Comprehensive Accessibility for WordPress Agencies

Comprehensive Accessibility for WordPress Agencies
  • 8 min read

Remember building websites in 2003? Everyone had pretty much the same browser width. There were no smartphones to think about. Data protection and online shopping weren’t yet a vertical. You could build a website in Flash!

If you’re an agency owner or a freelancer, building websites today, you may be feeling the pinch. GPDR, CCPA, device-agnostic design, block editors, Google Web Vitals, Voice SEO, AI – it all goes into the mix.

If you have cleared all these hurdles, you may be feeling stuck figuring out how to address one that’s even more important: accessibility. Building accessible websites might not (yet) be easy. There’s a lot to think about, and, what does an accessible website even mean? Are you ready to make a website accessible? Have you made accessibility a priority in your workflow?

Web accessibility means ensuring digital content can be accessed and used by everyone. It’s a legal requirement in many places. The ADA requires many websites to be accessible. It’s ethically important, and it makes good business sense. An accessible website benefits everyone.

The WCAG provide detailed criteria for making content accessible, with three levels: A, AA, and AAA. Most websites aim for WCAG 2.1, level AA to be compliant and provide meaningful access.

A Mobile Website is Not an Accessible Website

Many people think an accessible website is a responsive website, but it encompasses much more. An accessible website includes many things: keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility, and clear content structure are important parts.

We know what an inaccessible website feels like when we are trying to find the contact information of a store on our phone. We have one hand free, it’s raining, dark, and we are holding a bag of groceries. Sound familiar?

If accessible websites are tripping up you or your clients, then read on. The next accessible website RFP may be yours to win!

Understanding Web Accessibility

Web accessibility means designing and developing websites – or any other digital content – so that it is usable by everyone. You may not have perfect vision or the use of one hand. You may be facing auditory, speech, or cognitive challenges. Websites still need to be accessible.

“For the uninitiated, WordPress accessibility refers to how easy it is for a wide variety of users to utilize your website. At its most basic, it covers the size of your fonts, the color contrast on your website pages, and easy navigation.”

Codeable.io

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) center around four main principles. For your website to be accessible, your content must be POUR: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. 

An accessible website covers many use cases, including:

  • Visual Impairments (blindness, low vision, color blindness)
  • Hearing Impairments (deafness, hard of hearing)
  • Motor Disabilities (limited mobility, paralysis)
  • Neurodiversity (Dyslexia, ADHD, ASD)
  • Neurological disorders

Accessible websites are crucial for inclusivity. That means building a website that anyone can use and interact with, regardless of their abilities. An accessible website allows everyone to participate in our digital world. It allows people with actual disabilities to participate where they might not have another opportunity. An accessible website empowers people.

Additionally, web accessibility is becoming a legal compliance. Many countries, and states, are making it a requisite that websites be accessible. Failing to do so can lead to fines, lawsuits, and a lot of unpleasant publicity.

Useful links to more information about web accessibility

  • Introduction to Web Accessibility | Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) | W3C w3.org
  • Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA | ADA.gov ada.gov
  • Digital Accessibility Blog | Accessibility Guidelines boia.org

The Bureau of Internet Accessibility (BoIA) has a blog page on “Accessibility Guidelines”. It features a collection of articles that provide insights into web accessibility best practices, guidelines, and compliance. Check it out.

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Key Areas of Accessibility Implementation in Websites

Website accessibility is a dedicated process. Creating an accessible website is an iterative process too. It requires you to learn about and remove actual barriers for people with various disabilities, which does not happen overnight.

Let us look at the key elements that form the core of web accessibility. What are the most common and impactful accessibility issues you’ll encounter with your websites?

  • Keyboard Navigation – including Focus Management
  • Screen Reader Compatibility – including Semantic HTML Structure, Alternative Text for Images, and ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) Attributes
  • Form and Media Accessibility
  • Content Readability and Structure – including Color Contrast and Use
  • Responsive Design for Accessibility

By focusing on these areas, you can significantly improve the accessibility of your websites. The result is reaching a wide range of users with different abilities and assistive technologies.

