Skip to main content

WordPress accessibility checker

Check the live page. Trace the barrier to a block, theme or plugin.

ClearSite tests the page visitors receive, recognises WordPress signals in the rendered markup, and gives you a practical starting point for repairing the source.

Check a WordPress page freeNo WordPress plugin or account required for the first scan.

Built around rendered WordPress output

The same finding can have several WordPress sources.

ClearSite runs axe-core against the live DOM, records the affected element and groups findings by severity. WordPress detection uses public page signals such as wp-content and wp-includes; it does not claim to identify the exact file or plugin automatically.

Blocks and page content

Images, headings, links and form fields can carry issues from editable block content even when the theme itself is sound.

Theme navigation

Menus, search controls, drawers and modal patterns need accessible names, visible focus and keyboard behaviour in the rendered theme.

Plugin output

Forms, sliders, pop-ups and ecommerce components can add markup after the page is assembled. Test what the browser receives, not only the editor.

Templates and repeated parts

A problem across many URLs often points to a header, footer, template part or reusable pattern rather than separate page edits.

Controlled theme fixture

One icon-only search button. One missing name.

We ran axe-core 4.11 against a small WordPress-style header control. A button containing only a hidden decorative icon returned one critical button-name finding. Adding a concise accessible name removed that finding on re-test.

Before · finding

Search button has no name

<button>
  <svg aria-hidden="true">…</svg>
</button>

The affected control may come from a navigation block, theme template part or search plugin. The rendered element is the evidence; its repetition pattern narrows the source.

After · re-test clear

Button exposes its purpose

<button aria-label="Open site search">
  <svg aria-hidden="true">…</svg>
</button>

The label is specific to the control. A theme with visible button text may need no extra ARIA; the goal is a clear accessible name, not attributes for their own sake.

This is a controlled fixture, not customer data or a compliance claim. Read the axe-core button-name rule explanation and WordPress's lesson on tools for testing theme accessibility.

Scan representative templates

Test the homepage, a post, an archive, a form and any important buying or booking path. One URL cannot represent every WordPress template.

Use repetition to locate the source

One-page findings often sit in blocks. Repeated findings point towards a template part, reusable pattern, theme component or plugin output.

Re-test after publishing

Check the preview, publish safely, then scan the same live URL again. An editor save is not proof that the visitor-facing barrier has gone.

From finding to WordPress fix path

Let where the issue repeats guide where you look.

  1. 01

    Only one post or page

    Check its blocks and media fields first. Repair the editable image alternative, heading structure, link text or field configuration.

  2. 02

    Every page using one template

    Inspect the shared template or template part. A single source fix can remove the same barrier from many rendered pages.

  3. 03

    Only where a plugin appears

    Confirm the issue in the plugin-generated element, then update its settings or markup, replace it, or take the finding to its maintainer.

  4. 04

    Across the whole site

    Start with the theme header, footer and global patterns. Re-test representative URLs before assuming the repair is universal.

What a WordPress scan cannot prove

Automated testing cannot decide whether alternative text is useful, whether content order makes sense, or whether a complete task works with a keyboard and assistive technology. A clean page result is not a site-wide legal compliance determination.

Use the scan as a repeatable diagnostic. Repair machine-detectable barriers in blocks, themes and plugins, then add manual keyboard, screen-reader and task-based review for important journeys.

This boundary follows W3C WAI guidance on accessibility evaluation tools. Read the broader website accessibility scanner workflow or compare the Shopify storefront repair path.

Start with a WordPress page that matters.

Scan it free, trace repeated issues to their shared source, and verify the rendered result.

Run the WordPress accessibility check