Website accessibility is crucial to ensure your site is viewable and usable by everyone, including those with disabilities. In the WordPress community, ensuring that your website is accessible is not only the right thing to do, but it also makes good business sense – a more usable website means a better user experience and a wider audience reach. This blog explores the importance of accessibility in WordPress, providing practical tips to ensure your site is accessible to all users.
1. Web accessibility- what is it?
Accessibility of the World Wide Web Accessibility refers to the practice of making websites usable by everyone, regardless of their abilities and disabilities. These include visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive disabilities.
Why It Matters: Accessible websites provide equal access to their information and functionality, allowing all users, regardless of ability, to use your content. It also means you will be able to incorporate elements like legal requirements, and your site will be usable for a wider audience.
Standards: Comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). These guideposts include things like perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust content.
2. Selecting an Accessible WordPress Theme
The accessibility of your site will largely depend on the theme you select. A theme that is accessible by default. Defaults to true. This makes the theme accessible with default a11y features.
How to Choose: Seek themes that are either marked as accessible or have been tested for WCAG compliance. Review theme reviews and documentation to verify they meet accessibility standards.
Tip: Look for themes from credible sources, such as the WordPress Theme Directory or third-party providers with a proven track record of supporting accessibility.
3. Adding Accessible Design Elements
Design features like color contrast, font size, and navigation structure also affect accessibility. These must be accessible to users with disabilities.
How to Implement:
- Color Contrasts: Utilize high-contrast color combinations when designing for users with varying levels of vision. Tools like the WebAIM Color Contrast Checker can be helpful.
- Font Size and Type: Make sure you use readable fonts and allow text size to be adjusted.
- Navigability: Ensure that the path is clear and intuitive and that all interactive elements are accessible via keyboard shortcuts.
Tip: Regularly test your design with accessibility tools and screen readers to identify and address any potential conflicts.
4. Using Accessible Plugins
They can add functionality to your website, rather than you having to customize many things, but you need to choose between plugins that are accessible.
How to Use: Search for plug-ins that are regularly updated and prioritize accessibility. Check the plugin documentation and look for feedback from users to ensure it is accessible SEO.
Tip: For more advanced accessibility support, try accessibility-focused plugins such as WP Accessibility or Accessibility Widget, which can handle some of these complexities for you.
5. Creating Accessible Content
Content availability refers to the extent to which text or images can be made available to all users. This might involve image alt text, descriptive links, or captions for videos.
How to Create:
- Alt Text: Give alt text descriptions to any images so that people who use screen readers can understand what they are.
- Descriptive Links: Hyperlinks should be distinct and informative to indicate the nature of the link.
- Video and audio: Caption and transcribe multimedia to provide access for hearing-impaired users.
Tip: Keep content current and update it frequently to ensure continued conformance to accessibility standards and to address any new content that requires attention.
6. Testing for Accessibility
Regular Testing is Key to Identifying and Addressing Accessibility Problems. Several tools and techniques can help you determine your site’s accessibility.
How to Test:
- Automated Tools: Utilize tools such as WAVE or Axe to scan your site for accessibility issues.
- Manual Testing: Manually test your sites with screen readers, such as NVDA or VoiceOver, to experience the web from a user’s perspective.
- User Testing: Invite users with disabilities to provide feedback and insights about your website’s accessibility.
Pro Tip: Animated into your daily site maintenance to ensure compliance and improvements are made regularly.
Conclusion
Accessibility in WordPress is not merely a compliance requirement; it’s a culture and dedication to creating the most inclusive and user-friendly platform possible. At FutureWorkz, we are committed to supporting you in making your own accessible, inclusive WordPress site that welcomes everyone. Welcome to your Web strategy, and do wonderful things for your audience!