#44 – Priya Sen on Why Theme Accessibility Is Easier Than It Looks

Priya Sen has reviewed WordPress themes long enough to hear the same fear on repeat: accessibility is a specialist mountain. Her talk this year was titled, more or less, no it isn’t.

The first mile is unglamorous. Use real headings. Give images alternative text. Make sure the skip-to-content link works. Don’t trap keyboard focus in a modal you copied from a tutorial. Contrast is a spreadsheet problem, not a philosophy problem.

We talk about why the guidelines exist, how block themes can make landmarks easier, and why shipping accessibility from day one is cheaper than bolting it on after a client’s legal team writes. Priya is clear that “accessibility ready” is a floor, not a trophy.

If you build themes and have been postponing the checklist, this episode is the friendly nudge that the checklist is shorter than the story you told yourself.