Description
WCAG Admin Accessibility Tools provides a dual approach to accessibility improvements in WordPress: practical diagnostic tools for admins and editors, and optional front-end visual enhancements for users.
This plugin is designed to complement the WAVE browser extension by WebAIM by offering tools that WAVE doesn’t cover or that we wanted to improve on. For a more complete accessibility review, using both is recommended.
Features:
– Accessibility Admin Bar Tools: Adds a front-end admin bar menu with auto-check and toggleable visual checks for accessibility issues:
– Missing Alt Text
– Poor Color Contrast (AA/AAA)
– Vague Link Text (e.g. “click here”)
– Improper Heading Hierarchy (e.g. skipping from H2 to H4)
– Links Missing Underlines (excluding buttons and navs)
– Skip to Content Link: Inserts a visually hidden „Skip to main content“ link at the top of each page for improved keyboard navigation.
– Alt Text Column & Inline Editing: Adds an “Alt Text” column to the Media Library list view, including an edit option for quickly updating missing or incorrect image alt text.
– Additional Media Columns: Adds columns for image dimensions, MIME type (e.g. image/png, application/zip), and file size.
– Frontend Mode Switcher: Adds an accessibility mode switcher for Dark Mode, and Greyscale, optionally placed as:
– A floating toggle
– A navigation menu item
– A shortcode ([wcagaat_modes])
– Logo Swap in Dark Mode: Optionally swap logos when dark mode is enabled.
– Custom Visibility Rules: Choose who can see the frontend mode switcher — everyone, logged-in users, or just admins.
– Custom Vague Phrases: Configure your own list of vague link texts to scan for (e.g. “read more, learn more, click here”).
WCAG Admin Accessibility Tools gives you clear, actionable insights directly in the WordPress UI to improve accessibility compliance faster.
Installation
- Upload the plugin files to the
/wp-content/plugins/wcag-admin-accessibility-tools/directory. - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress.
- Visit Tools > WCAG Admin Accessibility Tools
FAQ
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Does this plugin automatically make my site accessible?
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No — WCAG Admin Accessibility Tools is not a one-click solution. It offers some very basic enhancements and provides tools that help you identify and resolve common accessibility issues more efficiently. We recommend also using the WAZE browser extension by WebAIM to identify further issues like missing aria labels, etc.
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Will this add a fully-ready Dark Mode to my site?
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No. This plugin applies basic dark mode styling to standard elements and provides tools to help you implement a dark mode. However, due to variations in theme structures and styles, you will need to write additional custom CSS to ensure full compatibility across your site.
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Why isn’t there a „High Contrast“ mode?
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High contrast requirements vary significantly depending on user needs and content structure. Instead of enforcing a single high contrast scheme, this plugin provides a color contrast checker and markup tools so you can evaluate and customize contrast levels according to WCAG AA or AAA guidelines. If your site’s color contrast is implemented correctly, a separate „High Contrast“ mode is unnecessary. For users who prioritize stronger contrast, enabling AAA standards in the plugin settings is recommended.
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Where can I request features and get further support?
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We recommend using our website support forum as the primary method for requesting features and getting help. You can also reach out via our Discord support server or the WordPress.org support forum, but please note that WordPress.org doesn’t always notify us of new posts, so it’s not ideal for time-sensitive issues.
Reviews
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Contributors & Developers
“WCAG Admin Accessibility Tools” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
ContributorsTranslate “WCAG Admin Accessibility Tools” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
1.0.3
- Tweak: Console log full path of images without alt text to find hidden elements
1.0.2
- Fixes: Prepare for deployment on WP.org repo
1.0.1
- Initial Release on June 18, 2025
