Theme check
Is EmpowerWP accessible?
No automated check can say that a theme is accessible. Here is what one found: on October 28, 2026, our check of EmpowerWP 1.0.61 on its WordPress.org preview found 24 accessibility problems in the theme's own parts (its header, menus, footer and layout), 19 of them serious or critical.
We make Fixlight, a free WordPress plugin that fixes some of these problems, so we're not neutral. The measurements below are what our check found; anyone can repeat it with the same method.
What the check found
| Problem | Impact | Times | WCAG | Free Fixlight plugin fixes it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Text with too little contrast | Serious | 19 | 1.4.3 | No, needs a person |
| Content outside the page regions | Moderate | 4 | Best practice | No, needs a person |
| Page has no main content region | Moderate | 1 | Best practice | No, needs a person |
The check also found 15 problems inside the sample posts themselves (links with no text, content outside the page regions, heading levels skip). Those come from WordPress.org's sample content, which is the same for every theme, so they're not counted here.
How we checked: One page, the theme's home page on WordPress.org's preview (wp-themes.com), which shows the same sample posts for every theme. It was loaded in a real browser and checked with axe-core's WCAG 2.2 A and AA rules and its best practices. Problems inside the sample posts are not counted against the theme, except colour problems its styling causes. Automated checks find many problems, but not all of them. Your site, with your own content, settings and plugins, will give different results. EmpowerWP may have changed since October 28, 2026.
How to fix them
- Text with too little contrast. Make the text darker or the background lighter until the contrast ratio is at least 4.5:1 (3:1 for large text). Change it in your theme's colour settings so it applies everywhere.
- Content outside the page regions. This usually comes from the theme or a page builder section. Put page content inside the main area, or ask your theme developer to add header, main and footer regions.
- Page has no main content region. Use a page template that wraps the content in a <main> element. Blank page builder templates often leave it out.
What the free Fixlight plugin does here
None of these is one the free plugin fixes on its own: they need a change in the theme's settings or code. Fixlight lists them with the steps, and it also adds things automated checks don't flag, such as a skip link and visible keyboard focus, where a theme lacks them.
About EmpowerWP
- By Extend Themes, 4,000+ active installs on WordPress.org (number 417 by installs when we checked).
- Version checked: 1.0.61. Preview: wp-themes.com/empowerwp/.
- Theme author? If you've fixed these, write to fixlight@fernwaylabs.com and we'll check again.