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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesImproving accessibility in WordPress is a site-wide process: choose a responsibly reviewed theme, create accessible content, verify keyboard and assistive-technology behavior, and retest after changes. An “accessibility-ready” theme or an automated scan can reveal problems, but neither one certifies that your finished site conforms to WCAG 2.2 AA.
What WordPress accessibility covers
Accessibility applies to both the code that presents your site and the content you publish through it. WordPress.org says it aims to make the WordPress Admin and bundled themes fully compliant with WCAG 2.2 AA “where possible,” while acknowledging that some features may still have known issues and that it cannot guarantee compliance for independently developed themes or plugins. WordPress coding standards expect code integrated into the ecosystem to conform to WCAG 2.2 Level AA, but that is not a blanket claim about every WordPress website.
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The four WCAG principles provide a useful owner-level checklist:
- Perceivable: people can obtain information without depending on only sight, sound, or color.
- Operable: every navigation item and control works with a keyboard and assistive technology.
- Understandable: headings, instructions, forms, and control purposes are clear and predictable.
- Robust: browsers and assistive technologies can interpret the page and its states reliably.
See the project’s scope and goals in WordPress accessibility guidance and the Accessibility Coding Standards.
#1 Best Overall
1. Audit your theme and plugins before changing content
Use the accessibility-ready tag as a starting signal
When selecting a theme from the WordPress.org directory, prefer themes that have passed the Theme Review Team’s accessibility-ready review. The review checks baseline theme behavior; it is not a WCAG AA certificate. The Theme Handbook states explicitly that “Accessibility Ready” does not mean the theme meets WCAG AA.
| What you are evaluating | What the evidence means |
|---|---|
| Accessibility-ready tag | The theme passed WordPress’s minimum review requirements; it does not establish that your completed site conforms to WCAG AA. |
| Your finished site | Must be checked with its actual templates, blocks, plugins, settings, and published content. |
| Plugins | Review their controls and output too. Current theme requirements say a theme must not recommend or require inaccessible plugins. |
Read the Theme Handbook accessibility guidance and the current Accessibility-Ready Theme Requirements before committing to a theme. Remove, replace, or escalate plugins that create unlabeled controls, keyboard traps, inaccessible dialogs, or unusable form flows.
Check the theme’s real behavior
Open representative pages rather than judging a demo alone. Confirm that the theme provides a skip-to-content link, meaningful landmarks, visible keyboard focus, sensible heading output, and controls with accessible names, roles, and states. Test menus, search, mobile navigation, sliders, modals, accordions, and any custom block supplied by the theme or a plugin.
2. Fix structure, navigation, and controls
Make headings and landmarks describe the page
Use one clear page topic, then organize sections in a logical heading hierarchy. Do not choose a heading level merely because it looks larger; change presentation with CSS. Give regions meaningful landmark roles and names so screen-reader users can move directly to navigation, main content, search, and complementary areas.
Make links understandable out of context
Link text should identify its destination or action without requiring surrounding sentences. Replace “click here” and repeated “read more” links with labels such as “Download the installation guide.” In text content, links should be visibly distinguishable without relying on color alone; the current theme requirements call for underlined links in text.
Make every control keyboard usable
Tab through the page in a sensible order. You should be able to open and close menus, operate buttons, use dialogs, move through custom widgets, and reach every interactive element without a mouse. Focus must remain visible. A component that looks functional but cannot be operated or closed from the keyboard is a blocking defect, not a cosmetic issue.
Label forms and explain errors
Associate every input, select, and text area with a visible, specific label. Do not use placeholder text as the only label. Identify required fields, describe the error in plain language, connect the message to the affected field, and move or announce focus appropriately so the problem is discoverable.
3. Improve images, text, color, and media
Write purposeful alternative text
For an informative image, describe the information or function the image contributes to the page. A product image may need the product name and relevant distinguishing detail; a chart needs its essential data or a nearby text equivalent. Mark purely decorative images as decorative so assistive technology does not hear a redundant description. Do not put filenames, “image of,” or keyword lists in alternative text.
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Check contrast and do not communicate by color alone
Use text, icons, patterns, or instructions in addition to color for statuses and required actions. The WordPress Theme Handbook discusses a 4.5:1 contrast ratio for plain content text as its stated WCAG 2.0 AA criterion. Apply the current WCAG criterion appropriate to the text size, UI component, and visual state you are checking; do not treat 4.5:1 as a universal threshold for every element.
Provide alternatives for audio, video, and animation
Add accurate captions to spoken video, provide transcripts where appropriate, and ensure important visual information is available in an equivalent form. Avoid content that flashes dangerously or starts moving, speaking, or changing without a clear way to pause or stop it.
Support resize, reflow, hover, and focus
Increase text size and zoom the page. Content and functionality should remain available rather than being clipped, overlapped, or hidden. At narrow widths, the layout should reflow instead of forcing two-dimensional scrolling for ordinary text. Current accessibility-ready requirements also cover text-spacing changes. Information that appears on hover must be available on focus, remain usable while the pointer moves to it, and be dismissible; do not hide essential instructions in a hover-only tooltip.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.4. Validate with automated and manual testing
Use automated scanners for issue discovery
Run tools such as axe or WAVE on representative URLs. They can identify likely missing labels, structural problems, contrast failures, and other patterns quickly. Review each result in context: automated tools can report false positives, miss interaction failures, and cannot establish full WCAG conformance.
Complete a keyboard pass
- Start at the top of a page and use only Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter, Space, and arrow keys where appropriate.
- Verify that focus is visible and follows a logical order.
- Open every menu, dialog, accordion, carousel, and form control; confirm each can be operated and closed without a mouse.
- Check that focus does not become trapped or disappear behind an overlay.
Test with a screen reader and varied content
Use a screen reader available on your operating system and listen to headings, landmarks, link names, form labels, error messages, expanded or collapsed states, and dynamic updates. Test more than a polished homepage: include a long article, an image-heavy page, embedded media, a form with errors, search results, tables, and pages containing interactive blocks.
Check different sizes and text settings
Inspect desktop and mobile widths, browser zoom, larger text, and increased text spacing. Look for clipped controls, hidden content, horizontal scrolling, overlapping sticky elements, and dialogs that cannot be reached. WordPress’s theme testing guidance recommends varied content and screen sizes and calls out keyboard navigation, screen-reader compatibility, and ARIA use.
5. Record, prioritize, and retest fixes
Keep an issue list with the URL, component, user impact, reproduction steps, and the fix or owner. Prioritize barriers that prevent navigation, submitting a form, understanding an error, or completing a purchase or other primary task. Then repeat the same automated, keyboard, screen-reader, content, and viewport checks after theme, plugin, template, or editorial changes.
The accessibility-ready requirements were modernized in May 2026 with clearer titles, repeatable pass/fail test instructions, and a standard way to document tests. The update also adds or clarifies requirements for reflow and text spacing, unexpected context changes, hover and focus content, accessibility statements, and plugin recommendations. Review the May 6, 2026 update alongside the current requirements, updated May 12, 2026.
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If a custom editor block, JavaScript widget, membership flow, or checkout remains unusable after ordinary fixes, an independent accessibility audit or remediation specialist can assess the implementation and help prioritize repairs. Treat that as an additional service for complex barriers, not as a substitute for accessible content practices and ongoing testing.
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