Hire Accessibility Developers

Web accessibility means building sites that work for everyone, including people who use screen readers, keyboard navigation, switch controls, or other assistive technologies. The technical standard for web accessibility is WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), currently at version 2.1 with 2.2 widely adopted. WCAG is organised around four principles: content must be Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and thorough.

For WordPress sites, accessibility work covers several layers. HTML semantics – using the correct heading hierarchy, landmark regions, button and link elements – form the foundation. ARIA attributes (role, aria-label, aria-expanded, aria-live) bridge gaps where semantic HTML alone is insufficient. Keyboard navigation – ensuring all interactive elements are reachable and operable with a keyboard – is critical for users who cannot use a mouse. Focus management in JavaScript-driven interfaces (modals, dropdowns, AJAX-loaded content) requires explicit developer attention.

Colour contrast, text sizing, and motion reduction (respecting prefers-reduced-motion) are CSS-layer concerns. Form accessibility – label associations, error messaging, and field descriptions – affects most WordPress sites that collect user input. Why Wp Accessibility Hides Your Skip Links On Mobile Devices.

WordPress accessibility work typically involves:

• Accessibility audit – testing a site with automated tools (Axe, WAVE) and manual testing with a screen reader and keyboard navigation to identify WCAG failures.
• Remediation – fixing the identified issues: correcting heading hierarchy, adding missing alt text, fixing colour contrast, implementing focus management in JavaScript components.
• ADA compliance preparation – for US businesses concerned about ADA Title III litigation, implementing WCAG 2.1 AA as the technical standard.
• Accessible form implementation – ensuring contact forms, checkout forms, and registration forms are fully accessible: correct label associations, accessible error messages, and proper focus handling on validation.
• Theme or plugin accessibility fixes – specific components (navigation menus, modals, carousels, accordions) that do not meet accessibility standards.
• Ongoing accessibility testing as part of a development workflow.

Accessibility work requires both technical knowledge and practical experience testing with assistive technologies. Look for developers who test with actual screen readers (NVDA + Firefox, JAWS + Chrome, VoiceOver + Safari) rather than relying entirely on automated tools. Automated tools catch roughly 30-40% of WCAG issues – the rest require manual testing.

Ask how they prioritise remediation. A site with hundreds of accessibility issues needs a structured approach – fixing the issues that affect the most users and most critical flows (checkout, contact forms, main navigation) before addressing lower-impact issues.

For ADA compliance concerns, be clear that a developer implements the technical standard (WCAG 2.1 AA) but cannot provide legal advice on ADA compliance specifically. That comes from a lawyer. A developer who claims to guarantee “ADA compliance” is overstating what technical implementation alone achieves.

Common accessibility failures on WordPress sites: How To Fix Core Web Vitals WordPress.

• Missing alt text on images – images added to the media library without alt text, or featured images with no description. Add descriptive alt text to all meaningful images; decorative images should have an empty alt attribute (alt=””).
• Non-semantic heading structure – headings used for visual styling rather than document structure, or skipped heading levels (h1 to h3 with no h2). Correct the heading hierarchy to reflect content structure, not appearance.
• Colour contrast failures – text on a background that does not meet the 4.5:1 contrast ratio for normal text or 3:1 for large text. Adjust text or background colours to meet the threshold.
• Keyboard trap in a modal or dropdown – a modal that opens but cannot be closed with the Escape key, or a dropdown that does not return focus to the trigger when closed. Implement correct focus management in the component’s JavaScript.
• Form fields without labels – input fields identified only by placeholder text, which screen readers do not consistently announce. Add explicit label elements associated with each input using the for/id attribute pair.

Accessibility is not a one-time audit – it degrades over time as content is added and the site evolves. New pages with incorrectly structured headings, new images without alt text, and new interactive components without accessibility consideration introduce new failures. Building accessibility checks into the content publishing workflow and running periodic automated scans catches regressions early.

WCAG version updates add new requirements. WCAG 2.2 added new success criteria beyond 2.1. Sites that were audited against WCAG 2.1 may have new failures against WCAG 2.2, particularly around focus appearance and dragging movements.

When posting an accessibility project on Codeable, specify whether you need an audit, remediation of known issues, or both. Also specify the WCAG level you are targeting – AA is the standard for most compliance requirements. If the project is ADA-related, mention this context, but understand that the developer addresses the technical implementation rather than the legal question.

For remediation projects, provide the audit report if one exists – a developer who can see the specific failures gives a more accurate estimate than one working from a general description.