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Re: WordPress Accessibility

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From: Philip Kiff
Date: Aug 9, 2019 7:43PM

I am more familiar with Drupal than WordPress, but I try to keep track
of WordPress accessibility news.

> 3. I hear some stories about WordPress introducing inaccessible editors
> that might become a problem. Is that so, and, how can we avoid problems?

WordPress version 5 introduced a new page editor called "Gutenberg" with
a dramatically different interface and a significantly new "block" model
for structuring page content. The new editor was less accessible than
the previous "Classic" editor, though it added new capabilities for some
users. However, the "Classic" editor can still be installed as a plugin
to fully replace Gutenberg.

While not perfect, my impression is that the Classic editor is
considered passable in terms of accessibility and workarounds have been
developed to deal with probably most of the inaccessible aspects of the
interface.

I have the impression that it is somewhat more difficult to ensure that
WordPress outputs fully accessible HTML when your content editors use
the Classic editor instead of the new Gutenberg editor.

A professional, third-party accessibility audit of the new WordPress
Gutenberg editor was completed by Tenon.io in May 2019, and it is
publicly available:
https://wpcampus.org/2019/05/gutenberg-audit-results/

> 4. Are there reasons why we should just stick to html and not put
> ourselves through the headache of WordPress?
I personally believe that Drupal (!) may often be a better choice of CMS
than WordPress for those organizations that place a high priority on
accessibility principles. However, the choice of which CMS is best for
you, or whether you should stay with raw HTML instead of moving to a CMS
at all are complex questions that require a full understanding of your
current content, your future plans, your budget, your staff training and
structure, your publishing approval workflow, etc., so I'm afraid I'll
have to leave  that question up to you! ;-)

Phil.

Philip Kiff
D4K Communications


On 2019-08-07 15:09, Michael Bullis wrote:
> My organization is contemplating whether to move our website from html to
> WordPress for the reason that we would much more easily be able to update
> information in real time.
>
> We absolutely cannot and do not wish to create anything that is less
> accessible than we currently have.
>
> 1. Does anyone have advice on what we ought to consider prior to making
> such a move?
> 2. Are there consulting companies that really know the accessibility
> themes in WordPress we should consider hiring in order to put a correct
> foundation on our site?
> 3. I hear some stories about WordPress introducing inaccessible editors
> that might become a problem. Is that so, and, how can we avoid problems?
>
> And finally,
>
> 4. Are there reasons why we should just stick to html and not put
> ourselves through the headache of WordPress?
>
> Thanks to all on this list. I am a lurker for many years and consistently
> find this list delivers high value content.
>
> Michael Bullis
> Executive Director,
> The IMAGE Center of Maryland
> Direct phone: 443-275-9394
> Main-410-982-6311
> Cell:443-286-9001
> Email: <EMAIL REMOVED>
> Website:www.imagemd.org <http://www.imagemd.org>;
> Address
> 300 E. Joppa RD, Suite 312
> Towson MD 21286
>