WordPress ADA Compliance: How To Make Your Website Compliant

You didn’t build your website to get sued. You built it to get found, create trust, and expand your business.

However, the sad truth is that if your site isn’t accessible, it could do the opposite, shutting out people with disabilities and putting your business at risk of legal action under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The worst part is you might not even realize your site isn’t accessible.

In this guide, we help out by explaining WordPress ADA compliance and how you can achieve it without reading hundreds of pages of legal documents.

What is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?

The ADA is a civil rights law passed in 1990 that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in public life, including employment, transportation, and building access.

Back then, the internet wasn’t an important part of the picture, so there’s nothing specific about websites in the Act itself. But today, courts and regulators interpret “places of public accommodation” to include websites and digital content, especially for businesses open to the public. This means your website must be accessible, or you could be violating the law and in danger of accessibility lawsuits.

What is ADA Website Compliance?

WordPress ADA compliance for websites requires you to meet the digital accessibility standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act. It ensures websites are inclusive and people with disabilities can navigate and interact with your content using screen readers, keyboards, and other assistive tools.

We know what you’re thinking right now: “How can I meet ADA’s accessibility standards when you just said that ADA doesn’t have website-specific guidance?”

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This is where the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) swoop in to save the day.

ADA vs. WCAG compliance: The meeting point of the two standards

When the ADA was passed in 1990, the internet wasn’t what it is today, so lawmakers didn’t include technical guidance for digital accessibility because no one could have predicted we’d be running entire businesses online just a few decades later.

To bridge that gap, accessibility experts developed WCAG. These internationally recognized technical standards explain how to make websites and digital content accessible to all users, including those with vision, hearing, mobility, and cognitive impairments.

In practice, WCAG is the benchmark that courts and the Department of Justice (DOJ) refer to when deciding whether a website is compliant. As of 2024, the DOJ formally adopted WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the required standard for public entities under the ADA.

Here’s what that means in plain terms:

• ADA sets the legal requirement that websites must be accessible
• WCAG shows how to meet that requirement
• WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the current compliance standard for accessibility regulations

While the ADA and WCAG are technically separate (one is a law, the other a set of guidelines), they work hand in hand.

So, is ADA compliance mandatory for websites​?

Yes, if your site doesn’t achieve a WCAG 2.1 Level AA score, you’re failing to meet ADA website compliance standards, which could lead to lawsuits, fines, and a loss of customer trust.

Why is ADA compliance important for WordPress owners?

An ADA-compliant WordPress website makes your business accessible to more people, improves the experience for visitors, and helps you do things the right way.

How to Make Your WordPress ADA Compliant

We’re already determined that achieving ADA compliance on WordPress (WP) means meeting the WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards recognized by US law.

But what does that mean in practice?

We know it sounds incredibly technical, so in this section, we’ll run through five steps to help you check if your WordPress website is ADA compliant and improve accessibility.

If, like many other website owners, you feel that DIY is too time-consuming, you should jump to our section on hiring a WordPress maintenance agency to handle it all for you. 🧘

5 steps toward DIY ADA compliance

ADA compliance for WordPress isn’t something you can achieve overnight.

It takes time, effort, and a strong understanding of WP accessibility. Still, you can make meaningful progress by following the WCAG 2.1 Level AA guidelines, whether doing it yourself or with a freelancer’s help.

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

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1. Review the ADA requirements you need to meet

Before you make any changes, you need to know which ADA rules apply to your business. The law divides accessible websites into two main groups:

• Title II: Public entities like schools and government agencies
• Title III: Private and nonprofit businesses

If you run a WordPress site for a business or organization, you’re likely covered under Title III, which means your site should follow WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards.

For example, if you run a private dental clinic in Pennsylvania, you’re expected to make your website accessible to users with disabilities by following WCAG.

Start by spending an hour or so getting acquainted with the Act.

2. Audit your site

Before you fix anything, you need to know what’s working and what’s not.

An accessibility audit helps you identify any barriers disabled users might face on your WordPress site.

You can start with free tools like:

• WAVE: Highlights WP accessibility issues visually on your pages
• Accessibility Checker: WordPress ADA compliance plugin that scans each post or page
• axe DevTools: Browser extension for in-depth audits

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

Note that while these tools are helpful, they’re far from perfect. Online reviews are split on their basic functionality and whether they address all the WCAG/ADA accessibility requirements.

3. Make your site ADA compliant

Start your ADA compliance quest with an accessible theme that supports keyboard navigation, proper heading structure, and strong contrast. If you’re unsure, you can always search the WordPress directory with a filter for accessibility-ready theme files.

Like this:

These themes are a good starting point, but don’t guarantee you meet all ADA requirements. Always test before building and try to follow best practices across your site.

