6 Best Ways to Improve Accessibility of Your WordPress Site

In web development, ensuring your website is accessible is more than just meeting regulatory requirements—it’s about creating an inclusive online environment for all users. Accessibility means making your site usable for everyone, including people with disabilities, which can significantly broaden your audience and enhance the overall user experience. Building on the insights shared in our previous post, “The Positive Impacts of the 2025 European Accessibility Act (EAA), WCAG Requirements in the Private Sector“, we will explore six effective ways to improve accessibility on your WordPress site. Here are the best strategies to get you started.

1. Use an Accessible WordPress Theme to Improve Accessibility

Choosing the Right Theme

One of the main reasons to use an accessible theme is that it lays a solid foundation for your site’s inclusivity. While many themes focus on aesthetics, they often neglect essential accessibility features. When selecting a theme, look for ones that specifically mention accessibility-ready features. The WordPress Theme Directory has a tag for accessibility-ready themes that meet the WordPress Accessibility Guidelines.

Key Features of Accessible Themes

• Keyboard Navigation: Ensure all interactive elements can be accessed and operated via keyboard.
• Color Contrast: Good contrast between text and background makes content readable for users with visual impairments.
• Responsive Design: The theme should adapt to different screen sizes and orientations, ensuring accessibility across all devices.
• Semantic HTML: Proper use of HTML5 elements like <header>, <nav>, <main>, and <footer> improves the site’s structure and aids screen readers.

Recommended Accessible Themes

Popular accessible WordPress themes include Astra, GeneratePress, and Neve. These themes not only emphasize accessibility but also offer extensive customization options.

2. Utilize Accessibility Plugins

Top Accessibility Plugins for WordPress

WordPress offers numerous plugins designed to enhance accessibility. These plugins help identify and fix accessibility issues on your site. Here are a few essential plugins:

• WP Accessibility: This plugin addresses common accessibility issues, such as adding skip links, enforcing alt attributes for images, and removing redundant attributes from your code.
• Accessibility Checker: This tool scans your content for accessibility issues and provides a detailed report, helping you make necessary adjustments.
• One Click Accessibility: This plugin offers simple accessibility enhancements like font resizing, contrast toggles, and skip-to-content links.

How to Use Accessibility Plugins Effectively

Install and activate the plugins, then follow their instructions to integrate their features into your site. Regularly run scans to ensure ongoing compliance with accessibility standards.

3. Ensure Proper Use of Alt Text for Images

Importance of Alt Text

Implementing alternative text (alt text) for images is a simple way to improve accessibility on your WordPress site. It is crucial for users who rely on screen readers to browse the web. Alt text provides a description of the image, allowing visually impaired users to understand the content. It also plays a role in SEO, helping search engines understand the context of your images.

Best Practices for Writing Alt Text

• Be Descriptive: Describe the image’s content and function. For example, instead of “image of a dog,” use “Golden Retriever playing fetch in a park.”
• Keep It Concise: Aim for clear and concise descriptions. Overly long alt texts can be cumbersome for screen readers.
• Avoid Redundancy: If the image is purely decorative, use an empty alt attribute (alt="") to avoid unnecessary descriptions.

Tools for Managing Alt Text

Plugins like SEO Optimized Images and Automatic Alternative Text can help manage and automate the addition of alt text across your site.

4. Improve Accessibility with Keyboard Navigation

Why Keyboard Navigation Matters

Many users with disabilities rely on keyboards instead of mice to navigate websites. Ensuring your site is fully navigable using only a keyboard is crucial for accessibility.

Implementing Keyboard Navigation

• Focus Indicators: Ensure that all interactive elements (links, buttons, form fields) have visible focus indicators, usually shown as an outline or underline.
• Logical Tab Order: The order in which users tab through elements should be logical and intuitive. Use the tabindex attribute to control the tab order if necessary.
• Skip to Content Links: These links allow users to bypass repetitive navigation links and go straight to the main content. This is especially helpful for screen reader and keyboard users.

Testing Keyboard Navigation

Manually test your site by navigating through it using only the keyboard. Ensure all interactive elements are accessible and that the focus indicators are visible.

5. Use Clear and Descriptive Link Texts

The Role of Link Texts in Accessibility

Link texts should be descriptive enough to inform users about the link’s destination or purpose. Vague link texts like “click here” or “read more” can confuse users, especially those using screen readers.

Best Practices for Link Texts

• Be Specific: Use descriptive phrases that accurately describe the link’s target. For example, “Download our 2024 product catalog” is more informative than “click here.”
• Contextual Clarity: Ensure that the link text makes sense out of context. Screen readers often pull out links from their surrounding text, so each link should stand on its own.
• Avoid Repetition: If multiple links lead to the same destination, avoid repeating the same link text. Instead, differentiate them by context.

Tools for Checking Link Texts

Use plugins like Broken Link Checker to ensure all links are functional and tools like WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool) to evaluate the clarity of your link texts.

6. Optimize Forms for Accessibility

The Importance of Accessible Forms

Forms are crucial interaction points on many websites. Ensuring they are accessible can significantly improve the user experience for people with disabilities.

Best Practices for Accessible Forms

• Label Elements: Each form field should have a clear and descriptive label. Use the <label> element to associate the label with its corresponding form field.
• Fieldset and Legend: Use <fieldset> and <legend> elements to group related form fields, providing context to screen readers.
• Error Messages: Provide clear and descriptive error messages that help users understand and correct their mistakes.
• ARIA Roles and Properties: Use Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) attributes to enhance the accessibility of complex forms. For example, aria-required="true" indicates a mandatory field.

Testing Form Accessibility

Test your forms using both automated tools and manual testing methods. Ensure all fields are accessible via keyboard, screen readers can correctly interpret them, and error messages are clear.

Conclusion

Improving the accessibility of your WordPress site is not just about compliance with legal standards; it’s about creating an inclusive online environment for all users. By choosing an accessible theme, utilizing accessibility plugins, ensuring proper use of alt text, enhancing keyboard navigation, using clear link texts, and optimizing forms, you can make significant strides in making your site accessible to everyone. Regularly auditing your site and staying updated with accessibility best practices will ensure that your WordPress site remains inclusive and user-friendly. Embracing accessibility is a continuous process that ultimately leads to a better experience for all users, reflecting positively on your site’s reputation and reach.