Work is largely completed for making the accessibility-ready tag conditional in the theme directory, as proposed in meta trac ticket #8427. There’s a little bit more work to be done to set up the changes, which is going to briefly delay implementing the updates to what themes will be listed in the tag.
The important details for theme authors and reviewers to know:
- With this change, no themes will be delisted from the directory because they have not yet met the requirements for the
accessibility-readytag. - Adding the
accessibility-readytag will not delay getting your theme approved, and will be treated as an application to be added to the listings. - The value of the
accessibility-readytag as a signal of trust will be considerably higher, as we will be able to directly remove that listing from themes that do not meet our accessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) guidelines.
In the meantime, take a moment and check out the schedule for WordPress Accessibility Day 2026, which starts this Wednesday! We’ve got a schedule packed with great information covering a wide range of accessibility topics – if you haven’t registered yet, it’s not too late!
