EAA Compliance Checklist for WordPress Sites

Chapter 1: Is Your Site in Scope?

The EAA applies to digital services offered in the EU. If your agency builds, hosts, or maintains any of the following, you are in scope:

The Key Question

Ask this for every site you manage:

Does this site offer a service or product to the EU public?

If yes, it needs to be EAA-compliant. Content management systems (WordPress), e-commerce platforms (WooCommerce), and booking systems are explicitly included.

Chapter 2: The 10-Point EAA Compliance Checklist

This is the core of the guide. Each item is a concrete check that you can run on any WordPress site. Pass all 10, and the site is demonstrably EAA-compliant.

1. Color Contrast (WCAG 2.1 AA)

Requirement: Text must have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 (normal text) or 3:1 (large text 18pt+ / 14pt bold+).

How to check: - Use the WebAIM Contrast Checker (webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/) - Enter the text color hex and background color hex - Pass/fail result instantly - Testing tool: Accessibility Insights browser extension (free, Microsoft) - Testing tool: WAVE browser extension (free, WebAIM) - Quick check: Toggle "High Contrast" mode in browser dev tools

Common WordPress violations: - Light gray text on white backgrounds (most common) - Blue link text on blue-ish backgrounds - Footer text on dark backgrounds - Button text against button colors

Fix: Adjust colors in the theme customizer, or add custom CSS. If the theme is locked, create a child theme.

2. Alt Text on All Images

Requirement: Every meaningful image must have alt text. Decorative images must have alt="" (empty alt).

How to check: - Run the WAVE extension — it lists all missing alt attributes - Browser DevTools > Accessibility tab > inspect images - For WooCommerce: check product images, category images

Common violations: - Gallery images uploaded without alt text - Logo in header/ footer without alt - Social media icons without alt - Decorative spacer images without alt=""

Fix in WordPress: - Edit Media > Alternative Text field - For existing sites with hundreds of images: use a plugin like Accessibility Checker to bulk-fill missing alt text - Add alt="" for decorative images via filter functions

3. Heading Structure (h1-h6 Hierarchy)

Requirement: Headings must form a logical hierarchy. No skipped levels. No heading used purely for styling.

How to check: - Install the HeadingsMap browser extension - It shows the full heading outline — look for: - No h1 → fail - h1 → h3 (skipping h2) → fail - Multiple h1s → fail - Text styled as heading but not marked as heading → fail

Common violations: - Theme logo is a div, not an h1 - Widget headings jump from h2 to h4 - Page builders create headings at arbitrary levels - Content editors use bold text instead of heading tags

Fix: Map the site's heading outline. Rename heading levels in the theme files or use a plugin that enforces accessibility-ready heading blocks.

4. Keyboard Navigation

Requirement: Every interactive element must be reachable and operable via keyboard alone. No "keyboard trap" where focus gets stuck.

How to check: - Navigate the entire site using only Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter, and Escape - Can you reach every link, button, and form field? - Is there a visible focus indicator on every element? (blue outline or similar) - Can you open all menus, dropdowns, and modals? - Can you close them with Escape?

Common violations: - Mega menus that don't work with keyboard - Modal popups that trap focus - Custom select/dropdown elements that aren't keyboard accessible - "Skip to content" link missing or broken

Fix: - Add a "Skip to content" link as the first focusable element - Ensure all custom JavaScript components handle keyboard events - Use native HTML elements (button, a) instead of divs with click handlers

5. Screen Reader Compatibility

Requirement: Content must be readable by screen readers. This means proper ARIA labels, semantic HTML, and logical reading order.

How to check: - Turn on VoiceOver (macOS: Cmd+F5) or NVDA (Windows, free) - Navigate the page — does it make sense when read linearly? - Do images have alt text that describes the content? - Do form fields have proper labels? - Are dynamic content updates announced?

Common violations: - "Read more" links without context (should say "Read more about [page title]") - Form fields without <label> elements - Buttons with icon-only content and no aria-label - Auto-playing video/audio without pause controls

Fix: - Add descriptive link text or use aria-label - Ensure every <input> has a matching <label> - Add aria-live regions for dynamic content

6. Forms and Input Validation

Requirement: Forms must be accessible. Error messages must be clear and programmatically associated with the field.

How to check: - Submit a form with invalid data — are errors communicated clearly? - Are error messages linked to the input field via aria-describedby? - Does the focus move to the first error? - Are required fields marked with aria-required or text?

Common violations: - Inline validation messages that disappear too fast - Color-only error indicators (red border without text) - CAPTCHAs that are not accessible (reCAPTCHA v2 has audio fallback, but test it) - Confirmation messages that are not detected by screen readers

Fix: - Use inline error messages with clear text - Add aria-describedby connecting error to field - Use accessible CAPTCHA alternatives (honeypot + time-based check) - Use aria-live="polite" for confirmation messages

7. Links and Navigation

Requirement: Links must be distinguishable and meaningful. No "click here", no "read more" without context.

How to check: - Scan all links on the page — does each link text describe its destination? - Are links visually distinguishable from surrounding text (underlined or high contrast color)? - Do navigation menus have consistent structure across pages?

Common violations: - "Click here" / "Learn more" / "Read more" as link text - Color-only distinction for links (no underline) - Same link text pointing to different URLs - Broken anchor links

Fix: - Rewrite link text to describe the target page - Add text-decoration: underline to links (user preference style) - Run a link checker (W3C Link Checker or browser extension)

8. Multimedia: Video and Audio

Requirement: All pre-recorded video must have captions. Audio must have transcripts. Live video must have captions where feasible.

How to check: - Does every embedded video (YouTube, Vimeo) have captions turned on? - Do audio players have visible play/pause/volume controls? - Are auto-playing videos controllable? - Is there a transcript for podcast/audio content?

Common violations: - YouTube videos without auto-captions (auto-generated are insufficient for compliance) - Background video with no pause button - Audio content with no text alternative - Animated GIFs with no description

Fix: - Upload corrected captions to YouTube/Vimeo - Add a "Pause" button for all moving content - Provide text transcripts below audio embeds - Add aria-label to describe GIF content

9. Resize and Zoom

Requirement: Content must be readable when zoomed to 200%. No horizontal scrolling. No text clipping.

How to check: - Open the site - Zoom to 200% (Cmd++ on macOS, Ctrl++ on Windows) - Does the layout reflow or require horizontal scrolling? - Is all text readable? - Do buttons and links still have enough padding to be clickable?

Common violations: - Fixed-width containers that don't scale - Text in images that pixelate at 200% - Off-canvas menus that overflow at zoom - Tables with many columns that break layout

Fix: - Use relative units (rem, %) instead of fixed px widths - Test the theme's responsive breakpoints - For complex tables: use responsive table techniques (horizontal scroll on mobile, or stacked rows)

10. Accessibility Statement

Requirement: EAA requires a published accessibility statement on the site. This includes current compliance status, contact information, and a process for reporting issues.

How to check: - Is there an accessibility statement page? - Does it include: - Compliance status (e.g., "Partially compliant with WCAG 2.1 AA") - Contact method for accessibility issues - Description of known limitations - Expected response time (typically 5 business days)

Common violations: - No accessibility statement at all - Statement is generic boilerplate with no actual commitment - No contact form or email for reporting issues - Statement claims "fully compliant" without evidence

Fix: - Create a /accessibility-statement/ page - Use the EAA-compliant statement generator (w3.org/WAI/accessibility-statement/) - Include a contact form or dedicated email - Update when compliance status changes