[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #54570: Improve accessibility for WordPress with NVDA

Fri Dec 17 16:02:28 UTC 2021

#54570: Improve accessibility for WordPress with NVDA
-------------------------+-------------------------------------------------
 Reporter:  hnm1969      |       Owner:  (none)
     Type:  defect       |      Status:  closed
  (bug)                  |
 Priority:  normal       |   Milestone:
Component:  Themes       |     Version:  trunk
 Severity:  major        |  Resolution:  invalid
 Keywords:  needs-patch  |     Focuses:  accessibility, template,
                         |  multisite, performance
-------------------------+-------------------------------------------------
Changes (by ryokuhi):

 * status:  new => closed
 * resolution:   => invalid
 * milestone:  Awaiting Review =>

Comment:

 Hello @hnm1969, welcome on WordPress Trac and thank you for opening this
 ticket.

 I can understand the difficulties you have to face while managing your
 website, and I can feel your frustration at not being able to use
 WordPress to its full potential because it isn't completely accessible.

 In the ticket's description, you mention a lot of different issues, which
 I'm going to address in a few moments. Unfortunately, we don't really have
 any specific solution to your issues: the biggest problem is that you
 aren't describing any specific problem that we can isolate, reproduce and
 fix, and, as such, we can't really do anything to solve the problems you
 are facing. Which is why I'm closing this ticket as invalid: it is not
 that we don't believe that you are facing issues with WordPress, but
 simply that this specific ticket doesn't allow us to identify a problem
 that can be fixed.

 Still, as you choose to spend time to open this ticket, I'm sure that
 you're willing to contribute to the WordPress project and, as such, I'll
 try to give you a few suggestions.

 == Reporting issues ==

 As mentioned above, the biggest problem with this ticket is that you are
 referring to a lot of different issues. The best way to get a ticket
 solved is to open a new ticket for each different issue you are facing.
 Also, adding as much detailed instructions as possible on how to reproduce
 the issue will make it easier for people to reproduce the bug and fix it:
 ideally, a list of steps to follow is the best solution.

 Another important thing to do is identify where to report a problem you
 are facing.
 * If you find an issue with the WordPress software itself (that is, what
 you get when you do a fresh install), it should be reported here on Trac
 by opening a new ticket and, in case, adding the accessibility focus (just
 like you did with this ticket).
 * If you find an issue with one of WordPress bundled themes (that is, one
 of the themes which name start by Twenty, such as the Twenty Twenty-One
 theme), you have to report it here and add the Bundled Theme component.
 * If you find a problem with another theme or with a plugin, you have to
 reach out to the theme or plugin developer. If the theme or plugin is
 included in the wordpress.org repository, you can head to the theme or
 plugin's page and find the "View support forum" link to visit the theme or
 plugin's individual forum. Unfortunately, in most cases, the theme or
 plugin developer won't have to fix the issue: plugins don't undergo any
 accessibility check; the situation is a bit better with themes, more about
 that below.
 * If you find an issue with the Gutenberg editor, development happens on
 GitHub (here's the [https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg direct link to
 the repository]), so you should open an issue there.

 == Assistive technologies ==

 As a blind person, you have to rely on a screen reader and keyboard
 navigation. You mention that it's difficult for you to use Gutenberg, as
 it's a visual editor and a lot of its features work through drag-and-drop.
 While that is true, it's also true that we strive to make the block editor
 usable even for people who can't use a mouse, so you should still be able
 to do everything by using only a keyboard and a screen reader. It can be
 harder, it may require more time, the interface probably won't be clear,
 but, at the end of the day, you should still be able to use the Gutenberg
 editor only with a keyboard and a screen reader. If you know about a
 feature that is available, but that you can't use because it doesn't work
 using only the keyboard, please let us know by opening an issue in the
 Gutenberg repository, so that we can fix it.

 == Themes ==

 As mentioned above, we have "control" only on themes that are uploaded on
 the wordpress.org repository: these themes are free and released under the
 GPL license. Regarding commercial themes, which you can buy on other
 website, we have no control over them: you should probably check live
 demos, get in touch with the seller and discuss the theme's accessibility
 features before you buy them.

 All themes uploaded on the wordpress.org repository undergo some basic
 accessibility checks: you can have a look at them on the
 [https://make.wordpress.org/themes/handbook/review/required/#3-accessibility
 page about theme requirements]. Moreover, there are some themes which have
 the accessibility-ready tag: these themes are subject to stricter checks
 (you can check the requirements on the
 [https://make.wordpress.org/themes/handbook/review/accessibility/ related
 page in the Theme Review Handbook]) and, as such, are probably the best
 choice if you need a solid accessibility base to build on. As a side note,
 note that no theme can be declared compliant with WCAG, because these
 guidelines relate to content and themes don't have any content of their
 own.

 As far as I have understood, you aren't only a content creator, but also a
 developer, and, as such, you're looking for information on how to create a
 WordPress theme from an HTML template. In this case, I suggest that you
 have a look at the code of accessibility-ready themes published in the
 repository. Also, there is a [https://developer.wordpress.org/themes/
 Theme Handbook], specially dedicated to theme developers, which contains
 all the basic information on how to create a theme. I don't know about the
 accessibility of these documents, but in case you find some parts which
 aren't accessible, let us know so that we can fix it.

 == Contributing to WordPress ==

 Finally, I'd like to add a few extra lines to invite you to take an active
 role inside the WordPress community. You would be an invaluable resource
 to the improvement of WordPress itself.

 If you feel like giving it a try, you can have a look at what the
 Accessibility Team does by [https://make.wordpress.org/accessibility/
 visiting our website]. The best way to get in touch is using Slack: here
 are [https://make.wordpress.org/chat/ instructions on how to join], once
 you've successfully joined you can find the Accessibility team in the
 [https://app.slack.com/client/T024MFP4J #accessibility channel].

 Unfortunately, we can't give you direct support, but working on WordPress
 core will help you understand how WordPress works under the hood and this
 will help you improve as a WordPress developer. We really hope to see you
 there!

-- 
Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/54570#comment:2>
WordPress Trac <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/>
WordPress publishing platform