Theme check
Is NewsOnline accessible?
No automated check can say that a theme is accessible. Here is what one found: on October 26, 2026, our check of NewsOnline 0.9 on its WordPress.org preview found 97 accessibility problems in the theme's own parts (its header, menus, footer and layout), 82 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARIA attributes that do not fit the element | Critical | 2 | Best practice | No, needs a person |
| Certain ARIA roles must contain particular children | Critical | 2 | Best practice | No, needs a person |
| ARIA attributes with invalid values | Critical | 2 | Best practice | No, needs a person |
| Buttons with no text | Critical | 2 | 4.1.2 | Yes |
| Text with too little contrast | Serious | 42 | 1.4.3 | No, needs a person |
| Links with no text | Serious | 20 | 2.4.4 | Yes |
| A button or link inside another one | Serious | 9 | Best practice | No, needs a person |
| ARIA input fields must have an accessible name | Serious | 3 | Best practice | No, needs a person |
| Content outside the page regions | Moderate | 4 | Best practice | No, needs a person |
| Heading levels skip | Moderate | 2 | 1.3.1 | No, needs a person |
| Alt text repeats the text next to it | Minor | 7 | 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. NewsOnline may have changed since October 26, 2026.
How to fix them
- ARIA attributes that do not fit the element. Remove the ARIA attribute, or use the element it was meant for.
- Certain ARIA roles must contain particular children.
- ARIA attributes with invalid values. Fix the value, for example an aria-controls that points to an id that does not exist.
- 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.
- A button or link inside another one. Separate the controls so screen readers can reach each one.
- ARIA input fields must have an accessible name.
- 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.
- 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.
- Alt text repeats the text next to it. Describe what the image shows instead, or leave the alt text empty if the text next to it already says it all.
- 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 on its own, in the HTML the site sends, with no widget. The rest (aria attributes that do not fit the element, certain aria roles must contain particular children, aria attributes with invalid values, text with too little contrast, a button or link inside another one, aria input fields must have an accessible name, content outside the page regions, heading levels skip, alt text repeats the text next to it, decorative elements that are still announced) need a change in the theme's settings or code.
About NewsOnline
- By Desert Themes, 200+ active installs on WordPress.org (number 162 by installs when we checked).
- Version checked: 0.9. Preview: wp-themes.com/newsonline/.
- Theme author? If you've fixed these, write to fixlight@fernwaylabs.com and we'll check again.