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Free, works with any theme

WordPress Accessibility Checker

Scan any page of a WordPress site and see which accessibility issues come from your theme, your plugins, your page builder or your content, and where in WordPress to fix each one.

Real-browser testing. Full report, no signup, usually ready in a couple of minutes.

  • Theme templates
  • Plugins and widgets
  • Block editor content
  • Page builders
  • Forms
  • Menus and navigation

Each page is rendered in a real browser and tested with axe-core against the machine-testable WCAG 2.2 Level A and AA success criteria. Automated testing does not replace a manual accessibility review.

The same checker, for WordPress sites

This page runs the free TagPipes Website Accessibility Checker: one page address, loaded in a real browser, tested with axe-core against the machine-testable WCAG 2.2 Level A and AA success criteria, reported in plain language. What is different here is the explanation around it, written for WordPress sites.

Where accessibility issues come from on a WordPress site

A WordPress page is assembled from several layers, each maintained by someone different. The scan sees the finished page; knowing the layers tells you who fixes what.

1. The theme

Header, navigation, footer, typography and colors. Skipped heading levels, missing landmarks, low-contrast defaults and hidden focus outlines usually live here, and they repeat on every page. The WordPress theme directory tags themes that passed its "accessibility-ready" review, which is a useful floor, not a guarantee.

2. Plugins and widgets

Contact forms, sliders, pop-ups, cookie banners, chat widgets, social feeds and cookie notices each inject their own markup. A form plugin that renders inputs without labels or a slider with unnamed arrow buttons puts findings on every page it appears on.

3. Content in the block editor

Alt text on images, heading levels chosen for their size rather than their place in the outline, "click here" link text, tables without header cells. These are page-by-page and entirely in the editor's hands.

4. Page builders and custom code

Elementor, Divi, WPBakery, Beaver Builder and similar tools generate their own HTML, often with generic containers where a heading, button or list should be. Custom code in a child theme or a code-snippet plugin can undo an accessible theme's good defaults.

What the scan finds on a WordPress page

The page is loaded in a real browser exactly as a visitor gets it, plugins and all, and tested with axe-core against the machine-testable WCAG 2.2 A and AA criteria.

What this scan finds

  • Images in posts, pages and galleries with no alt text
  • Form plugin fields without labels, and submit buttons without names
  • Icon-only buttons and links from menus, sliders and social widgets with no accessible name
  • Heading levels that skip, including h1 tags used for styling
  • Text and button colors that do not contrast enough with their background
  • Missing main, navigation and footer landmarks, and content outside them
  • ARIA misuse from builders and plugins, such as roles with missing required attributes
  • Pop-ups, carousels and scrolling regions that keyboard users cannot reach

What needs a person

  • Whether the alt text describes the image well, or should be empty
  • Whether the mobile menu, mega menu and search overlay work with a keyboard from start to finish
  • Whether pop-ups and cookie banners trap focus or steal it
  • Whether a form's error messages explain what to fix
  • Whether WooCommerce checkout can be completed with a screen reader
  • Content inside embedded PDFs and videos

Automated testing does not replace a manual accessibility review.

Where to fix common findings in WordPress

Most WordPress accessibility findings are settings, not code.

1. Image alt text

Media Library: select the image and fill in the "Alternative Text" field, which then applies wherever the image is reused. In the block editor, the image block's sidebar has the same field. Leave it empty on purpose for decorative images.

2. Heading levels

In the block editor, select the heading block and change its level in the toolbar. One h1 per page (usually the title the theme renders), h2 for sections, h3 beneath them. Use the typography settings for size, not the level.

3. Link text

Edit the link so its text says where it goes: "Download the 2026 price list" rather than "click here". For image links, the image's alt text becomes the link text.

4. Colors and contrast

Block themes: Appearance, Editor, Styles. Classic themes: Appearance, Customize. Adjust text and button colors until the report's measured ratio meets 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.

5. Form labels

In your form plugin, give every field a visible label and keep the label switched on; placeholder text is not a label. Name the submit button for what it does.

6. Theme and plugin markup

Missing landmarks, unnamed slider arrows and hidden focus outlines come from the theme or a plugin. Check for an update first, then raise it with the author or fix it in a child theme. If a plugin cannot be fixed, the scan will tell you what replacing it would resolve.

Which WordPress pages to check

Check one page per template and the pages that matter most: the home page, a single blog post, an archive or category page, the contact page with its form, and if you run WooCommerce, a product page, the cart and the checkout. Findings in the header, navigation and footer repeat on every page that uses the template, so fixing them once fixes them everywhere. Findings in the content are page by page.

The scan tests the page as a logged-out visitor receives it. Anything shown only to logged-in users, and the WordPress admin itself, is outside its view.

Frequently asked questions

TagPipes monitors, configures and reports. It does not determine legal compliance and does not provide legal advice. Output is informational and reflects observed state at the time of observation. Rawsoft's expertise is technology, not law; please confirm any regulatory interpretation with your own counsel.

More ways to check accessibility

One checker, the same real-browser scan, explained for the question you came with. Every report opens at the same place.

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