[wp-edu] Wordpress Core Accessibility from Content Editor's Perspective

[Adam Norwood]

Hi Steve,

I don’t know to what degree full acceptance testing of WordPress for Section 508 compliance has been performed, and WP / Automattic doesn’t have a VPAT available, but my understanding is that the core CMS holds up well for 508-level accessibility.

The WordPress accessibility team recently announced that all new core code and bundled themes are required to meet the WCAG 2.0 Level AA guidelines, which are more robust than Section 508 (more modern, too — the forthcoming Section 508 refresh incorporates the WCAG 2.0 guidelines to bring the U.S. in line with many other countries’ accessibility laws): https://make.wordpress.org/accessibility/2016/03/21/wordpress-goes-wcag/

Granted, that’s the requirement for new code. If you want to check out the open accessibility issues that remain to be fixed in core, their issue tracker might be helpful: https://core.trac.wordpress.org/focus/accessibility (in my experience, the editor-facing dashboard mostly has trouble with regards to color contrast and in places where JavaScript is used heavily, like the Customizer, or where complex WAI-ARIA interactions can get muddled)

The accessibility non-profit Knowbility has run workshops and conference talks on WordPress and accessibility (including ones focused on the admin dashboard), so they might be a good resource to contact as far as compliance testing is concerned: http://www.knowbility.org/

And the WP core team’s Slack has an #accessibility channel, so you could also always ask them for more info directly! https://make.wordpress.org/chat/

Best,
Adam


--
Adam Norwood
Senior Web Strategist / Developer
The University of Texas School of Law
(512) 471-3040    Twitter: @anorwood

From: wp-edu <wp-edu-bounces at lists.automattic.com> on behalf of Steven C Burrell <Steven.Burrell at nau.edu>
Reply-To: "wp-edu at lists.automattic.com" <wp-edu at lists.automattic.com>
Date: Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at 9:24 AM
To: "wp-edu at lists.automattic.com" <wp-edu at lists.automattic.com>
Subject: [wp-edu] Wordpress Core Accessibility from Content Editor's Perspective


I'm seeking insights or first-hand experiences from colleagues who can speak to the degree of accessibility compliance with Wordpress core from an administrator's or content editor's perspective.  My institution is considering adopting WPress but, by policy, assess software solutions for accessibility compliance before adopting.   Most appreciatively,  Steve.
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