{"id":123257,"date":"2026-05-23T14:18:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T14:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/?p=123257"},"modified":"2026-05-23T14:18:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T14:18:21","slug":"accessibility-improvements-in-wordpress-7-0","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2026\/05\/23\/accessibility-improvements-in-wordpress-7-0\/","title":{"rendered":"Accessibility Improvements in WordPress 7.0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WordPress 7.0 continues to polish <span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>accessibility<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>Accessibility<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>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 \u201cdirect access\u201d (i.e. unassisted) and \u201cindirect access\u201d meaning compatibility with a person\u2019s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Accessibility)<\/span><\/span><\/span> across WordPress <span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>Core<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>Core<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress.<\/span><\/span><\/span> and <span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>Gutenberg<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>Gutenberg<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses \u2018blocks\u2019 to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc.\r<a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/gutenberg\/\">https:\/\/wordpress.org\/gutenberg\/<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span>, advancing the goals to meet accessibility standards. WordPress 7.0 includes fixes across the platform, improving media management, usability for voice control, and improvements to color contrast with the new <span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>admin<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>admin<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>(and super admin)<\/span><\/span><\/span> color scheme. The editor ships with new blocks and improvements to editor navigation and interaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Core<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Improvements to WordPress Core include 24 accessibility enhancements and <span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>bug<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>bug<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>A bug is an error or unexpected result. Performance improvements, code optimization, and are considered enhancements, not defects. After feature freeze, only bugs are dealt with, with regressions (adverse changes from the previous version) being the highest priority.<\/span><\/span><\/span> fixes. Major changes include enhancements to the media library for voice control users and the import of alternative text from image metadata, improvements to control semantics, and fixes to color contrast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Media<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Significant changes to media will improve both the editor and user experience. In WordPress 7.0, using the media library with voice control technology is now possible. Alternative text embedded in photo <span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>meta<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>Meta<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress.<\/span><\/span><\/span> data will be imported and automatically set as the image text alternative when available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/23562\">#23562<\/a> \u2013 Using Speech Recognition Software with the Add Media Panel<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/55535\">#55535<\/a> \u2013 Pre-populate Image Alt Text field with IPTC Photo Metadata Standard Alt Text<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/63895\">#63895<\/a> \u2013 Accessibility: Alt Text Metadata is not imported but Description is<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/63984\">#63984<\/a> \u2013 Assess if the tabpanels in the media modals should receive focus<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/64374\">#64374<\/a> \u2013 Alt text helper text can be more educational and visual indicator of opening in new tab<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/63980\">#63980<\/a> \u2013 Set <span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>featured image<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>Featured image<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>A featured image is the main image used on your blog archive page and is pulled when the post or page is shared on social media. The image can be used to display in widget areas on your site or in a summary list of posts.<\/span><\/span><\/span> button incorrectly coded as link and missing required ARIA attributes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Admin<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Improvements to predictability and verbosity for screen reader users have been made across the admin to provide users with a more consistent and stable interface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/23432\">#23432<\/a> \u2013 Review usage of <code>target=\"_blank\"<\/code> in the admin<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/33002\">#33002<\/a> \u2013 List table: avoid redundant Edit links and reduce noise for screen readers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/43084\">#43084<\/a> \u2013 dashboard confuses published posts count with all posts<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/64065\">#64065<\/a> \u2013 Dragging theme\/<span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>plugin<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>Plugin<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/\">https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/<\/a> or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party.<\/span><\/span><\/span> ZIP outside file input field, downloads file instead of uploading.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/64375\">#64375<\/a> \u2013 Set <code>word-break<\/code> property in screen reader only css.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/64313\">#64313<\/a> \u2013 Color Contrast raises errors in automated tests for WordPress Dashboard<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/64382\">#64382<\/a> \u2013 Post search input \u201cclose\u201d (\u00d7) button should use <code>cursor: pointer<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/64811\">#64811<\/a> \u2013 Zero comment notification in admin toolbar has insufficient color contrast<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Themes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Numerous improvements to theme template functions and core themes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/62835\">#62835<\/a> \u2013 Remove title attributes from author link functions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/62982\">#62982<\/a> \u2013 Twenty Twenty-Five: The Written by pattern on single posts has too low color contrast in some variations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/64064\">#64064<\/a> \u2013 Twenty Ten: remove auto-focus script from 404 template<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/64594\">#64594<\/a> \u2013 <span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>Block<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>Block<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience.<\/span><\/span><\/span> Support: Allow serialization skipping for ariaLabel<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/64361\">#64361<\/a> \u2013 Leverage <span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>HTML<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>HTML<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>HyperText Markup Language. The semantic scripting language primarily used for outputting content in web browsers.<\/span><\/span><\/span> <span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>API<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>API<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways.<\/span><\/span><\/span> to implement block template skip link<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Miscellaneous<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Improvements in the classic editor, code editing, the <span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>Customizer<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>Customizer<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>Tool built into WordPress core that hooks into most modern themes. You can use it to preview and modify many of your site\u2019s appearance settings.