Content accessibility on the web is very poor at the moment, which means a lot of users can’t access it universally across all devices. There are also legal requirements for some organisations and government websites, so it’s not something you can overlook. WordPress.org them is doing everything they can to make the core software accessible and we think themes and plugins should follow the trend. The more accessible your WordPress site is, the more people can use it and eventually, the better it is for you. Accessibility isn’t just making your content available to visually impaired, but more about making it available across all devices and screens.
»This is 2015.
Build accessible themes.«
How to make your WordPress theme accessible?
Making your site as accessible as it can can be hard, so you’ll need some help. WordPress has established an accessibility core team that performs user testing, so might want to keep an eye in it. If you’re really hard-core about the accessibility guidelines, check the WCAG 2.0 from W3C, where guidelines are very detailed and specific. If you need modern, accessible theme, use Bizznis. WordPress accessibility resources:
- Requirements for the accessibility-ready tag
- Theme Developer Handbook: Accessibility explained
- The Codex on Accessibility
- Useful test tools and plugins
- Code patterns on GitHub
Plugins that help you achieve accessibility?
As subject is only gaining momentum, there aren’t many plugins that help you achieve accessibility on every level. Even with new plugins being added, it will be hard to achieve it, without having W3C standard-compliant theme in the first place. You will also need to alter your theme and plugin files.
WordPress plugins for accessibility:
- WP Accessibility — provides features that fix accessibility issues in your site.
- Contact Form 7: Accessible defaults — generates accessible contact form defaults in Contact Form 7.
- Gravity Forms WCAG 2.0 Form Fields – Fixes accessibility issues in Gravity Forms
- Access Monitor – Uses Tenon.io to scan your site for accessibility issues
- WP Accessible Twitter Feed – Provides a minimal Twitter feed for easier accessibility
- Screen Reader Text Support – Adds instant support for the core .screen-reader-text class to your theme.
- Accessibility Widget — add a sidebar widget to change text size in your site.
- Zoom — enable site visitors to resize the predefined areas of your site.
- Accessible External Text Links — display an image to warn visitors that a link will open in a new window.
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