As part of a larger effort to improve the accessibility of WooCommerce, the flagship open source eCommerce solution for WordPress, Fueled and its 10up WordPress Practice helped deliver over 140 accessibility improvements, impacting the 7 million+ websites that WooCommerce powers. This achievement comes after a year-long initiative in partnership with WooCommerce and Equalize Digital, bringing WooCommerce Core into compliance ahead of new regulations like the European Accessibility Act (EAA). The result is a more inclusive shopping experience and a WooCommerce Core that meets modern accessibility standards.
Ahead of the EAA deadline in June 2025, WooCommerce engaged us to spearhead the remediation of a WCAG 2.2 compliance audit, working hand-in-hand with WooCommerce’s core development team to implement fixes across virtually every part of the plugin. Over a year, contributions from WooCommerce, Equalize Digital, and Fueled’s WordPress specialists were coordinated to methodically resolve issues in both the classic and block-based interfaces.
Key Accessibility Improvements in WooCommerce Core
The improvements touched all critical user flows from browsing products and using the cart to checking out and managing accounts. The cumulative changes have transformed WooCommerce Core’s interface to be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for users with disabilities.
Key improvements include:
- Screen Reader Support: Interactive elements (buttons, links, modals, etc.) have descriptive labels and ARIA attributes so that screen reader users receive meaningful announcements.
- Keyboard Navigation & Focus: Keyboard-only users can navigate the store without hitting any “keyboard traps.” The tab order is logical, focus is contained within modals while open, and focus returns to the trigger when the modal closes.
- Color Contrast: All text, icon, and interface element colors were adjusted to meet WCAG 2.2 AA contrast requirements, ensuring content is legible in all states (normal, hover, disabled).
- Forms & Error Handling: Every form field on checkout, login, and account pages now has an explicit label or instruction. Error messages are programmatically tied to their fields, so screen readers alert users to problems immediately.
- Page Structure & Landmarks: Page headings are now in a logical order with no skipped levels, and landmark regions (like navigation, main content, footer) have been defined to aid assistive technology in parsing the page structure.
- Live Status Messages: Dynamic updates (for example, adding an item to the cart or filtering products) are announced via ARIA live regions, ensuring screen reader users immediately hear feedback for those actions.
These changes make WooCommerce more accessible not only to people with disabilities, but also improve the overall user experience. All shoppers can navigate with greater ease, and store owners can be confident that WooCommerce’s default user interface is accessible out of the box.
The Importance and Impact of Accessibility
Beyond meeting technical standards, there are compelling business and legal reasons to prioritize accessibility. In the European Union, the EAA now mandates that e-commerce websites be accessible to people with disabilities, with enforcement beginning June 28, 2025. Noncompliance can result in regulatory penalties and legal liability, but more importantly, it means excluding millions of potential customers from using an online store; WooCommerce powers more than 7 million websites worldwide. By advancing WooCommerce Core toward WCAG 2.2 AA, this project helps store owners avoid legal risk while welcoming a broader audience of users to participate in digital commerce.
Many accessibility enhancements (clearer navigation, sufficient color contrast, better form instructions) make sites more usable for all visitors, not just those with disabilities. Embracing accessibility leads to a better user experience overall, which can translate into higher customer satisfaction and reach.
As covered in depth in our public sector focused white paper, Online Accessibility Strategies for Government Efficiency and Trust, it is our view that accessibility is not only an ethical and legal matter, but essential to the efficiency of many organizations.
Ongoing Commitment to an Inclusive Web
Major advancements in the core product toward the high bar of WCAG 2.2 Level AA conformance, with some areas even meeting the most stringent AAA standards, is a major milestone in WooCommerce’s ongoing commitment to first class accessibility.
WooCommerce has expanded the initiative to audit and improve all of its official extensions, ensuring the entire WooCommerce ecosystem meets the same high standards. Fueled remains actively involved in these efforts, helping to remediate issues in popular extensions (from subscriptions to product bundles) so that every aspect of a WooCommerce store is accessible.
We are proud to have helped WooCommerce set a new benchmark for accessibility in open source commerce. Fueled dedicates thousands of hours to improving the open web per year, and remains committed to building inclusive digital products for our clients. If your team is looking to make your digital experiences more accessible, get in touch.
