WordPress powers a large share of the web and ships with real accessibility groundwork—semantic themes, an accessible theme tag, and an active accessibility team. None of that makes any individual WordPress site accessible. Themes get customized, plugins inject their own markup, and content gets published by people who were never briefed on alternative text.
ADA compliance is an obligation that sits with you, the website owner. It does not sit with WordPress, with your host, or with any plugin you install. The UserWay Accessibility Widget addresses many common Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) issues automatically and supports your ADA compliance efforts from the day you install it. However, it’s a starting point, not an end state. This guide covers both what you are responsible for, and how to get the Widget running on your site in a few minutes.
Is WordPress ADA compliant?
No. WordPress is not ADA compliant by default, and ADA compliance is not a setting you can switch on.
WordPress.com states plainly that it cannot ensure a site is 100% conformant with accessibility standards. That’s because accessibility depends on both the structure of the pages and the content the site owner adds to them. A theme can be built well and the site built on it can still be unusable.
WCAG 2.2 Level AA has been the current Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) recommendation since October 2023. In April 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) set WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the technical standard for state and local government websites under ADA Title II; private-sector settlements concerning public accommodations most commonly reference WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
No automated tool or accessibility widget can make a WordPress site fully ADA compliant or fully WCAG conformant on its own. That is true of every vendor in this category, including us. Full conformance requires fixing issues in the underlying theme and content, which is work automation cannot do alone. The UserWay Accessibility Widget addresses many common WCAG issues and supports your ADA compliance efforts; manual audits surface the code-level issues automated accessibility testing cannot detect.
How to make your WordPress site ADA compliant
There is no ADA compliance checklist that ends in a certificate. No government body certifies a website as ADA compliant, and no vendor can confer one. However, the following tips can help you start moving your WordPress site toward WCAG 2.2 Level AA conformance and providing a better experience for site visitors.
Start with an accessible theme.
WordPress maintains an “accessibility-ready” tag in the theme directory, applied to themes that have passed a specific set of checks covering keyboard navigation, contrast and heading structure. An accessible theme is a stronger starting point than a page-builder template, and it gives you a reliable foundation for creating an accessible website.
Fix alternative text across the media library.
Every meaningful image needs a description written for someone who can’t see it. Purely decorative images should carry empty alt text so screen readers skip them. WordPress prompts for alt text at upload, but many site owners skip the field, creating a backlog of issues that need to get fixed later.
Check color contrast in the customizer.
Body text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background, and large text at least 3:1, to meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA. Most themes expose these as color settings, so the fix rarely needs code.
Fix your heading structure.
Sites should have one H1 per page and headings in order, used for document structure rather than for making text bigger. This is the most common editorial failure in WordPress content and it’s entirely within your control.
Test with a keyboard alone.
Unplug your mouse and move through the site with Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter, and the arrow keys. Watch for menus that can’t be opened, modals that can’t be dismissed, and focus that disappears.
Audit your plugins.
Sliders, pop-ups, cookie banners, form builders and page builders all inject markup you did not write, and they are a frequent source of keyboard traps and unlabeled controls. If a plugin can’t be operated with the Escape key, that issue should be flagged to its developer. And if it’s not fixable, it should be replaced.
Label every form field.
Placeholder text is not a label—it disappears the moment someone types. Each field needs a visible, programmatically associated label, and error messages need to say what went wrong and how to fix it.
Obtain a manual audit.
Automated tooling can’t judge whether alternative text is meaningful, whether a heading structure makes sense, or whether a custom checkout flow works for users of assistive technologies. Manual accessibility testing by specialists surfaces the issues automation cannot detect. Experts can also support you in making necessary accessibility fixes at the code level.
Publish an accessibility statement.
State the standard you are working toward, what you have done, what is still outstanding, and how someone can reach you if they hit a barrier. An accessibility statement generator, like the one offered by UserWay, can help streamline the process.
Keep checking.
Every theme update, new plugin, new page and new image can introduce a fresh barrier. Accessibility is a maintenance practice, not a launch task. Embed accessibility checks into your content creation workflow to stop issues from emerging, and monitor accessibility on an ongoing basis.
