Today’s conversation with Jessica Lyschik focused on WordPress theme accessibility, highlighting that achieving “accessibility-ready” standards is easier than many developers assume. We talked about the moral and practical importance of accessible websites, not just for legal compliance but to create a better web for everyone. We explored how recent updates to guidelines, particularly for block…
In this episode, Nathan Wrigley interviews Anne Bovelett, about the economic and human impact of web accessibility in WordPress. They discuss how improving accessibility offers significant SEO, traffic, and revenue benefits, referencing research showing up to a 23% increase in organic traffic and billions lost by inaccessible e-commerce sites. Anne talks about accessibility as a…
In this episode, Nathan Wrigley interviews Bud Kraus at WordCamp US 2025. Bud shares his experience living and working with macular degeneration, a condition affecting his central vision. He discusses the adaptations he makes to use computers and WordPress, his approach to teaching and content creation, and how his low vision has become a unique…
In this episode of WP Tavern, host Nathan Wrigley chats with June Liu and David Denedo about WP Accessibility Day, a global 24-hour online event dedicated to making WordPress and the web more accessible. They discuss the event’s diverse organising teams, personal stories that drive their passion for accessibility, and the importance of embedding accessibility…
On the podcast today we have Joe Dolson and Jonathan Desrosiers. We’re talking about the concept of canonical plugins in WordPress, focusing on accessibility. We discuss what canonical plugins are, their potential benefits and drawbacks, and whether accessibility features should move from Core to a dedicated plugin. The conversation explores the complexities of accessibility, legal…
In this episode I talk with accessibility consultant Elena Brescacin from Italy. We discuss the Block Editor’s benefits, and areas for improvement, such as better search block functionality and template duplication for multilingual sites. Elena emphasises WordPress’ backend accessibility and suggests more consistent focus for testing websites. We explore Elena’s experiences with internet accessibility, challenges…
Nick Hamze has called for making WordPress themes exciting and the web weird again. “WordPress desperately needs your creativity, your weird ideas, your willingness to break the visual rules. The future of the web shouldn’t be a monochrome landscape of identical layouts.”, he said. He believes there are plenty of good themes in the Repository…
On the podcast today we have Isla Waite, Bet Hannon and Ryan Bracey. We discuss the significance of WordPress Accessibility Day, which is a 24-hour virtual conference running on 9th to the 10th October, 2024. It’s being driven by a team of passionate volunteers and is geared towards making the digital space accessible for all.…
Registrations are now open for WordPress Accessibility Day 2024, scheduled for October 9-10, 2024. This nonprofit, free, 24-hour global event is on a mission “to demystify website accessibility for WordPress developers, designers, content creators, and users so that they can build websites that work for everyone.” Initially launched in 2020 by the WordPress Core Accessibility…
On the podcast today we have Blake Bertuccelli-Booth, a web designer and founder of Equalify, a company focused on improving web accessibility. Blake’s journey into web accessibility advocacy began through his work with higher education organisations and his personal experiences with dyslexia. The episode gets into Blake’s development of an automated tool that surveys websites…
On the podcast today we have Elena Panciera, an expert in inclusive and accessible languages, and Chiara Pennetta, a special needs educator and deaf advocacy expert, discussing web accessibility for the deaf. They cover the importance of captions and simplification in web content to aid understanding for deaf users and non-native speakers. New technologies, such…
On the podcast today we have Rian Rietveld, a specialist in the accessibility field. We discuss the European Accessibility Act (EAA) which mandates that public service websites and products must be accessible by June 28, 2025. Key topics include practical steps for ensuring accessibility, the importance of training and constant monitoring, and the economic benefits…
Equalize Digital, a WordPress accessibility products and services company, has added a new frontend highlighting feature to its free accessibility checker plugin, which is used to perform audits on self-hosted sites. The feature was funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), through Equalize Digital’s consulting work on the new NASA websites. NASA recently…
The WP Community Collective (WPCC), a non-profit organization created to support individual WordPress contributors and community-led initiatives, has funded its first fellowship. Alex Stine, a fully blind individual contributor who has been working with the WordPress Accessibility team since 2016, is the first recipient of the funds designated for the fellowship. WPCC reports that the…
Equalize Digital, a WordPress accessibility products and consulting company, has received an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding from Emilia Capital, the investment company owned by Joost de Valk and Marieke van de Rakt. The investment will be used to accelerate the growth of Equalize Digital’s Accessibility Checker plugin, a tool for auditing websites for WCAG,…