So you know a bit about WordPress accessibility, but still, you want to learn. Great!
The WordPress community is dedicated to Core Accessibility.
Accessibility Coding Standards Promise: Any new or revised code released in WordPress will conform with WCAG 2.0 guidelines at Level AA.
The accessibility of a WordPress website depends on 3 factors:
- Theme
- Plugins
- Content
Designers, creators, and site owners also influence if the end product is accessible.
Developers play a significant part in the accessibility mix. The issues can not be found until someone reports they can’t see or do anything on the website.
What Can WordPress Developers Do To Make The Sites They Build More Accessible?
The right method is improving accessibility from the start. Rectifying accessibility problems with a site is often more time-consuming and difficult to do (though it might happen often).
So, this is what you should do:
- 1. Choose An Accessibility Ready Theme
- 2. Use Plugins to produce Accessible Content
- 3. Teach Customers to Add Accessible Content
Tota11y, a Khan Academy developed usability visualisation toolkit, is an awesome developer tool. Simply attach their JS file to your site to allow the accessibility feature, which appears in the shape of a tiny glasses icon tab.
1. Choosing an Accessible Theme for WordPress
The first step on a fully accessible website is to select an accessible theme. Many theme developers take the time to implement the instructions in the WordPress theme accessibility guide, so it is best to ask the author whether a particular topic is accessible or not.
WordPress also includes free themes. Find the submenu under the “Function Filter” heading and click on the cog icon.
There are many options you can choose to filter your search. In the Features section, click the feature above that is reliable readiness.
You can then select any number of filters. On the left, you will see a Filter button that shows the number of filters applied. Click Apply filters. Then, select a topic.
It is important to note that the fact that a theme is labelled Accessibility Ready does not mean that it is “fully” accessible. However, if a theme developer marks their theme as accessible, they probably made some effort into making it accessible. If you encounter any issues, let them know so they can update it for other users.
2. WordPress Free Plugin Solutions For Accessibility
You may be creating your own WordPress theme, or you using any theme you want. One of the amazing things in WordPress is the availability of tens of thousands of add-ons. Whenever you need something, there is usually an add-on that can fit into your website.
My personal choice is WP Publishing, which comes with a variety of tools to help you find and fix the most common problems you find when using WordPress. It requires very little expertise and minimal setup.
WP Accessibility Helper (WHA) is another option in a range of options that include several useful features for skipping links, changing font size, scanning domains, contrast mode, and more. The features you want to include can meet more specific accessibility requirements.
Fonts: Create a font size widget for your sidebars. This makes it easy for readers on your site to resize text according to their needs.
Another easy-to-read option is the Zeno Font Resizer. The plugin allows webmasters to set the font size as well as the font size options. So when users return to your site, they’ll see the font size as they specified before.
Text-to-speech: For readers with visual impairment, text-to-speech features offer audio options for the blind. 190 WordPress add-ons offer a voice of human quality, support over 30 languages, and work with most topics.
G-speech text-to-speech solution is a free alternative for accessible audio. It works with any text on your site and adds an audio block to your site. You can then use these options to change the colour, speaker sound, and more.
Forms: You can easily access your contact forms through the Contact Form 7 plugin. This allows you to set default values for forms and formations, such as WCAG form fields, or readily available forms, such as add-ons.
3. Testing Your Website Accessibility
Once you’ve created your website, it’s a good idea to review your changes. There are many methods and software that you can use to make the experience enjoyable, but there are a few that make testing easier.
One that we mentioned earlier in this article is the Tota11y. Along with this, you can use WAVE Web Accessibility Diagnostic Chrome extension. This auxiliary device displays all errors, warnings, features, structural features, ARIA labels so that you can edit them accordingly.
Once you’ve created your website, it’s a good idea to review your changes. There are many methods and software that you can use to make the experience enjoyable, but there are a few that make testing easier.
Apart from Tota11y, the WAVE Web Accessibility Diagnostic Chrome Extension helps auxiliary device displays all errors, warnings, features, structural features and ARIA labels so that you can edit them accordingly.
Conclusion
Website accessibility is just as important, if not more essential than directing traffic to your website. You should make sure anyone who lands at your website will completely understand and navigate through all the information available there.
That’s why we recommend these accessibility features and the right plug-ins to make them work. If you want to make your website fully accessible, these tips should give you a head start.
If you want us to look at your website and suggest/implement ways in which we can improve your accessibility, feel free to drop us an email at hello@silvawebdesigns.com and we’d love to help you! Alternatively, you can get in touch with MangoMatter Media and they would be very happy to assist you.