Reviewed October 17, 2026

Making your Shopify store locator and map accessible

Store locator pages rely on interactive maps that many customers cannot operate. A text first locator with real lists, distances, and details gives every customer a way in.

The map is the barrier

Embedded maps are built for pointer and touch: drag to pan, scroll to zoom, tap a pin. Keyboard users often cannot move the map meaningfully, screen reader users hear a largely unlabeled canvas, and customers with motor impairments struggle with the precision pins demand. Yet the underlying need is simple text: where are your stores, how far, when open, how to contact.

If the map is the only route to that information, a real slice of customers is locked out of visiting you in person. This is one of the clearest cases where the accessible alternative is also just a better page, because lists are searchable, printable, and usable on a slow phone connection.

Build the locator text first

Start with a list of locations in HTML: name, address, phone, hours, and any access notes like step free entry or parking. Order it sensibly, by region or alphabetically, and make each entry complete on its own. A search or filter by postcode or city should filter this list, not exist only inside the map.

Then treat the map as an enhancement layered on top for those who enjoy it. Pins and list should agree, and selecting a list entry can highlight the map for sighted users. When the map fails to load, and maps do fail, the page still does its entire job.

Details that make visits actually possible

Accessibility information about the store itself belongs in the listing: step free access, accessible parking, hearing loop, seating, assistance dogs welcome. Customers plan visits around these facts, and burying them or omitting them wastes the trip. A phone number in real text, tappable on mobile, beats a contact form for someone planning a visit today.

Keep hours current and note holiday exceptions where the entry lives. A screen reader user who finds stale hours has no visual cues to doubt them. If you run one location, a simple visit us page with this structure outperforms a locator app in every way that matters.

Checking your current locator

Try to find your nearest store, its Saturday hours, and its phone number using only a keyboard. Then try with the map blocked or scrolled past: does the page still answer? Finally, search your store name plus the word accessible in a search engine and see whether the information a disabled customer needs appears anywhere at all.

Locator apps vary widely in quality. When evaluating one, the text list is the feature to demand, not pin styling. Ask the vendor directly how a screen reader user completes the task, and test their demo with a keyboard before paying.

Frequently asked questions

Are embedded maps like Google Maps accessible at all?

They have improved keyboard support, but in practice they remain hard for screen reader and switch device users, and the surrounding pins and results are often the least accessible part of the page. Providing the full information as a text list alongside the map is the reliable answer.

What store details should every listing include?

Name, full address, phone number, opening hours, and a link to directions. Add practical access notes: step free entry, parking, and facilities. Everything a customer needs to decide and plan a visit should be readable text on the page, not hidden inside map interactions.

My store is online only except for pop ups. Does this apply?

Yes, in miniature. Pop up and market stall announcements have the same pattern: a poster image or map pin with the details trapped inside. Publish the address, dates, hours, and access notes as real text on the page and in the announcement, and everyone can plan.

Does a text list help my local SEO?

It does. Search engines read text, not map pins, so a complete list of locations with addresses and hours gives each store a chance to appear in local searches. The accessible structure and the discoverable structure are, once again, the same structure.