Troy Chaplin

mikecorkum

<a href="https://blockaccessibilitychecks.com/" rel="nofollow ugc">Block Accessibility Checks</a> is a comprehensive WordPress plugin that proactively prevents accessibility issues in your content before they reach your audience. Designed for the Gutenberg block editor, it provides real-time validation that ensures your images, buttons, tables, headings, galleries, and post meta fields meet WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) requirements.
Unlike reactive accessibility tools that scan published content, this plugin catches problems during the editing process—giving immediate visual feedback and preventing publication of content with critical accessibility errors. Content creators get clear guidance on what needs fixing, while developers can extend the system with custom checks for any block type or post meta field.
Whether you’re a content creator ensuring your posts are accessible, a developer building accessible blocks, or an organization maintaining compliance standards, Block Accessibility Checks provides the tools you need to create inclusive content effortlessly.
Key Features:
<ul>
<li>Real-time Visual Feedback – See accessibility issues instantly with color-coded borders around problematic blocks and detailed error messages in the block inspector panel</li>
<li>Smart Publishing Control – Prevents publication of content with critical accessibility errors while allowing warnings with user awareness</li>
<li>Comprehensive Block Coverage – Built-in checks for images, buttons, tables, headings, and galleries with multiple validation rules per block type</li>
<li>Post Meta Validation – Validate required post meta fields with real-time feedback, automatic post locking for errors, and seamless integration with block validation</li>
<li>Advanced Heading Validation – Document-wide hierarchy checking prevents skipped heading levels and ensures proper content structure</li>
<li>Intelligent URL Validation – Real TLD validation using the Public Suffix List ensures only legitimate domains are accepted</li>
<li>Configurable Settings – Granular control over each check’s severity (error/warning/disabled) with an intuitive admin interface for both block and meta validation</li>
<li>Issue Categorization – Clear distinction between accessibility issues and validation errors for better understanding</li>
<li>Developer-Friendly API – Comprehensive hooks and filters system for registering custom accessibility checks for blocks and post meta fields</li>
<li>External Plugin Support – Works seamlessly with custom blocks from third-party plugins and themes, with automatic settings page integration</li>
</ul>
How It Works:
The plugin provides immediate feedback as you edit content. When accessibility issues are detected in blocks or required meta fields, they are highlighted with visual indicators and detailed messages explain how to fix the problems. Critical errors prevent publishing until resolved, while warnings allow publication with user acknowledgment.
Built-in Accessibility Checks:
<ul>
<li>Button Blocks – Ensures buttons have descriptive text content and valid link destinations with real URL validation</li>
<li>Image Blocks – Requires alt text (unless marked decorative), validates length, prevents caption duplication, and detects non-descriptive patterns</li>
<li>Table Blocks – Requires proper headers or captions for screen reader navigation</li>
<li>Heading Blocks – Validates proper heading hierarchy (no skipped levels), ensures appropriate first heading level, and configurable heading level restrictions</li>
<li>Gallery Blocks – Applies comprehensive image accessibility checks to all gallery items</li>
<li>Post Meta Fields – Validate required custom fields with server-side and client-side validation, automatic post locking, and visual feedback in the editor</li>
</ul>
Perfect For:
<ul>
<li>Government websites requiring WCAG compliance</li>
<li>Educational institutions with accessibility mandates</li>
<li>Businesses committed to inclusive web content</li>
<li>Developers building accessible WordPress themes and plugins</li>
<li>Content teams who want accessibility guidance built into their workflow</li>
</ul>
Developer API:
Extend the plugin with <a href="https://github.com/troychaplin/block-accessibility-checks/blob/main/docs/" rel="nofollow ugc">custom accessibility checks</a> for any block type or post meta field. The robust API includes registration functions, validation hooks, and automatic JavaScript integration. Perfect for plugin developers who want to add accessibility validation to their custom blocks and ensure required meta fields are properly validated.
<h3>Getting Involved</h3>
If you would like to get involved and contribute to the development of this plugin or view it’s source code you can find more information in the <a href="https://github.com/troychaplin/block-accessibility-checks" rel="nofollow ugc">plugins GitHub repo</a>.

Block Accessibility Checks

Configure a series of block checks to prevent WCAG accessibility errors in content.

Joe Dolson

<h4>How to use this plug-in:</h4>
If you install and activate this plug-in before installing Contact Form 7, the default form created by Contact Form 7 will be accessible. If you’ve already installed Contact Form 7, you’ll want to delete the default form and create new forms using the templates available in this plug-in.
<h4>Use Contact Form 7 with an accessible default form</h4>
This plug-in replaces the default template that Contact Form 7 automatically generates with an accessible equivalent of that form and adds a suite of additional basic form types that you can choose from to model your new forms.
The plug-in doesn’t change anything about forms that have already been built with Contact Form 7. The structure of Contact Form 7 is such that it isn’t possible for the plug-in to rewrite existing forms for improved accessibility, but it is possible to make sure that the base you have for starting a form is accessible.
Contact Form 7 is actually a very accessible plug-in. It has an accessible back-end, and if you create the right template, the front-end form will have great accessibility.
Since version 4.5, Contact Form 7 has included the label element; but the usage of them is limited, and isn’t the best possible method. This plug-in supplies a new default form that includes everything you need to make your default form accessible.
For more information about making Contact Form 7 accessible, read <a href="https://rianrietveld.com/2014/03/how-to-set-up-an-accessible-form-using-contact-form-7-in-wordpress/" rel="nofollow ugc">how to set up an accessible form using contact form 7</a>, by Rian Rietveld.

Contact Form 7: Accessible Defaults

Replaces the default Contact Form 7 form with an accessible equivalent and provides a suite of selectable base forms.

Block Accessibility Checks vs Contact Form 7: Accessible Defaults