Focus Not Obscured (Minimum)
When a user-interface component receives keyboard focus, it must not be entirely hidden by author-created sticky content (sticky headers, footers, drawers).
What it requires
Sticky headers and announcement bars often cover the upper portion of the viewport. When a keyboard user tabs to a link in the navigation, that link is sometimes scrolled into the area now covered by the sticky header — the focus indicator is hidden, the user is lost.
2.4.11 is "Minimum" — it requires the focused element to be at least partially visible. 2.4.12 (Enhanced, AAA) requires the entire focused element to be visible.
Common Shopify failure
Cart drawer overlay covers the entire viewport, but Tab still moves focus through links underneath the drawer. Sticky announcement bar covers the top 60px, hiding the first row of newly-focused header links.
How to fix it
Add `scroll-margin-top` equal to the sticky header height on focusable elements, or use `scroll-padding-top` on the scrolling container. AccessComply's FocusObscuringAgent computes the sticky offsets and writes the rule.
Merchant QA checklist
- Scan the storefront page where this pattern appears: product pages, collection pages, cart drawer, customer-account pages, and any landing page built with theme sections.
- Confirm the issue is fixed in the rendered browser output, not only in the Liquid file. Shopify section settings, app blocks, and third-party scripts can reintroduce the same 2.4.11 failure after a theme edit.
- Re-test the affected component with keyboard navigation and a screen-reader accessibility tree before publishing the theme, especially when the fix changes markup or ARIA attributes.
How AccessComply handles it
AccessComply treats WCAG 2.4.11 as a rendered-storefront issue first. The scanner checks the live DOM and computed styles, maps the finding back to the Shopify theme file that produced it, then classifies the fix as a safe automatic fix. When automation is safe, the app writes the smallest theme-code change needed and keeps the original theme backup available. When merchant judgment is required, the issue is surfaced for manual review instead of pretending the page is fixed.
Primary source: W3C — WCAG 2.2 Understanding 2.4.11