Theme check
Is Newstack accessible?
No automated check can say that a theme is accessible. Here is what one found: on October 25, 2026, our check of Newstack 2.8 on its WordPress.org preview found 64 accessibility problems in the theme's own parts (its header, menus, footer and layout), 54 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 with invalid values | Critical | 3 | Best practice | No, needs a person |
| Links with no text | Serious | 25 | 2.4.4 | Yes |
| Text with too little contrast | Serious | 13 | 1.4.3 | No, needs a person |
| Buttons and links too small to tap | Serious | 12 | 2.5.8 | No, needs a person |
| Lists with the wrong kind of items | Serious | 1 | Best practice | No, needs a person |
| Content outside the page regions | Moderate | 8 | Best practice | No, needs a person |
| Heading levels skip | Moderate | 1 | 1.3.1 | No, needs a person |
| Page has no main content region | Moderate | 1 | 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. Newstack may have changed since October 25, 2026.
How to fix them
- ARIA attributes with invalid values. Fix the value, for example an aria-controls that points to an id that does not exist.
- 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.
- 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.
- Buttons and links too small to tap. Make icons and small links at least 24 by 24 pixels, or leave more space around them.
- Lists with the wrong kind of items. A <ul> or <ol> should contain only <li> items.
- 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.
- 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
Of these, the free plugin fixes links with no text on its own, in the HTML the site sends, with no widget. The rest (aria attributes with invalid values, text with too little contrast, buttons and links too small to tap, lists with the wrong kind of items, content outside the page regions, heading levels skip, page has no main content region) need a change in the theme's settings or code.
About Newstack
- By themeansar, 1,000+ active installs on WordPress.org (number 106 by installs when we checked).
- Version checked: 2.8. Preview: wp-themes.com/newstack/.
- Theme author? If you've fixed these, write to fixlight@fernwaylabs.com and we'll check again.