<\/span><\/span><\/span>, and login and registration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/63981\">#63981<\/a> \u2013 <span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>Taxonomy<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>Taxonomy<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>A taxonomy is a way to group things together. In WordPress, some common taxonomies are category, link, tag, or post format. <a href=\"https:\/\/codex.wordpress.org\/Taxonomies#Default_Taxonomies\">https:\/\/codex.wordpress.org\/Taxonomies#Default_Taxonomies<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/span> meta box tabs not programmatically identified<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/42822\">#42822<\/a> \u2013 CodeMirror: HTML attributes values hints not fully operable with a keyboard<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/60726\">#60726<\/a> \u2013 The WordPress core password reset needs to pre-populate the username to meet <span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>WCAG<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>WCAG<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>WCAG is an acronym for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. These guidelines are helping make sure the internet is accessible to all people no matter how they would need to access the internet (screen-reader, keyboard only, etc) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/WCAG21\/\">https:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/WCAG21\/<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/span> 2.2<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/63861\">#63861<\/a> \u2013 Explore removing wpmu activation styles<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/64013\">#64013<\/a> \u2013 Color contrast below WCAG standards for newly-added items in customizer menus<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Gutenberg<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Changes within Gutenberg include 16 accessibility fixes and enhancements, including the addition of new interactive blocks that have undergone accessibility reviews. Numerous fundamental components have had accessibility improvements to ensure that interfaces across the editor are more consistent and understandable.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While there are relatively few accessibility fixes and enhancements in the editor for WordPress 7.0, there are many new interfaces that have undergone accessibility review, per the WordPress commitment to meeting WCAG 2.2 at level AA for all new and updated code. These include the <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/WordPress\/gutenberg\/issues\/77530\">Visual Revisions inspector<\/a>, Gallery lightboxes, and the new Connectors interface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bug fixes:\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/WordPress\/gutenberg\/pull\/75165\">#75165<\/a> \u2013 RangeControl: support forced-colors mode<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/WordPress\/gutenberg\/pull\/66735\">#66735<\/a> \u2013 Resize meta box pane without ResizableBox<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/WordPress\/gutenberg\/pull\/74387\">#74387<\/a> \u2013 Use 12px as minimum font size for warning on fit text (see also <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/WordPress\/gutenberg\/pull\/73730\">#73730<\/a>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/WordPress\/gutenberg\/pull\/74205\">#74205<\/a> \u2013 add ariaKeyShortcut and shortcutFormats exports<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/WordPress\/gutenberg\/pull\/73674\">#73674<\/a> \u2013 Fix block toolbar icon <span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>CSS<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>CSS<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>Cascading Style Sheets.<\/span><\/span><\/span> when using show icon label preference<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/WordPress\/gutenberg\/pull\/73245\">#73245<\/a> \u2013 Make DataViews table checkbox permanently visible<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/WordPress\/gutenberg\/pull\/72997\">#72997<\/a> \u2013 DataViews: Add grid keyboard navigation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/WordPress\/gutenberg\/pull\/70787\">#70787<\/a> \u2013 Button: update font-weight to 500\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/WordPress\/gutenberg\/pull\/75689\">#75689<\/a> \u2013 DataForm: Fix focus loss and refactor Card layout<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/WordPress\/gutenberg\/pull\/75271\">#75271<\/a> \u2013 Accordion block: Add list view support.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/WordPress\/gutenberg\/pull\/75407\">#75407<\/a> \u2013 Gallery: Add list view block support<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/WordPress\/gutenberg\/pull\/73823\">#73823<\/a> \u2013 Add Heading level variations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">New Features:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/WordPress\/gutenberg\/pull\/62906\">#62906<\/a> \u2013 Gallery: Add lightbox support<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/WordPress\/gutenberg\/issues\/16484\">#16484<\/a> \u2013 Add an Icons block<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/WordPress\/gutenberg\/pull\/75833\">#75833<\/a> \u2013 Add Connectors screen and API<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/WordPress\/gutenberg\/issues\/74742\">#74742<\/a> \u2013 Add visual <span tabindex='0' class='glossary-item-container'>revisions<span class='glossary-item-hidden-content'><span class='glossary-item-header'>Revisions<\/span> <span class='glossary-item-description'>The WordPress revisions system stores a record of each saved draft or published update. The revision system allows you to see what changes were made in each revision by dragging a slider (or using the Next\/Previous buttons). The display indicates what has changed in each revision.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Reviewed by <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/profiles.wordpress.org\/amykamala\/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@<\/span>amykamala<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/profiles.wordpress.org\/sabernhardt\/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@<\/span>sabernhardt<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"o2-appended-tags\"><a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/tag\/7-0\/\" class=\"tag\"><span class=\"tag-prefix\">#<\/span>7-0<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/tag\/accessibility\/\" class=\"tag\"><span class=\"tag-prefix\">#<\/span>accessibility<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/tag\/dev-notes\/\" class=\"tag\"><span class=\"tag-prefix\">#<\/span>dev-notes<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/tag\/dev-notes-7-0\/\" class=\"tag\"><span class=\"tag-prefix\">#<\/span>dev-notes-7-0<\/a><\/p><nav class='o2-post-footer-actions'><ul class='o2-post-footer-action-row'><li class='o2-post-footer-action'><a href=\"https:\/\/login.wordpress.org\/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fmake.wordpress.org%2Fcore%2F2026%2F05%2F23%2Faccessibility-improvements-in-wordpress-7-0%2F%23respond&#038;locale=en_US\" title=\"Login to Reply\"  class=\"genericon  genericon-reply\"  data-action=\"login-to-reply\"  data-actionstate=\"default\" >Login to Reply<\/a><\/li><\/ul><div class='o2-post-footer-action-likes'><\/div><ul class='o2-post-footer-action-row'><\/ul><\/nav>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WordPress 7.0 continues to polish 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 \u201cdirect access\u201d (i.e. unassisted) and \u201cindirect access\u201d meaning compatibility with a person\u2019s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Accessibility) across WordPress CoreCore [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1248163,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1172],"tags":[5676,28,1443,5834],"class_list":["post-123257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-updates","tag-7-0","tag-accessibility","tag-dev-notes","tag-dev-notes-7-0","mentions-amykamala","mentions-sabernhardt","author-joedolson"],"revision_note":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2AvED-w41","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1248163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123257"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123266,"href":"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123257\/revisions\/123266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}