Introduction
Today marks the start of WordPress Accessibility Day 2025, a global 24-hour event dedicated to making WordPress sites more inclusive and usable for everyone. WordPress Accessibility Day 2025
Accessibility isn’t just a moral imperative — it’s becoming a business necessity. With the European Accessibility Act 2025 enforcing stricter digital access rules, websites that ignore accessibility risk penalties and lost users. WP Umbrella
In this post, you’ll learn:
What WordPress Accessibility Day is and why it matters
Key accessibility improvements in WordPress 6.8
How to audit your site for accessibility
Top plugins, practices, and compliance strategies
A checklist to prepare your site for accessibility demands
What Is WordPress Accessibility Day 2025?
WordPress Accessibility Day is a volunteer-run, 24-hour global event held October 15–16, 2025 that brings together designers, developers, content creators, and users.
Sessions include workshops, live demos, talks on accessibility best practices, and community collaboration. It’s also pre-approved for continuing education credits for accessibility professionals.
Yoast is sponsoring and participating in the event, reinforcing its significance in the WordPress ecosystem.
Why Accessibility Matters More in 2025
Legal & Compliance Pressure — European Accessibility Act (EAA)
The EAA requires digital services offered in the EU to conform to accessibility standards. Non-compliance can lead to fines and enforcement actions.
WordPress sites targeting EU users must ensure WCAG-level accessibility (contrast, keyboard nav, alt text, semantic markup).
WordPress 6.8 Core Accessibility Enhancements
WordPress 6.8 brought 33 accessibility fixes across the core, admin interface, and Gutenberg editor to enhance screen reader support, reduce reliance on title attributes, and improve navigation.
These updates give you a stronger foundation — but customization and auditing remain essential.
SEO & User Signals Benefit
Accessible sites often see reduced bounce rate, longer dwell time, and better engagement from users of all abilities. Search engines reward strong UX and content clarity.
Accessibility Audit — Start Here
You don’t need to be a dev to begin. Use this mini‑audit:
Check contrast ratios (text vs background)
Ensure alt text on images (avoid missing or generic “image”)
Test keyboard navigation (can you tab through menus?)
Verify heading structure (H1, H2, H3 logical order)
Use screen reader tools (NVDA, VoiceOver)
Run automated audits (Lighthouse, WAVE, axe)
Top WordPress Plugins & Tools for 2025
Here are a few plugins that help with accessibility:
WP Accessibility plugin (common fixes)
AccessiBe and others (paid solutions)
Tools like WAVE, axe, Lighthouse
Page builder accessibility comparisons — see which builders already comply
Also, many themes now include built-in accessibility support — choose those from trustworthy theme repositories.
Best Practices — Inclusive Design Moves
Use semantic HTML (proper tags, landmarks)
Don’t rely on color alone (use icon + color)
Caption or transcribe media
Provide skip links & landmark roles
Add ARIA roles when needed
Test with real users with disabilities
Accessibility Checklist: Before & After WPAD 2025
| Task | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Alt text | Missing or generic | Descriptive + keyword‑friendly |
| Contrast | Weak palettes | Meets WCAG AA/AAA guidelines |
| Navigation | Click-only | Keyboard-accessible |
| Form labels | Placeholder-only | Visible labels + ARIA |
| Heading order | Random | Logical H1 → H2 → H3 |
| Focus states | No focus style | Visible outline or indicator |
| Media | No transcripts | Captions & transcripts |
Use this checklist today to improve your site.
FAQs
Yes! It’s for all skill levels — there are sessions aimed at content creators and non‑developers.
Indirectly, yes. Better user experience reduces bounce, increases engagement, and signals site quality to search engines.
If you serve EU users, yes. For others, it’s a best practice and likely future standard.
Conclusion
Today is WordPress Accessibility Day 2025 — a timely reminder to build sites everyone can use. Focus not just on compliance, but real usability and inclusion.
Check your theme, run audits, apply the checklist above, and consider accessibility a long-term SEO and brand strength move.
