The Americans With Disabilities Act and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are rules designed to give people with disabilities the same opportunities everyone else has. Learn in this guide what it takes for a WordPress template to be accessible and how to make an accessibility ready website theme.
The ADA was passed by Congress in 1990. It was the first comprehensive civil rights bill to benefit differently-abled people.
The WCAG are rules protecting the rights of disabled people to access websites on the internet. It was established by the World Wide Web Consortium, which is the organization that sets the standards for the Internet worldwide.
If you are designing a template for WordPress, it must comply with the WCAG and ADA standards. You can study these laws thoroughly or find a widget designed to help you with compliance. A few factors make a WordPress template compliant with the standards established by the ADA and the WCAG.
Everyone Should Be Able to Use Your Template
When designing your template, remember content on a website must be perceivable to everyone. A person should not have to struggle to see, hear, or use a website. They should not have to use a special browser to access your site.
Anyone using the website should be able to navigate it easily. It should not matter if they are using assistive technology or a mouse.
A person should always be able to understand how to use the site. Menus and their instructions should be clear and understandable.
There are many different types of hardware and software that disabled people might use when they are surfing the internet. A website should be compatible with the hardware and software that a disabled person might use.
Both decorative and non-decorative images must be handicap accessible as well. All images on a website should have alternative text that describes the image. The alternative text should be easy to understand.
Resizable Text
The size of the text must be adjustable on a website. A person with vision problems should be able to increase the content’s size to see and understand it.
A disabled person should be able to fill out forms on the website with ease. The lettering should not be so small that only people with 20/20 vision can see it.
A website should be bright enough so people can see the content. It should also provide an option for reading lines. Some people with vision problems need all of the content underlined so they can see it. Learn in this guide what it takes for a WordPress template to be accessible and how to make an accessibility ready website theme.
Help With Making Your Site Accessible with a WordPress Template
Laws designed to protect people’s rights have many details. Complying with government regulations is challenging. Unless you have a law degree, you will need help staying compliant.
There are widgets available that can gauge if your site is compliant. The best widgets can help you bring a template or a website up to standard.
If you use the tools designed to help with compliance and familiarize yourself with the law, your template will be up to the standards of WordPress and enjoyed by everyone who uses it.