How to install the UserWay Accessibility Widget on WordPress
The UserWay Accessibility Widget addresses many common WCAG issues automatically and supports your ADA compliance efforts from day one. It also gives visitors personalization controls—text sizing, contrast adjustment, spacing, and a built-in screen-reader. Installation takes a few minutes; the section below takes you through two options:
- Installation through the WordPress plugin repository
- Manual installation
Install the Widget from the WordPress plugin repository
The easiest way to add the Widget to your WordPress site is directly through the WordPress plugin repository.
Step 1: Install the UserWay plugin
From your WordPress dashboard, click “Plugins” in the menu on the left side of the page. Then, click “Add New” at the top of the page near the page title. Type “UserWay” into the search bar on the right side of the page. Once you find the plugin, click “Install Now,” followed by “Activate.” Open the left menu to scroll down and click on “UserWay.”
Step 2: Register your site with UserWay
If you have already registered with UserWay, you just need to sign in using your email address and password.
However, if this is your first time installing the UserWay Accessibility Widget, you’ll need to register an account with us. You can use your Google account or type in another email address and then click “Next.” Enter your first and last name, the name of your organization, your website’s address, and your password. You’ll also need to agree to UserWay’s terms and privacy before clicking “Sign up.”
Step 3: Enable and customize the UserWay Accessibility Widget on your WordPress website
Scroll down to enable the widget. Switch the toggle to on. Now you can customize the size, color, and position of your WordPress accessibility plugin. Don’t forget to click “Save” when you’re done.
Step 4: Generate an accessibility statement for your WordPress website
Scroll up to the top of the Settings page in WordPress, and you’ll notice that you’re on the “Your Widget” tab in the oval-shaped top menu bar. If you’d like to receive your accessibility statement, click the “Your Widget” tab where you can fill in your details. Then click the “Generate My Accessibility Statement” button, and we will send your statement directly to your email.
While you’re here, explore the Report & Docs and Videos & Tutorials tabs. You can also always find more information at UserWay.org.
Step 5: Preview your site
You’re all set! You’re taking meaningful steps toward improving your WordPress website’s accessibility. Be sure to preview your website to make sure your Widget is installed correctly.
Manually install the WordPress accessibility plugin
You can also install UserWay’s Accessibility Widget to your WordPress website manually by following these steps.
Step 1: Register your website with UserWay and get your unique code
If you haven’t done so already, register your website at UserWay.org by clicking the button at the top right of the homepage that says “Start Free Trial” and complete all the registration steps until you receive your unique code snippet.
Copy your unique code snippet as a text file or to your clipboard by clicking the blue button above and to the right of the code that says “Copy.” Alternatively, you can also find this code in the welcome email that we sent you when you registered.
Step 2: Sign in to your UserWay account if you already have one
If you have already registered a website with us, you can use the same unique code you used for your other website(s) that was emailed to you when you registered with us. If you’re having difficulty finding your welcome email and your unique code embed script, sign in to your UserWay dashboard at UserWay.org and go to the top menu. There, you’ll find the link tag that says “My Embed Script.” This will give you the unique script code that you can copy to your clipboard or save as a text file.
Step 3: Embed your code into WordPress
This step requires some familiarity with code, as you will need to add your unique code to the HTML in your WordPress site. Please be sure not to delete anything from your website’s existing code, as it can negatively impact your website.
In your WordPress dashboard’s left menu, scroll down to “Appearance” and then select “Theme File Editor.” On the right side of the page, under “Theme Files,” scroll down and select “footer.php” to open it.
Now, scroll down to find the body closing tag that looks like “</body>” and place your cursor above it, and click “Enter” on your keyboard several times to give yourself some space.
On one of the new blank lines, right-click with your cursor and select “Paste” to insert the script. Don’t forget to update your website by clicking on “Update File” under the code.
Step 4: Review your website
You’re all set with an accessible WordPress website! Preview your site to test if your new Widget is installed and working correctly.
Start creating an accessible WordPress website with UserWay
Install the UserWay Accessibility Widget on your WordPress site to address many common WCAG issues automatically and support your ADA compliance efforts from day one. When you are ready to go further, talk to us about a manual audit that surfaces the code-level issues automation cannot detect.