These design changes may seem small, but they’re the building blocks of an inclusive experience:

• Use legible fonts and adequate sizing. Stick to clean typefaces and at least 16px font size.
• Check your color contrast. Use WebAIM’s tool to ensure enough contrast between text and background.
• Add alt text to every image. For example, instead of saying ”coffee shop image,” go for “Barista handing coffee to a customer at the café counter.”
• Make navigation intuitive and keyboard-friendly. Avoid dropdowns that only work with a mouse. Use clear labels like “About Us” or “Contact.”

• Use large, descriptive CTAs. Replace vague text like “Click here” with “Download our free guide” or “Book your consultation.”
• Enable WP accessibility tools. Add accessibility widgets that let users change font size or contrast. These aren’t mandatory, but can improve usability for many visitors.
• Structure forms clearly. Every input should have a label, field errors should be easy to spot, and users should be able to complete the form with a keyboard.

For extra support, you can install WP accessibility plugins like:

• WP Accessibility: Adds skip links, outlines focus states, and flags missing alt text
• Accessibility Checker: Scans your pages for WCAG and ADA compliance issues
• Ally (formerly One Click Accessibility): Adds front-end tools for users (font sizing, contrast toggles, etc.)

Remember that plugins help, but they don’t automatically guarantee ADA compliance.

4. Have an expert confirm ADA compliance

Even if you’ve followed all the right steps, there’s no substitute for a professional review to meet your accessibility goals.

ADA compliance is full of nuance, and even small mistakes can leave you exposed.

An expert can audit your WordPress site, catch accessibility issues you might miss (like missing form labels), and confirm whether you’re meeting the right standards.

They also:

• Provide documentation to show you’ve taken accessibility seriously
• Prioritize the dev work for fixes
  • Example: A login form that can’t be used with a keyboard is a serious barrier, while something like a missing alt text in one blog is much lower priority.

5. Maintain ADA compliance

Every time you update your website, install a plugin, or publish new content, you risk unintentionally creating accessibility barriers.

For example, a cool new popup may block keyboard users from reaching the main navigation, or a plugin update to a premium version may wipe out your accessible form labels.

For business owners, keeping up with these issues is usually too time-consuming and technical. That’s why many decide to outsource compliance to a trusted WordPress maintenance agency that can cover a wide range of solutions like monitoring, fixing, and maintaining customizable accessibility options over the long run.

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

Trying to stay ADA-compliant on your own can feel like chasing your tail. You fix one thing, and another issue pops up. You install an accessibility plugin, only to realize it doesn’t fix the root problems, and you still lack basic accessibility features.

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Most business owners don’t have the time (or the appetite) to keep up with audits, guidelines, and site updates. Instead, they hire a WordPress maintenance agency like StateWP that offers comprehensive accessibility solutions.​

When you join us, we don’t just audit your site and call it a day. As part of our onboarding process, we can evaluate your site against the WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards and outline exactly what needs to change.

If your website only needs small adjustments to ensure accessibility for visitors, we can do them within your monthly maintenance hours (two per month on our Premium and Elite plans).

However, if you need bigger fixes, like restructuring page templates or implementing full keyboard navigation, you’ll need to submit a one-time work order. We’ll prepare a quote and get approval on the project and schedule, so there are never any surprises.

For example, when the Rural Counties’ Environmental Services Joint Powers Authority (ESJPA) came to our sister agency, State Creative, it needed a new website that was modern, information-packed, mobile-friendly, and met WCAG accessibility standards.

We redesigned ESJPA’s website from the ground up with accessibility in mind. That means clear headings, consistent navigation, strong color contrast, support for screen reader users, and clean form structure.

Now, with StateWP handling maintenance, this website stays secure, functional, and fully accessible for users across California’s rural communities.

Once your website is compliant with ADA standards, we help you keep it that way. With ongoing updates, plugin checks, content tweaks, and performance monitoring, we handle the ongoing work that lets you avoid common accessibility issues without lifting a finger.

Secure Compliance Without Wasting Time or Resources

Nobody builds a WordPress site thinking, “I can’t wait to wade through accessibility law.” You’re here to grow, connect, and serve your audience. However, without WordPress ADA compliance, your website could lock people out and put your business at risk.

If you don’t want that, you should work with a compliance expert.

At StateWP, we make accessibility feel less like a legal minefield and more like what it is – good business.

We’ll audit your website, handle the updates, and keep it compliant so that you can stay focused on your business without chasing down an ADA website compliance checklist​ or squinting at contrast ratios.

If you want to make a WordPress site ADA compliant, let’s talk. Book a consultation and we’ll show you what your site needs (and what it doesn’t).

WordPress ADA Compliance FAQs

These FAQs break down the most important points about WordPress website ADA compliance​ so that you can ensure accessibility for users and protect your business from penalties.