WP Accessibility Day (WPAD) is a global, volunteer-driven, virtual event focused on improving accessibility across the WordPress ecosystem. Organized by a large international team—marketing, sponsors, tech & vendors, website, APAC, post-event, translation, speakers, volunteers and more—WPAD brings together designers, developers, business owners and accessibility advocates for practical guidance, awareness and community-building.
Organizers
– June Liu: WPAD marketing team co-lead and sponsors coordinator. Background in project management; helps coordinate tasks and keep initiatives on track.
– David Denedo: Visually impaired web designer and content creator based in London. Contributes to marketing and post-event teams; brings lived experience to accessibility advocacy.
Origins and Community
WP Accessibility Day began with Joe Dolson and grew as Bet Hannon and Amber Hinds joined. The event is now in its fifth year and has grown into a diverse global effort with volunteers across Asia, Africa, the Americas and Europe. The organising approach emphasizes inclusivity: people at any skill level can contribute—designers, business owners, translators, sponsors and volunteers all play roles.
Event Overview (2025)
– Date: October 15–16, 2025 (24-hour continuous event)
– Format: Pre-recorded talks are presented during scheduled slots; speakers are available live in chat to answer questions. This approach yields polished presentations while enabling real-time engagement.
– Platform: Zoom Events. A central lobby provides session access, chat, sponsor swag, and community interaction without switching platforms.
– Accessibility features: live human captioning, American Sign Language interpreters, support for other sign languages (e.g., Australian Sign Language for relevant speakers), and multilingual translation teams.
Content and Topics
WPAD covers a broad mix of moral, legal and technical perspectives, including:
– Accessible design patterns and UI/UX (keynote: Vitaly Friedman, Smashing Magazine)
– Risk management and legal compliance for agencies and businesses
– Screen reader demos and demystifying assistive technologies
– Video and media accessibility, post-production workflows
– Auditing WordPress themes and plugins, testing and checklists
– Making Gutenberg blocks accessible
– Accessibility in the Global South and inclusive design approaches
– Automation, future tools, and practical implementation techniques
Sessions aim to inform designers, developers and business owners alike—making the business case for accessibility, explaining legal considerations, and offering hands-on technical guidance.
Global Inclusion and Translation
WPAD prioritizes global reach. Talks are prerecorded to reduce technical problems for presenters in regions with limited connectivity, and translation volunteers (and some paid translators) make sessions available in multiple languages (Spanish, French, Hebrew and more). Post-event production and chaptering of videos make content easier to navigate and reuse.
Access, Replays and Archives
– The event is free, but registration is required to access content on the day.
– Sessions are available for replay after post-production on the event subdomain for the year (e.g., 2025.wpaccessibility.day) and on YouTube.
– Past years remain archived by year subdomain (e.g., 2024.wpaccessibility.day).
How WPAD Is Funded and Structured
– WP Accessibility Day is recognized as a 501(c)(3) public charity (IRS), and funds are used to support the event and accessibility services.
– Organizers and volunteers are unpaid. Translation and certain professional accessibility services may be paid from event funds to ensure quality and sustainability.
– Sponsorship tiers include Bronze ($500) with a dedicated webpage and Micro ($150) with logo placement; higher tiers are available and often fill early.
– Sponsors, donors and media partners help cover costs such as live captioning, sign language interpreters, platform fees and translation.
Ways to Get Involved
– Attend: Register at 2025.wpaccessibility.day to access the event.
– Volunteer: Join organising teams (tech, vendor coordination, chat moderation, captioning, event ops).
– Translate: Contribute multilingual support or apply to be a paid translator.
– Speak: Submit proposals for future events (speaker selection is anonymized during review to focus on topics).
– Sponsor or donate: Help fund accessibility services and event operations.
– Media partner: Promote and amplify reach.
Why WP Accessibility Day Matters
Accessibility is both a moral imperative and a practical requirement—affecting people with visual, auditory, cognitive and motor differences. WPAD raises awareness, teaches actionable techniques, and fosters global collaboration so the web can better serve everyone. The event also highlights legal and business risks, giving agencies and owners clear reasons to act.
Links and Registration
– Main site and registration: wpaccessibility.day (use the year subdomain for specific event pages, e.g., 2025.wpaccessibility.day)
– Schedule: 2025.wpaccessibility.day/schedule
– Replays and archives: available on each year’s subdomain and YouTube after post-production
WP Accessibility Day’s combination of polished prerecorded talks, live chat engagement, translations, live captioning and sign language aims to make accessibility knowledge widely available and practical for the WordPress community and beyond.