Keyboard Navigation

If your mouse has ever failed while using a desktop, you know how utterly exhausting a website can be. Keyboard accessibility is a critical aspect of web accessibility. An accessible website means clicking about without a mouse. It means enabling people who rely on keyboards or alternative input devices.

Keyboard navigation is essential. People with motor disabilities, visual impairments, or those who simply prefer a keyboard are counting on you.

“An alternative input device is a type of assistive technology that replaces a mouse or keyboard (or both), enabling a person with disabilities to use a computer.”

boia.org

To implement keyboard navigation in your website, you will need to do a few things, starting with:

  • Ensure all interactive elements are operable via keyboard. They should follow a logical tab order from top left to bottom right.
  • Implement “skip links” to skip over repetitive links.
  • Provide visual cues so the visitor sees where they are on your website.

Want to find out more about how you can make your website keyboard navigation friendly? Want to test your website? 

Screen Reader Compatibility

Screen reader compatibility is also crucial for an accessible website. It allows your website’s content to be accessible to anyone with visual impairments. It’s also important for a good, semantic understanding of your website by crawlers. (Sounds like it’s good for your SEO!)

How can you make your website screen reader-friendly? Here are some tips.

  • If you are into SEO, you aren’t new to screen reader compatibility. Providing descriptive alt-text for images is standard SEO practice. It stems from accessibility best practices. Alt text for images conveys the image’s purpose or content to screen readers. Alt text needs to be concise and informative.
  • Proper heading structure (H1-H6) helps people navigate and understand the structure of your page. They are also mandatory for web crawlers to understand your page.
  • Implementing ARIA labels enhances navigation by providing semantic information about the sections of your page.

Combining all three techniques means your website becomes more inclusive. Screen readers will be able to navigate and understand your content. Helping your SEO is the cherry on top.

Form and Media Accessibility

Getting forms and media to do what we expect can sometimes be an issue. Creating accessible forms, and ensuring multimedia content is accessible are a vital part of an accessible website.

Accessible Web Forms

For a form to be considered accessible, each element must be clearly labelled and include effective error handling – among other things.

  • Each form input also requires a descriptive label signed for attributes. Then, screen readers can effectively use them.
  • Placeholder labels are not sufficient. They disappear as the user begins to type.
  • Error messages must be clearly visible and linked to the relevant input fields. How? Use the aria descriptor.

Accessible Multimedia Content

Anyone requiring an alternate format for video or audio content needs your help here.

  • Multimedia content is deemed accessible when captions are provided for videos and audio content.
  • Edited Transcripts should be provided for both video and audio multimedia.

Content Readability and Structure

Accessibility aside, the readability and structure of your content are important aspects of your offer. If people can’t read your copy, they can’t do business with you.

Content readability and structure are essential for ensuring that people can easily understand and navigate your content. This begins in the design stage.

The typographical elements that determine how readable your content is are the choice of font, font size, line spacing, and line length. 

Long before any code has been written you need to think about readability. It’s been that way for generations in print content. Just look at a magazine advertisement.

Clear, Simple Language

Using straightforward language helps everyone. Avoid jargon. Keep your sentences short. Speak the language your audience speaks; in a way, they speak it. Your website’s content needs to be simple to see, simple to hear, and simple to understand.

Best practice is to use the inverted pyramid model. When content is written, the 5 Ws and 1 H are addressed in the first paragraph. Who, when, where, why, what, and how. Everything important for the reader to know is in the first paragraph. The rest is “nice to know”.

How readable is your text?

Logical Content Structure

According to a web usability and accessibility study by Yale University, content is more accessible when it’s well organized. 

If you want your content to be more accessible to your readers, you can’t ignore how the text looks. Implement a logical content structure by using clear headings, subheadings and bullet points. The hierarchical structure of your content lets readers scan easily and find relevant information quickly.

