Accessibility of the site means its adaptability for use by many people, including those with visual, hearing, speech, or cognitive disabilities.

It connected not only with the fact of enabling people with restrictions to use such a website but also with many benefits.

The site must meet WCAG’s minimum accessibility requirements, to be accessible.

Creating an accessible website or modifying it involves costs. The implementation of such a website will bring the highest costs, regardless of its purpose (static website, online store, classified ads portal, etc.)

However, rebuilding an existing site that currently does not meet the requirements may require a lot of effort in addition to costs. If it falls on the shoulders of a person who is not familiar with that subject and also wants to do it alone, it can be a big challenge. It should be remembered that accessibility is better implemented at earlier stages of designing and creating websites than it would be to correct the existing structure.

Problems related to website accessibility do not have to be challenging to solve; it is mainly a matter of time and financial resources. There are ready solutions such as WCAG and ADA WordPress themes. However, to fully use them, a conscious approach to problems and restrictions that apply to users with restrictions is required.

Sometimes, efforts to customize a website to meet your accessibility requirements may require specialist help. It is worth considering this option, as hiring an experienced WCAG Compliance expert may be the best solution.

The website that already meets the accessibility requirements requires constant care and control.

What is the availability of a website and why is it so important?

Website accessibility is a broad topic. A website that appears to be fully accessible to people with restrictions can be a severe obstacle, for example, for the visually impaired user. Why? It is enough if an element is not well prepared. The number of people with restrictions is enormous, and restrictions may apply to many things. Creating a website offering the same access for every user is essential.

The subject of web accessibility is becoming more and more critical because the number of people with disabilities is increasing.

The situation is changing dynamically. In an increasing number of countries, accessibility is no longer just a requirement but is becoming a right. The guidelines for the availability of web content, WCAG version 2.1, which entered into force in 2018, have been adopted by many countries in official regulations. Failure to customize your site may result in fine or other sanctions.

Commonly known web content accessibility guidelines

Let’s focus now on the three best-known accessibility guidelines: WCAG, ADA and Section 508.

• WCAG

Guidelines for web content accessibility are W3C specifications for recommendations to increase web content accessibility. It is divided into four principles, each with a set of guidelines that contain specific success criteria. These guidelines are also divided into three levels of compliance from A to AAA, with the middle-level AA being considered the desired compliance goal. WCAG 2.1 entered into force at the beginning of summer 2018.

• ADA

Federal law directly prohibiting discrimination based on disability. It requires employers to provide rational improvements for disabled employees and imposes accessibility requirements in public places. It is divided into five sections, and the third section most concerns network access.

• Section 508

Article 508 was introduced by the US Congress in 1998. Commits federal agencies, including public content, websites, documents, media, blog posts, and social networking sites to comply with WCAG 2.0 AA guidelines. The law does not apply to private parties unless they are financed from federal or contractual funds.

Key elements of the website due to accessibility requirements

The list of requirements to get the website accessibility is as long as a river,  for detailed information, please visit the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Overview.  They all have their guidelines but there are several requirements that are common:

• The ability to use the keyboard should make it easy to navigate the page and its elements.
• A correct description of all images (alternative text, alt tags, etc.)
• Restrictions on the display of elements of flashing content (they cannot flash for more than 3 seconds)
• Links should contain legible names for the visually impaired. If the images are links, they should use the alt tags.
• The correct hierarchy of headings in the content – the order of markers (h). It will facilitate navigation on the site.
• Movies or music on the site should contain subtitles or a description.
• The right color contrast for people with visual impairments

Categories of websites for which accessibility is essential.

Every public sector site and application must meet specific accessibility standards.

Also, all emerging public sector websites will need to meet accessibility standards and publish a statement.

Here is a list of page categories where the entry for restricted users is required or key:

• Public institutions & organizations (Soon public institutions and organizations will have to adapt their publicly available websites and applications to the appropriate standards. The goal is to integrate and ensure equal access to information for everyone.)
• Educational institutions (The availability of educational sites is essential for career and technical education to fill the gaps in the labor market for demanding jobs. The main goal is to allow all students to use websites and content.)
• Business websites (If we talk about business pages, then the website plays an essential role in attracting new customers to the company. Its availability is therefore crucial because it is not enough that they find it but must use it.)

Ready WordPress solutions for the categories as mentioned above

For public institutions, we recommend the Public Institutions & City WCAG 2.1 WordPress theme.

The theme is clean, modern, and fits great for offices, city council websites, and other websites related to public institutions.

For the educational website, we can suggest using the School WCAG & ADA compliant WordPress theme.

This theme comes with a rich set of friendly options to configure colors, fonts, layout, settings for the post, and page. Additionally, it offers solutions to display school programs and class info along with other details.

For the business category, you should take a look at Simple WCAG and ADA WordPress themes. It’s a modern and accessible business theme with a clean and elegant layout.

The theme can be used by small firms, agencies, or big companies. The theme brings handy settings proposed to adjust layout and colors.

Conclusion

There are several proven ways to achieve the goal of a modern, functional, and accessible WordPress website for people with disabilities.

Among the ready and above all, proven solutions are WCAG and ADA WordPress themes. Remember that thanks to such an available solution, your website will be able to pass the site availability test more efficiently.

WCAG and ADA Themes WordPress provide advanced features needed for your site to meet the latest WCAG, ADA, and Section 508 standards. Themes are universal and are great for building a blog, modern company, public institution, office, or an educational site. Each of them contains a copy of the demo site, which allows users to create a website quickly.