What Is WCAG Compliance? Full Guide to WCAG and Making Your WordPress Site Compliant

Accessibility isn’t just a bonus feature anymore; it’s how you ensure everyone can interact with your site (and how you stay on the right side of the law).

That’s where the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) come in. They lay out what you must do to make your website welcoming and usable for everyone, including people with disabilities.

To make WCAG easier to understand, we’re breaking this article into two parts:

• Part 1: What is WCAG compliance? And how does it connect to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?
• Part 2: How do you make your website WCAG compliant?

Part 1: WCAG Compliance 101

Not sure what WCAG means or how it applies to your website? Read this section!

What is WCAG compliance, and how do you achieve it?

WCAG – Web Content Accessibility Guidelines – is a set of international standards created by the World Wide Web Consortium to make websites accessible to people with disabilities, including those who use screen readers, keyboard navigation, or other assistive technologies.

WCAG-compliant websites follow these standards to ensure individuals with disabilities (or combinations of disability) have equal access to online content. WCAG guidelines:

• Make your content readable and understandable
• Help your website meet legal requirements like the ADA
• Prevent lawsuits, fines, or demand letters tied to inaccessible digital services

How does WCAG compliance work?

If you’ve ever looked at the official WCAG documentation, you probably thought, “What!?!”

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The guidelines are detailed, technical, and not exactly written for everyday business owners… but don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with this summary!

At a high level, WCAG is all about the four key principles known as POUR:

• Perceivable – Can users see or hear your digital content?
• Operable – Can they navigate your site using a keyboard or assistive tech?
• Understandable – Is the written and visual content clear and predictable?
• Robust – Does your site work across devices, browsers, and assistive tools?

These principles are backed by the 13 High-Level Guidelines that explain things like:

• Adding alt text to images
• Making sure buttons and links are labeled clearly
• Avoiding flashing content that could trigger seizures
• Structuring your written and visual content properly with headings and landmarks

Then there are levels of conformance. Spoiler alert: Getting an A doesn’t mean you’re compliant.

• Level A is the minimum (your site works, but barely)
• Level AA is the standard most businesses aim for – enough to meet legal requirements in many countries
• Level AAA is the gold standard, but it’s often unrealistic for most websites because it requires a significant investment

For example, for minimum level A, your website’s text has to have enough contrast to stand out and differentiate foreground from background. For level AA, you’d need to make all website functions accessible via keyboard. One of the additional requirements for level AAA is to have sign language interpretation for all prerecorded video content.

Besides these levels, there are additional criteria to use when addressing the needs of the disability community.

To further clarify, when we mention WCAG, we are talking about WCAG 2.2 WordPress compliance.

So, what is WCAG 2.2 compliance exactly?

The WCAG 1.0 version was launched in 1999, and there have been a few updates since then:

• WCAG 2.0 (2008) – Introduced POUR
• WCAG 2.1 (2018) – Improved mobile and cognitive accessibility
• WCAG 2.2 (2023) – Focuses on navigation, focus indicators, and error prevention
• WCAG 3.0 (upcoming) – The next iteration, expected in 2026/2027

That’s a lot to take in.

Honestly, what matters is understanding the basics and knowing how to find a web development team that understands digital accessibility standards and how to apply them cost-effectively. Experts also know how to make WCAG-compliant websites​ as the guidelines evolve.

How are WCAG and ADA compliance connected?

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses to make their websites accessible to all users, including those with physical disabilities. However, the ADA doesn’t define specific technical standards.

The ADA relies on WCAG as the benchmark for accessibility, with the latter laying out the elements and assistive technologies a website must have.

In 2024, the Department of Justice formally recognized WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the standard that US websites must meet to be considered ADA-compliant.

In short, to meet the ADA level of compliance, your website must follow WCAG standards.

Why is WCAG compliance important for WordPress owners?

Here’s why WordPress site owners should care about WCAG compliance:

Part 2: How To Make Your WordPress Site WCAG Compliant

Even if your WordPress theme looks polished and has the required user interface components, it won’t meet WCAG standards by default. Making video, written, and audio content accessible takes planning, testing, and regular updates.

In this section, we show you how to check if a website is WCAG compliant and walk you through the key steps to improve accessibility on your WordPress site.

Or you can jump to hiring a WordPress maintenance agency if you want to save time, effort, and money! 🧘

5 steps toward DIY WCAG compliance

To optimize WordPress for WCAG compliance, you must take your time, have technical know-how, and put in a lot of effort. Whether you’re handling it solo or working with freelancers, these steps help you move in the right direction.

Disclaimer: These steps are not legal advice. They are general best practices and do not guarantee full WCAG compliance. Since accessibility is a complex, evolving standard, only a qualified expert can assess whether your website fully meets your legal requirements.

1. Review the WCAG requirements and pick the right conformance level

The first step is to review the WCAG guidelines and decide the level of accessibility you want to go for: A, AA, or AAA. Most WordPress site owners and content developers aim for Level AA, the legal standard in the US and many other countries.

At level AA, your site should work well for users with motor or cognitive disabilities.

For example, in a contact form, each input field should have a clear, visible label, even if the user relies on a screen reader or uses a keyboard to navigate. It’s a small change, but it makes a big difference.

2. Audit your site

You might already meet some WCAG requirements without realizing it. A quick audit helps you identify what’s working and what’s not.

