Theme check
Is NewsCard accessible?
No automated check can say that a theme is accessible. Here is what one found: on October 26, 2026, our check of NewsCard 1.5 on its WordPress.org preview found 63 accessibility problems in the theme's own parts (its header, menus, footer and layout), 57 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buttons with no text | Critical | 2 | 4.1.2 | Yes |
| Text with too little contrast | Serious | 34 | 1.4.3 | No, needs a person |
| Links with no text | Serious | 15 | 2.4.4 | Yes |
| Links shown only by colour | Serious | 3 | 1.4.1 | Yes |
| Buttons and links too small to tap | Serious | 3 | 2.5.8 | No, needs a person |
| Heading levels skip | Moderate | 1 | 1.3.1 | No, needs a person |
| Page regions that cannot be told apart | Moderate | 1 | Best practice | No, needs a person |
| ARIA role should be appropriate for the element | Minor | 2 | Best practice | No, needs a person |
| Decorative elements that are still announced | Minor | 2 | Best practice | No, needs a person |
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. NewsCard may have changed since October 26, 2026.
How to fix them
- Buttons with no text. Fixlight names common icon buttons automatically. For the rest, add an aria-label that says what the button does.
- 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.
- Links with no text. Fixlight names social and common icon links automatically. For the rest, add alt text to the image inside the link or an aria-label to the link.
- Links shown only by colour. Turn on "Underline links in text" on the Fixes screen, or underline links in your theme's settings.
- Buttons and links too small to tap. Make icons and small links at least 24 by 24 pixels, or leave more space around them.
- Heading levels skip. Choose heading levels by structure, not by size: one level 1 for the page title, level 2 for sections, level 3 inside them. Change the size with styling instead.
- Page regions that cannot be told apart. When two regions of the same kind exist (two navigation menus, for example), give each a different aria-label.
- ARIA role should be appropriate for the element.
- Decorative elements that are still announced. Remove focusability or ARIA attributes from elements marked decorative.
What the free Fixlight plugin does here
Of these, the free plugin fixes buttons with no text, links with no text, links shown only by colour on its own, in the HTML the site sends, with no widget. The rest (text with too little contrast, buttons and links too small to tap, heading levels skip, page regions that cannot be told apart, aria role should be appropriate for the element, decorative elements that are still announced) need a change in the theme's settings or code.
About NewsCard
- By Theme Horse, 7,000+ active installs on WordPress.org (number 239 by installs when we checked).
- Version checked: 1.5. Preview: wp-themes.com/newscard/.
- Theme author? If you've fixed these, write to fixlight@fernwaylabs.com and we'll check again.