Images of Text
Use real text rather than images of text, except where a particular visual presentation is essential or the text is part of a logo or brand name.
What it requires
WCAG 2.0 SC 1.4.5 protects users who rely on browser text-resize, custom fonts, or styling overrides. Text rendered as part of an image cannot be resized, restyled, or read by screen readers (without alt text). Real HTML text is the default for any text content that is not strictly part of a brand mark.
The criterion has explicit exemptions for logos and brand names that incorporate text (the Shopify wordmark, for example). It also exempts essential visual presentations — typography artwork, museum-style displays — but those are rare in ecommerce.
Common Shopify failure
Hero banner where the headline "Summer Sale 50% Off" is rendered as a flat image rather than as `<h1>` text styled with CSS. Promotional banner images with discount codes baked into the image.
How to fix it
AccessComply detects images containing text via OCR-aware scanning and recommends conversion to real HTML text styled with CSS. The fix is partial because the merchant must approve the typography conversion.
Primary source: W3C — WCAG 2.0 Understanding 1.4.5