You can use these tools to see how you stack up:

• WAVE: A set of tools that highlights accessibility errors on your website
• NVDA (Windows) or VoiceOver (Mac): Free screen readers to test real-world accessibility
• axe DevTools: A browser extension for in-depth audits

Look for common issues like missing alt text, poor contrast, inaccessible forms, or broken keyboard navigation.

3. Make your website WCAG compliant

Once the audit is complete, it’s time to address all problems that could hurt your WCAG compliance.

The best way is to start with the foundation. Use an accessibility-ready WordPress theme with proper structure, contrast, and navigation built in.

You can filter for these themes directly in the WordPress theme library by clicking the “accessibility ready” feature.

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The next step is to install helpful accessibility plugins or scan your website to support your efforts:

• WP Accessibility for skip links, outlines, and alt checks
• Accessibility Checker for page-by-page issue scanning
• Ally for resolving visual elements and auditory compliance issues

Just remember: Plugins are tools. They can help, but don’t automatically make your site fully compliant. Nothing can replace an in-depth audit by a qualified professional.

Then, it’s time to improve the specific elements that impact accessibility for users with disabilities:

• Add accurate alt text to every image. This helps screen readers describe visuals to users with low vision. For example, instead of “image123.jpg,” use “Attorney reviewing legal documents with a client.”
• Make navigation simple and intuitive. Use clear labels like “Contact” or “About the Team,” and avoid menus that require a mouse or hover action to work.

• Improve readability. Use legible fonts, at least 16px in size, and ensure strong contrast between text and background colors (tip: try WebAIM to check the contrast ratio). Break up long sections with headers, bullets, and spacing.
• Fix your forms. Every input field should have a label, errors should be easy to identify, and users should be able to complete the form using only a keyboard.

• Add alternatives to time-based media. If your site has videos, then add a text transcript, an audio description, and captions to improve accessibility. If you have audio uploads (like a podcast), then simply add captions and a text transcript. Note: to reach level AAA, you will also need sign language interpretation.
• Use specific, descriptive CTAs. Instead of vague buttons like “Click here,” say what the user can expect: “Download the guide” or “Schedule your consultation.”

4. Speak to an expert to confirm WCAG compliance

Accessibility is complex, and the stakes are high. According to the UsableNet report, people filed over 4,000 ADA lawsuits in 2024, and e-commerce companies faced the biggest risk.

It may look like everything works fine, but you could have an error hidden on your site. For example, someone with user input through a keyboard or screen reader may be unable to tell which button is selected when they tab through a form.

An accessibility specialist can:

• Test your site against the WCAG standards (compliance level AAA, AA, or A)
• Use tools and manual testing techniques that most site owners aren’t familiar with
• Catch issues tools often miss, especially with real user interaction
• Confirm whether your digital assets meet your intended conformance level
• Provide documentation to show you’ve taken accessibility seriously
• Prioritize accessibility fixes

5. Maintain WCAG compliance

WCAG standards change, and so does your website. Every new page, plugin, or design tweak can introduce a wide variety of accessibility issues. That’s why WCAG compliance needs ongoing maintenance from experts who know what to look for.

To ensure an all-inclusive design and website, your accessibility expert will need to:

• Re-test your site regularly, especially after major updates
• Keep plugins and themes updated (outdated code can break accessibility)
• Review additions to your website to guarantee accessible content

The Easy Way to WCAG Compliance: Hire a WordPress Maintenance Agency

Have you ever tried to make a site WCAG compliant? It usually goes like this:

You start your research, and suddenly you’re deep in a rabbit hole of WCAG 2.2 documentation, trying to figure out what a “focus state” is. One minute you’re adjusting font sizes, the next you’re editing ARIA labels, wondering if you’ve broken your site.

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Not exactly what you signed up for when you launched your business, is it?

That’s why most business owners and content creators turn to a trusted compliance expert like StateWP.

We can make WCAG 2.2 compliance part of our day-to-day WordPress maintenance. When you join us, we run a full accessibility audit and handle as much as possible using the two monthly hours included in our Premium and Elite plans. That means fixing missing alt text and non-text content, updating button labels, and improving readability.

However, new websites often need more work to fully meet compliance standards. For bigger fixes, like making your navigation keyboard accessible or restructuring page templates, we can map everything out in a one-time work order so that there are no surprises and everything stays within scope.

And we’re not just winging it – we’ve been creating and optimizing compliant WordPress websites for over 15 years.

As proof, we’ve just built a fully compliant WordPress site for the State of California. It includes high-contrast color schemes, full keyboard navigation, screen reader support, WCAG-compliant forms, simpler language, and focus indicators.

So, if accessibility has felt like an overwhelming checklist or something you keep putting off, we get it. Let us handle it to make your website compliant and welcoming to everyone.

Protect Your Website and Comply with WCAG

The question that brought you here was likely, “What is WCAG compliance?”

Now, you know the answer is just the beginning. Staying accessible requires regular updates, technical oversight, and a partner who knows what to look for. That’s exactly what we do at StateWP.

From your initial audit to monthly maintenance and accessibility improvements, we’re here to help your WordPress site stay compliant and high-performing every step of the way.

Book a free demo with Garrett to see how we can make WCAG compliance and website maintenance simple, effective, and stress-free.

WCAG Website Compliance FAQs

Here are quick, clear answers to the most common questions about ADA vs. WCAG compliance for your website’s video, written, and audio content.​