If you run a WordPress site, there is a good chance it has accessibility issues right now. That is not a criticism — it is simply the reality for most websites. The good news is that many of the most common problems are things you can fix yourself, today, without writing a single line of code.

This guide walks you through the 10 most common WordPress accessibility issues and shows you exactly how to fix each one using the WordPress block editor and admin panel. No developer needed.

Why WordPress Accessibility Matters

Over one billion people worldwide live with some form of disability. That includes people who are blind or have low vision, people who are deaf or hard of hearing, people with motor disabilities who cannot use a mouse, and people with cognitive disabilities who need clear, simple content.

When your WordPress site is not accessible, you are excluding real customers and visitors. You may also be exposing yourself to legal risk, since ADA lawsuits targeting websites have increased dramatically in recent years.

The fixes below target WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) requirements — the global standard for web accessibility.

Issue 1: Missing Alt Text on Images

This is the single most common accessibility issue on WordPress sites. Alt text is a short description of an image that screen readers read aloud to people who cannot see the image. Without it, blind users have no idea what your images show.

How to Fix It

1. Go to Media > Library in your WordPress admin panel.
2. Click on any image.
3. On the right side, you will see an Alt Text field.
4. Write a concise description of what the image shows. For example: “Customer holding a gift box wrapped in blue ribbon” rather than “image1” or “photo.”
5. If the image is purely decorative (like a background pattern), leave the alt text empty. Screen readers will skip it.

For images already placed in posts, click on the image in the block editor, and fill in the alt text field in the block settings panel on the right.

Quick Tip

Go through your media library and sort by date. Start with your most recent and most-visited pages. You do not need to fix every image at once — start with the ones that matter most.

Issue 2: Poor Heading Structure

Headings are not just for making text look bigger. Screen reader users rely on headings to navigate your page, much like a table of contents. If your headings skip levels (jumping from H1 to H4, for example) or if you use headings just for visual styling, it creates confusion.

How to Fix It

1. Open any page or post in the block editor.
2. Click the Document Overview icon (the three stacked lines) in the top toolbar.
3. Select the Outline tab. WordPress will show you your heading structure and flag any issues.
4. Make sure headings follow a logical order: H1 (page title, usually automatic), then H2 for main sections, H3 for subsections, and so on.
5. Never skip a level. Do not go from H2 directly to H4.

If you used a heading block just to make text look big, switch it to a paragraph block and use bold or a larger font size instead through the block settings.

Issue 3: Links That Say “Click Here” or “Read More”

When a screen reader encounters a link, it often reads just the link text. If that text says “click here” or “read more,” the user has no idea where the link goes. This is frustrating and makes navigation nearly impossible.

How to Fix It

Replace vague link text with descriptive text that makes sense on its own.

• Bad: “To see our pricing, click here.”

• Good: “View our pricing plans.”

• Bad: “Read more”

• Good: “Read the full case study on sustainable packaging”

In the block editor, simply select the linked text, click the link icon, and update the text to something descriptive.

Issue 4: Low Color Contrast

If your text color is too similar to your background color, people with low vision or color blindness will struggle to read it. Light gray text on a white background is a classic offender.

How to Fix It

1. Check your contrast using a free tool like the WebAIM Contrast Checker (webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker).
2. WCAG requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text (18px bold or 24px regular).
3. In your WordPress theme settings (usually under Appearance > Customize > Colors), adjust your text and background colors to meet these ratios.
4. Pay special attention to text over images or colored backgrounds. If you have a banner image with white text overlay, make sure there is enough contrast.

Common Offenders

• Light gray body text
• White text on pastel backgrounds
• Placeholder text in forms
• Footer text on dark backgrounds

Issue 5: Missing Form Labels

If your contact form, signup form, or search bar does not have proper labels, screen reader users will not know what information to enter in each field. Placeholder text alone is not enough — it disappears when someone starts typing and is not reliably read by all screen readers.

How to Fix It

This depends on your form plugin:

• WPForms / Gravity Forms / Contact Form 7: Open your form in the plugin editor and make sure every field has a visible label. Most plugins add labels by default, but some themes hide them with CSS. If labels are hidden, check your theme settings or contact your theme developer.
• WordPress search widget: The default search widget usually has a proper label. If yours does not, consider switching to the Search block in the block editor, which handles this correctly.

