Review a WordPress theme against the accessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility)-ready requirements and report what you find. Your review helps a theme earn the accessibility-ready tag, which tells users it works with keyboards, screen readers, and other assistive technologyAssistive technology Assistive technology is an umbrella term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and also includes the process used in selecting, locating, and using them. Assistive technology promotes greater independence by enabling people to perform tasks that they were formerly unable to accomplish, or had great difficulty accomplishing, by providing enhancements to, or changing methods of interacting with, the technology needed to accomplish such tasks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistive_technology.
- Prerequisite: Test for Accessibility — covers the keyboard and screen reader testing you’ll use here
- Reference: Accessibility-ready testing process
- Connect: Join #accessibility on SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/ and introduce yourself
Steps
- Find a theme to review. New themes that requested the tag are in the Themes Trac accessibility-ready queue. Published themes awaiting review are listed in the review tracking spreadsheet.
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Claim it. For a new theme, comment on its TracTrac Trac is the place where contributors create issues for bugs or feature requests much like GitHub.https://core.trac.wordpress.org/. ticket that you’re reviewing it for accessibility. For a published theme, ask in #accessibility and the team will assign you one. This stops two people testing the same theme.
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Set up a test site. Launch the accessibility-ready InstaWP template site, then install, activate, and configure the theme with the demo content. Playground does not work for these reviews. Full instructions are in Getting set up to test.
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Copy the report template. Make your own copy of the Google Sheet report from the Theme Testing Reports folder and fill in the Summary tab before you start.
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Test against the requirements. Work through the accessibility-ready guidelines, which include a testing note for each one. Check the theme with your keyboard, a screen reader, and an automated scanner, recording each result in your report. The keyboard and screen reader guides show how.
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Share your report. Post your completed report on the theme’s Trac ticket and tag the developer so they can address what you found.
Contribution checklist
- Claimed a new theme on its Trac ticket, or had a published theme assigned, before starting
- Tested with keyboard, screen reader, and an automated scanner against the accessibility-ready guidelines
- Recorded every result in your own copy of the report template
- Posted the completed report on the theme’s Trac ticket and tagged the developer
What happens next
Your report goes to the theme developer and the Themes Team on the Trac ticket. The developer addresses the issues you flag, and the theme can be approved for the accessibility-ready tag once it meets every requirement. You may be asked to re-test after changes. If the ticket goes quiet, post in #accessibility.
Once you’ve finished a review, pick up another theme from the queue, or join an accessibility bug scrub in #accessibility to test alongside the team.
Help
Stuck? Check the getting help guide, then ask in #accessibility.
Further reading:
– WP accessibility-ready guidelines — the full requirements, with testing notes for each
– Testing workflow tips — practical advice for working through a review
– Reporting sheet overview — how the report template is organized
– Theme developer handbook: Accessibility — the same requirements from the theme review side
