Make WordPress Accessible with AI: Quick Checks & Fixes
Accessibility is no longer a nice-to-have. It affects usability, search performance and legal risk. The good news: AI now accelerates audits, prioritises work and even suggests code fixes for WordPress sites. This post gives a practical playbook you can run this week—no theory, only steps that deliver measurable improvements.
Why use AI for WordPress accessibility?
Traditional accessibility testing can be slow and manual. Modern AI tools help in three ways:
- Scale — run automated checks across dozens of pages and device viewports quickly.
- Prioritise — triage issues by real user impact, not just rule count.
- Actionable fixes — generate suggested HTML/CSS snippets and PR descriptions to speed developer work.
Quick checklist: First 48 hours
This checklist gets you a fast, repeatable baseline audit.
- Run a site-wide automated scan with Lighthouse and an axe-core runner to capture common issues.
- Use an AI visual analyser (or a service that combines visual AI + DOM analysis) to flag contrast and layout problems on key templates.
- Perform a keyboard-only walkthrough of the homepage, header, footer and a product/checkout page.
- Sample screen reader experience (NVDA or VoiceOver) for critical flows like forms and CTAs.
- Export results into a CSV or ticket list, then group by template and severity.
Tools and integrations that work well with WordPress
Combine established accessibility engines with AI assistants for the fastest wins.
- axe-core (automated rule checks) — integrate into CI or run via browser extension.
- Google Lighthouse — for accessibility scoring and performance context.
- Visual AI checkers — newer tools can detect visual issues across breakpoints (useful for responsive themes).
- LLM assistants (GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT or private LLMs) — convert audit findings into code snippets and commit messages.
- Continuous monitoring — schedule nightly scans and surface regressions in your reporting dashboard.
A 5-step AI-assisted workflow to fix issues
Run this workflow to move from report to deployed fixes with minimal overhead.
- Automated discovery — run axe and Lighthouse across representative pages. Export results to a single source of truth.
- AI triage — feed results into an LLM prompt that groups issues by template, and ranks them by likely user impact and SEO relevance.
- Generate fix snippets — ask the LLM for HTML/CSS or theme PHP fixes targeted at the specific template (e.g. accessible form labels, ARIA attributes, focus management).
- Create PRs automatically — use a CI pipeline to open drafts with suggested code, tests and an accessibility statement for reviewer context.
- Monitor and measure — after deployment, validate changes with automated scans and update stakeholders via analytics summaries.
Example prompt pattern for an LLM: share the failing rule ID, the affected DOM snippet and the theme/template context. Ask the model to return a ready-to-apply patch and a short QA checklist for reviewers.
Prioritise fixes that move the needle
Not all issues are equal. Prioritise:
- Keyboard focus order and visible focus states.
- Missing or duplicate form labels and error handling.
- Colour contrast failures on main CTAs and navigation.
- Non-descriptive link text and images missing alt attributes on product pages.
These improve usability, conversions and search performance quickly.
Rolling out fixes on WordPress safely
Follow safe deployment patterns to avoid regressions:
- Work on theme or block templates in a feature branch.
- Use automated visual regression tests to compare before/after screenshots.
- Include accessibility checks in your CI pipeline so every merge runs the same audits.
- Stage changes on a realistic environment and run a final screen‑reader pass.
Continuous improvement and reporting
Accessibility is ongoing. Automate monitoring and report impact:
- Schedule daily or weekly scans and surface new issues in your project board.
- Use analytics to track changes in engagement metrics for assisted technologies.
- Summarise wins for stakeholders: pages remediated, issues closed, and any SEO gains.
Where agencies and site owners get stuck — and how to avoid it
Common blockers are scope creep, unclear ownership and fear of breaking the design. Solve these by:
- Defining a template-first approach — fix one template at a time, then roll out.
- Automating the repetitive steps with CI and LLM-assisted PR generation.
- Providing a short release note and rollback plan for every change so stakeholders feel comfortable.
Next practical step
If you want a quick audit that combines automated scans with AI triage, we offer hands‑on services that integrate with WordPress workflows. Learn more about how we build accessible, resilient sites on our web development page, or read about our AI automation services at TooHumble AI. To discuss a scoped audit, get in touch via contact — we’ll map a short, practical programme and a measurable roadmap.
Accessibility is an ongoing investment. Use AI to reduce busywork, focus human attention where it matters, and make your WordPress site usable for everyone.