It’s easier to remember if there is consistency in your content too. Be consistent in your formatting, and spacing. This improves visual clarity which makes it easier for people to engage with your content effectively.

Responsive Design for Accessibility

If your website isn’t device agnostic, then any other accessible feature may be unnecessary. 

Responsive design plays a crucial role in web accessibility. It allows your website to adapt to various devices and user needs.

  • Flexible layouts using Grid or Flexbox ensure content flows smoothly from one screen size to another.
  • Touch-friendly targets prevent accidental activation on mobile devices.

A responsive website is good, but an accessible responsive website is better:

  • Font sizes that scale appropriately
  • Keyboard navigation working across devices
  • Screen reader compatibility across platforms
  • Alternative input methods like voice control

Test not only multiple devices but with people who will use the website. Responsive design enhances accessibility; it doesn’t mean a fully compliant website.

Leveraging WordPress for Accessibility

“With over 450 million websites built on WordPress, it’s surprising that only a fraction are ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)-compliant. While WordPress strives for inclusivity, ensuring compliance with the ADA is your responsibility as a website owner.”

accessibilitychecker.org

Choosing Accessible Themes and Plugins

WordPress offers thousands of free themes and plugins. Selecting the right website design and functionality is often difficult. Selecting themes and plugins that are accessible is even more so.

When selecting a theme, ensure it meets WCAG accessibility requirements. Look for themes that have a simple, logical structure. Obviously, they must also be responsive.

The accessiBe website offers a list of accessible WordPress themes. At the top of the list: the Neve theme.

Customizing WordPress for Enhanced Accessibility

The gold standard of website accessibility involves making both your front and back end more usable. When we think of an accessible website, we are probably thinking of our clients. But people work on our website backend too. No one likes working on a difficult website, right? A slow website isn’t very accessible, so you can start there.

You can make your WordPress admin panel more accessible by improving colour contrast, enlarging fonts, and enhancing keyboard navigation within the dashboard.

Some of the WordPress plugins you can use to check your website for compatibility:

One-Click Accessibility adds an accessibility toolbar to websites. This allows users to adjust font size, contrast, and navigation, making sites more inclusive for people with disabilities.

Accessibility Widget offers AI-powered accessibility features. This enables users to customize website elements for improved navigation and readability. It includes options for spacing adjustments, animation control, dyslexia-friendly fonts, and alternative keyboard navigation methods.

WP Accessibility is a popular WordPress plugin that enhances website accessibility without theme changes. It offers easy-to-implement features like keyboard focus outlines, skip links, and form labels. While helpful, it doesn’t guarantee full accessibility compliance; configure it to meet your specific needs.

Equalize Digital’s Accessibility Checker provides a free accessibility plugin with error and warning notifications right on your post and/or page edit screen. The Accessibility Checker is perfect for countering common accessibility issues.

Testing and Maintaining Accessibility

Accessibility is a part of the development process, and it begins in the conceptual phase. Testing and maintaining accessibility checks continue throughout the development and design of a website. This is crucial for ensuring websites remain usable for everyone.

Some ways in which you can test the accessibility of your websites include:

  • Automated testing tools can help you quickly identify common accessibility issues. 
  • Manual testing evaluates accessibility through direct interaction with a person. Involve users with various disabilities to provide feedback on real-world usability and accessibility. 
  • Testing with screen readers ensures that visually impaired users can access the content.
  • Color contrast testing ensures elements are easily distinguishable from their backgrounds. 
  • Keyboard navigation testing ensures all interactive elements can be accessed with a keyboard.

There are many automated and manual testing tools available that provide either quick scans or deep dives. They cannot catch everything, however.

Manual testing with users, including keyboard navigation and screen reader compatibility checks, is essential. User feedback offers the best insights into real-world usability.

Find out more about accessibility testing:

With a combination of automated tools, manual testing, and user feedback, you can create and maintain accessible websites that meet diverse user needs.

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