{"id":7966,"date":"2026-04-24T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/?p=7966"},"modified":"2026-05-31T20:33:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T18:33:01","slug":"inclusive-by-design-the-accessibility-sessions-coming-to-wceu-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/inclusive-by-design-the-accessibility-sessions-coming-to-wceu-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Inclusive by Design &#8211; The Accessibility Sessions Coming to WCEU 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-0aa01211 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/speaker-by-category\/\">Back to Categories<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Accessibility is no longer a &#8220;nice to have&#8221; tucked away at the bottom of a project brief. It&#8217;s a baseline expectation \u2014 for users, for search engines, for AI agents, and increasingly for the law. With the European Accessibility Act now in force across the EU, every WordPress professional has a stake in getting this right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That&#8217;s why Accessibility has its own dedicated focus at&nbsp;<strong>WordCamp Europe 2026<\/strong>, and why we&#8217;d encourage every attendee \u2014 whether you build themes, run an agency, write content, or simply care about a better web \u2014 to make space in your schedule for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why accessibility matters (more than ever)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When we talk about accessibility, we&#8217;re talking about real people. Roughly&nbsp;<strong>one in six of us<\/strong>&nbsp;lives with some form of disability, and around&nbsp;<strong>one in seven<\/strong>&nbsp;is neurodivergent. If your website doesn&#8217;t work for them, it doesn&#8217;t work for a significant share of your audience \u2014 full stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the case for accessibility goes beyond reach and inclusion:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>It&#8217;s a legal expectation.<\/strong>&nbsp;The European Accessibility Act applies to most digital products and services sold in the EU.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>It improves SEO.<\/strong>&nbsp;Search engines reward clarity, semantic structure and good user experience \u2014 exactly what accessible sites deliver.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>It future-proofs your content.<\/strong>&nbsp;AI agents and assistive technologies rely on the same well-structured markup that accessibility demands.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>It lifts conversion.<\/strong>&nbsp;A site that&#8217;s easier to use is a site that&#8217;s easier to buy from, sign up to and come back to.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In short: building accessibly isn&#8217;t a tax on your project. It&#8217;s a multiplier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Talks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-base-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-4924166b wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-bottom-right-radius:80px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);box-shadow:var(--wp--preset--shadow--shadow-1)\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Accessibility in themes: easier than you think<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:30% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"630\" height=\"630\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/files\/2026\/04\/Jessica-Lyschik-2.jpg?resize=630%2C630&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7672 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/files\/2026\/04\/Jessica-Lyschik-2.jpg?w=630&amp;ssl=1 630w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/files\/2026\/04\/Jessica-Lyschik-2.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/files\/2026\/04\/Jessica-Lyschik-2.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Speaker:<\/strong>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/speaker\/jessica-lyschik\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jessica Lyschik<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Where<\/strong>: Track 1<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>When:<\/strong>&nbsp;Friday 5 June at 11:00<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Session page:<\/strong>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/session\/accessibility-in-themes-easier-than-you-think\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Accessibility in themes: easier than you think<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many theme developers assume accessibility-ready requirements are hard to meet \u2014 but that\u2019s rarely true. This session shares practical insights from real theme reviews and shows how both block and classic themes can reach accessibility-ready status with manageable effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jessica Lyschik is a senior developer at Greyd and a WordPress core contributor. She was the Default Theme Co-Lead for the Twenty Twenty-Four theme. Outside of work, she enjoys building LEGO sets, travelling, and listening to music over a cup of tea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-dots wp-block-paragraph\">Follow her work on&nbsp;WordPress.org as <a href=\"https:\/\/profiles.wordpress.org\/luminuu\">@luminuu<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"112\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/files\/2026\/04\/Speaker-Pattern.webp?resize=1000%2C112&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6302\" style=\"width:400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/files\/2026\/04\/Speaker-Pattern.webp?w=1000&amp;ssl=1 1000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/files\/2026\/04\/Speaker-Pattern.webp?resize=300%2C34&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/files\/2026\/04\/Speaker-Pattern.webp?resize=768%2C86&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/files\/2026\/04\/Speaker-Pattern.webp?resize=500%2C56&amp;ssl=1 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-base-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-4924166b wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-bottom-right-radius:80px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);box-shadow:var(--wp--preset--shadow--shadow-1)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The clarity dividend: accessibility as an SEO strategy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;grid-template-columns:30% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"630\" height=\"630\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/files\/2026\/04\/anne-mieke-bovelette-1.jpg?resize=630%2C630&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7650 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/files\/2026\/04\/anne-mieke-bovelette-1.jpg?w=630&amp;ssl=1 630w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/files\/2026\/04\/anne-mieke-bovelette-1.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/files\/2026\/04\/anne-mieke-bovelette-1.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Speaker:<\/strong>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/speaker\/anne-mieke-bovelett\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Anne-Mieke Bovelett<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Where<\/strong>: Track 1<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>When:<\/strong>&nbsp;Friday 5 June at 15:15<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Session page:<\/strong>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/session\/the-clarity-dividend-accessibility-as-an-seo-strategy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The clarity dividend: accessibility as an SEO strategy<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Is your website \u201cinvisible\u201d to 23% of your potential customers and the world\u2019s leading AI bots? Search engines no longer just look for keywords; they measure User Experience. In this talk, we\u2019ll dive into the data proving that accessible WordPress sites rank higher and reach further. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019ll explore how designing for the disability community, including the 1 in 7 people who are neurodivergent, creates a \u201cClarity Dividend\u201d that makes your site easier for Google to rank and for AI agents to recommend. Leave with a practical roadmap to turn accessibility into your most effective, future-proof SEO strategy while honouring every user\u2019s right to digital independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Anne is a strategic advisor and coach on digital accessibility and WordPress growth. A designer with development skills, she enables agencies to use inclusive design for conversion and impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-dots wp-block-paragraph\">Follow her on&nbsp;WordPress.org as <a href=\"https:\/\/profiles.wordpress.org\/annebovelett\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">@annebovelett<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-5f2b14c0 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/schedule\/\">SEE THE FULL SCHEDULE<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two unmissable talks on inclusive themes and accessibility-driven SEO, from leading WP voices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22042601,"featured_media":8266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-speakers-category"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/files\/2026\/04\/accessibility-FB-Post-Featured-Image-6.png?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgyJ7n-24u","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22042601"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7966"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7966\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11315,"href":"https:\/\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7966\/revisions\/11315"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}