Issue 6: No Skip Navigation Link

A skip navigation link is a hidden link at the very top of your page that lets keyboard users jump straight to the main content, bypassing the entire navigation menu. Without it, keyboard users must tab through every single menu item on every page.

How to Fix It

Most modern WordPress themes include a skip link by default. To check:

1. Go to your site’s homepage.
2. Press the Tab key on your keyboard.
3. If you see a “Skip to content” link appear at the top of the page, you are good.
4. If nothing appears, your theme does not include one.

If your theme lacks a skip link, the simplest fix is to switch to a theme that includes one. All of WordPress’s default themes (Twenty Twenty-One through Twenty Twenty-Six) include skip navigation. Many popular themes like Astra, GeneratePress, and Flavor also include them.

Issue 7: Auto-Playing Media

Videos or audio that play automatically when a page loads are a serious accessibility problem. They can disorient screen reader users (whose screen reader audio gets drowned out), trigger anxiety or seizures, and frustrate everyone.

How to Fix It

1. Open the page or post containing the video or audio.
2. Click on the media block.
3. In the block settings on the right, turn off Autoplay.
4. While you are there, make sure the media player has visible controls (play, pause, volume).
5. If you use an embedded YouTube or Vimeo video, those platforms provide controls by default — just make sure you have not enabled autoplay in the embed URL (remove autoplay=1 if present).

Issue 8: Images of Text

Using images that contain text (like a fancy quote graphic or a promotional banner with text baked into the image) creates problems for screen readers and for users who need to zoom in. The text in the image cannot be resized, copied, or translated.

How to Fix It

1. Wherever possible, use actual text instead of images of text. The WordPress block editor lets you create styled quote blocks, cover blocks with text overlays, and custom columns that can achieve similar visual effects.
2. If you absolutely must use an image containing text, make sure the alt text includes all the text shown in the image.
3. For logos, the alt text should be your company name, not “logo” or “company logo image.”

Issue 9: Missing Language Attribute

If your site does not declare its language, screen readers may mispronounce every word on the page, rendering the content unintelligible.

How to Fix It

1. Go to Settings > General in your WordPress admin.
2. Find the Site Language dropdown.
3. Select the correct language for your site.
4. Click Save Changes.

WordPress will automatically add the correct language attribute to your site’s HTML. This one takes about 10 seconds to fix.

Issue 10: Inaccessible Theme Choices

Your WordPress theme controls a huge amount of your site’s accessibility. A poorly coded theme can introduce dozens of accessibility issues that you cannot fix without custom code.

How to Fix It

1. When choosing a theme, look for themes tagged with “Accessibility Ready” in the WordPress theme directory. Go to Appearance > Themes > Add New and filter by the “Accessibility Ready” feature.
2. WordPress’s Accessibility Ready tag means the theme has passed a specific accessibility review covering keyboard navigation, screen reader support, contrast, skip links, and more.
3. If you are already using a theme that has problems, consider migrating to an Accessibility Ready theme. Popular options include Astra, GeneratePress, Blocksy, and all of WordPress’s default themes.

Popular Accessibility Ready themes include:

• Twenty Twenty-Six (WordPress default)
• Astra
• GeneratePress
• Blocksy

Check the full list at wordpress.org/themes/tags/accessibility-ready.

A Quick Accessibility Checklist

Here is a summary you can use to audit your WordPress site right now:

• Every image has descriptive alt text (or empty alt text if decorative)
• Headings follow a logical H1 to H6 order with no skipped levels
• All links have descriptive text (no “click here”)
• Text has sufficient color contrast (4.5:1 minimum)
• All form fields have visible labels
• Your site has a skip navigation link
• No media auto-plays
• Real text is used instead of images of text
• Site language is correctly set
• Your theme is Accessibility Ready or has been audited

What to Do Next

You do not need to fix everything in one sitting. Pick the top three issues from this list — missing alt text, heading structure, and link text are usually the biggest wins — and work through them this week. Then tackle the rest over the following weeks.

Accessibility is not a one-time project. Every time you add new content, keep these principles in mind. Over time, it becomes second nature.

If you want to check how your site is doing without digging into developer tools or reading technical reports, we are working on something that might help.

We’re building a simple accessibility checker for non-developers — no DevTools, no jargon. Join our waitlist to get early access.