How to fix select name on BigCommerce

Steps for BigCommerce

1. In your BigCommerce admin go to Storefront → Themes → click 'Advanced' → 'Edit Theme Files' for your active theme (Stencil-based).
2. Product option selects live in `templates/components/products/options/swatch.html`, `set-select.html`, or `set-rectangle.html`. Open the relevant file and locate the `<select>` tag.
3. Add a matching `<label>` before the `<select>`: `<label for="attribute_{{ product.options[i].id }}">{{ product.options[i].display_name }}</label>` and add the corresponding `id="attribute_{{ product.options[i].id }}"` to the `<select>` tag.
4. For the sort-by dropdown on collection pages, open `templates/components/category/shop-by.html` or `templates/pages/category.html` and add `<label for="sort" class="u-hidden-visually">Sort by</label>` and `id="sort"` on the select.
5. Commit your changes in the theme editor. BigCommerce Stencil themes include a `.u-hidden-visually` utility class for visually-hidden labels.
6. Preview the storefront and verify labels are announced using a screen reader or the axe browser extension.

What is select name?

Every dropdown menu on your website (a `<select>` element — things like "Choose a size", "Select a country", or "Sort by") must have a text label that is programmatically linked to it. Without this link, a screen reader user who tabs to the dropdown hears nothing useful — just "combo box" with no context about what they're supposed to choose. A label can be a visible `<label>` tag, a hidden-but-accessible ARIA attribute, or a wrapping label element — but something must be there and connected.

Screen reader users — who include blind shoppers, people with motor disabilities, and many others — cannot use unlabeled dropdowns. This directly breaks the shopping experience: they cannot select a product size, filter results, choose a shipping country, or complete a checkout form. Beyond lost sales, missing form labels violate WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 4.1.2, which is cited in accessibility laws in the US (ADA), EU (EAA), UK (PSBAR), and Canada (AODA). Accessibility lawsuits overwhelmingly target e-commerce sites, and missing form labels are among the most commonly cited violations. Fixing this removes legal risk and opens your store to a wider audience.

See the complete Select name guide for every platform and the full background.