommerce

1. In your BigCommerce admin go to Storefront → My Themes → (active theme) → Advanced → Edit Theme Files.
2. Open 'templates/layout/base.html' (Cornerstone theme) — this is the global shell.
3. Ensure the site header markup is inside `<header role='banner'>`, the main page content area is inside `<main id='main-content'>`, and the footer is inside `<footer role='contentinfo'>`.
4. Open 'templates/components/common/header.html' and 'templates/components/common/navigation.html' — confirm navigation is wrapped in `<nav aria-label='Main navigation'>`.
5. Check 'templates/pages/' for individual page templates (category.html, product.html, etc.) to ensure content does not render outside the `<main>` block.
6. Use the axe browser extension to test your live storefront and iterate until all content is inside landmarks.

What is region?

Landmark regions are special HTML tags — like `<header>`, `<main>`, `<nav>`, `<aside>`, and `<footer>` — that divide a page into named zones. Screen readers and assistive technologies use these zones as a navigation menu, letting users jump straight to the area they need (e.g. "skip to main content") instead of listening to every element. The WCAG "region" rule fails when any visible content sits outside of all these landmark zones — meaning a portion of your page is effectively invisible to screen-reader navigation.

Approximately 7 million Americans rely on screen readers, and "landmark navigation" is one of the primary ways they move through a web page. When content sits outside landmarks, those users cannot find or reach it at all — a direct barrier that can expose your store to accessibility lawsuits under the ADA (Title III) and similar laws in Canada, the UK, and the EU. Beyond legal risk, accessible stores convert better: removing navigation barriers keeps more users on the page and completing purchases. Google also uses page structure as a quality signal, so a well-structured landmark layout can reinforce your SEO.

See the complete Region guide for every platform and the full background.