WordPress accessibility: practical tips for themes, blocks and plugins

Start with the theme

• In the WordPress.org theme directory, filter by the Accessibility Ready tag. Themes with it have passed a review for basics like skip links, keyboard menus, visible focus and contrast.
• Test a theme's demo with a keyboard before you buy or install it. Open the menu, tab through a page, try the search.
• Check the theme doesn't block zoom. Look for user-scalable=no or maximum-scale=1 in the viewport tag.
• Use a child theme for your changes, so a theme update doesn't wipe out your fixes.

Use the block editor well

• Alt text: select an image and fill in “Alternative text” in the block settings, or in the Media Library. Leave it empty only for decorative images.
• Headings: use the Heading block and choose levels in order (H2, then H3). Pick the level for structure, and change the size with typography settings.
• One H1 per page: the page title is usually the H1. Don't add another H1 in the content, and check that your theme doesn't hide the title.
• Lists and tables: use the List and Table blocks rather than typed dashes or columns of text. Turn on the header section for data tables.
• Buttons: write what they do: “Book a table”, not “Click here”.
• Colors: the editor's color controls can create low-contrast text. Check new combinations against a contrast checker.

Page builders and plugins

Page builders, sliders, popups and form plugins add a lot of markup you don't see. Before you add one, check its documentation for accessibility notes, then test the result by keyboard.

• Sliders and carousels need pause buttons and named arrow controls.
• Popups need to be closable with Escape, and must not trap focus.
• Form plugins should output real labels, not placeholder-only fields.
• Remove plugins and themes you don't use: fewer moving parts means fewer surprises after updates.

Menus, PDFs and media

If you post menus, flyers or documents, publish the content as text on a page, not only as an uploaded image or PDF. See accessible restaurant menus and accessible PDFs. For video, add captions; see captions and transcripts.

After every update

Theme, plugin and core updates can change markup. A check that passed last month can fail today. Re-test key templates after major updates, or monitor them automatically.

Practical takeaways

• Choose an Accessibility Ready theme, and test it by keyboard.
• Fill in alt text and use real headings as you write.
• Keep plugins to the ones you need, and test what they add.
• Publish an accessibility statement page with a way to report problems.

Sources

• WordPress.org: Accessibility handbook
• WordPress.org: Theme review, accessibility-ready requirements