Accessibility

Sadly, most accessibility statements are legal wallpaper. This one is different: it is how we work. It is reviewed on every release, and everything in it is checked against what we actually release.

Our commitment

AWT commits to WCAG 2.2 Level AA conformance for everything it includes: every block, pattern, template, style variation and settings screen, in the editor and on the published page, in light and dark mode.

Accessibility is not a feature of this theme. It is the reason the theme exists.

The in-editor accessibility checker uses the same WCAG 2.2 AA thresholds this statement promises, so what the editor enforces and what we claim never drift apart.

What AWT covers, and what it can’t

Covered: everything AWT includes by default. That means the theme’s templates, template parts, style variations and patterns, every block in the plugin, and the AWT settings screens. The editor’s checker also warns you while you write, so your own content gets help too.

Not covered: the content you write, third-party plugins running alongside AWT, and any custom code or CSS you add.

Independently reviewed and audited

Since 1 August 2026, accessibility practitioners outside the project have been testing AWT with real assistive technology and reporting what they find. We treat every report as a bug, not as feedback.

Our amazing reviewers and auditors:

Easy Surf Rashmi R Katakwar

Results

Findings of audits are shown below. All resolved.

Findings from the independent accessibility review, newest first. All resolved.
Reported	Where	What was wrong	What we changed
15 October 2026	Lists in Safari	VoiceOver in Safari could leave out the list announcement for lists whose markers Carbon removes.	Every such list is marked as a list.
14 October 2026	Notification	A notification’s type, such as a warning, was shown only by its color and icon, so screen readers read a warning as a plain message.	The type is read before the title, for example “Warning: The events feed changes on 1 October”.
14 October 2026	Accessibility panel	An accessible name set in a block’s Accessibility panel was dropped on blocks. It went on a wrapper that cannot carry a name, so the field, button or code area inside was announced without it.	The name goes on the block’s control or code area, and a container is named as a group. On blocks that take no name, the panel says why.
14 October 2026	Tag	A label too long for the tag was cut off, with no way to read the rest.	The full text shows on hover, and in a tooltip that opens from the keyboard or by touch.
14 October 2026	Pagination	On a 320 pixel screen, Previous and Next went off screen and the page scrolled sideways.	Pagination fits narrow screens and columns, with both on screen.
14 October 2026	Header submenus	A submenu’s title was announced as a menu, so screen reader users expected menu keys.	It is announced as a button that shows and hides its links.
14 October 2026	Menu button	Items were buttons inside menu items, so screen readers did not announce them as menu items or give their position.	Each item is a menu item with its position, and disabled items can still be reached.
14 October 2026	Toggle	The On/Off text was read as part of the switch’s name, so the name changed each time it was switched.	The name is the label, and the switch reports its own state.
13 October 2026	Modal	With a modal open, VoiceOver in Safari could leave the dialog and read the page behind it.	The rest of the page is unavailable while a modal is open.
13 October 2026	Notification	Closing a notification lost keyboard focus. Safari went back to the top of the page.	Focus moves to the next control after the notification.
13 October 2026	Header submenus	VoiceOver in Safari did not read submenus as lists, so it gave no number of links and no end of the list.	The submenus and the header’s top-level list are marked as lists.
13 October 2026	Dropdown	A screen reader did not read a Dropdown’s error message or helper text, and was not told the field was invalid.	Both messages are read with the field, it reports when it’s invalid, and it shows an error icon.
13 October 2026	Tabs	End, or Right Arrow from the tab before a disabled one, opened the disabled tab while focus stayed behind.	The arrow keys, Home and End skip disabled tabs.
7 August 2026	Select in error	A select in error was marked only by a red outline. The focus indicator replaces that outline, so tabbing into the field removed the only sign of the error.	The field now carries Carbon’s error icon, which stays visible whether the field is focused or not.
6 August 2026	Focus outline on buttons	Carbon’s default focus indicator on buttons is built from an inner and an outer border together, which prevents a clear measurement.	In AWT, a focused button carries one outline, 2 pixels thick, just outside its edge. AWT Settings has an option to bring back Carbon’s default styling.
4 August 2026	Link underlines	Carbon’s default link style has no underline. Although an underline could be enabled with a switch, it did not apply to all links.	Links are underlined. AWT Settings has controls to turn the underline on and off for each location.
3 August 2026	Focus indicator thickness	Some focus indicators were thinner than they needed to be.	Every focus indicator is now at least 2 pixels thick.
3 August 2026	Text field borders	Text fields had a border on the bottom side only.	AWT draws a border on all sides. Any single field can go back to Carbon’s default look with a toggle.
3 August 2026	Select block	A select offering four choices was announced as “3 of 5”. Screen readers counted the placeholder as an option, but the list drawn on screen left it out, so every count was one too high.	The placeholder is now an ordinary first option, present in both lists and greyed out.
2 August 2026	Light and dark mode switch	The button was named “Light mode / Dark mode”, which told you neither what pressing it does nor which mode you are in. The first press announced nothing at all, and a returning visitor was told the wrong mode while the page loaded.	The button is now named after the mode it turns on, reports whether that mode is on, and announces the change.
2 August 2026	Breadcrumbs placement	Breadcrumbs were rendered inside the main region, so anyone using “Skip to main content” still had to move through every breadcrumb before reaching the page content.	The breadcrumbs now sit immediately before the main region.
1 August 2026	Skip link style	An old styling rule was overriding the Carbon styling on the skip link.	The override is removed.

Found a barrier? That’s a bug for us.

If something in AWT doesn’t work with your screen reader, your keyboard, your switch, or your eyes: tell us. We treat every barrier as a bug, and it goes to the front of the queue.

Report a barrier

Statement prepared 2026-07-17 · Last reviewed 2026-10-15 · Reviewed on every release