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Accessibility

Accessibility in web design means creating web pages that everyone can use, regardless of hardware, software, or any sensory or physical impairment.

  • Those who cannot see or use a mouse.
  • Deaf users whose first language is sign language.
  • Visitors whose primary language is not your language.
  • People who use special assistive software or hardware to access the Web.
  • People who are colour blind or can’t see low colour contrast.

These people need access to web pages, and as a web developer, you need to know about accessibility.

Do you want to know more about accessibility?

The Handbook on WordPress Accessibility is in the making, so here is some information to get you started.

Are you a theme or plugin developer?

Read the Theme Handbook on Accessibility Guidelines and learn about controls, forms, heading structure, use of colour, skip links and use of media.

On the Make WordPress Accessible site you can find a list of Useful tools for accessibility testing.

Are you a content manager?

Create a Readable Page

Sometimes, the simplest thing you can do is to create a more readable page. Reading from a screen is much harder than reading a printed page. Crowded text, lots of images, a jumble of font styles, and too much information makes a page very difficult to read.

While developing your WordPress site, take extra time to pay attention to the white space or "empty" space around the different elements on the page. Make sure the fonts are large enough to be readable. Position navigation elements in logical and consistent places.

Also bear in mind that some your visitors may have dyslexia or may not use the same first language as you do. Keep sentences short and simple. Try to avoid abbreviations unless you explain them first.

Testing Readability

Is your page still readable when you increase the text size using the browser's text zoom options? Do any of the non-text elements on the page create a distraction?

If there are animations or movement on the page, consider stopping these elements' movement. Distractions from animation can be a serious issues for many visitors.

Join the Make WordPress Accessible team

On Make WordPress Accessible you can find information about the team and the work they do.

How you can help:

  • write documentation on WordPress and accessibility;
  • test WordPress themes;
  • report accessibility issues in core and core themes;
  • fix accessibility issues by writing patches

If you want to know more, ask your questions in Slack or fill out the form at the teams contact page.

Resources

General

Testing Readability, English only

Testing Color