Accessibility Check When a Post Is Saved
After you save a post or page, shows a notice if the content has images without alt text, empty links, empty headings or skipped heading levels. Works with the block editor and the classic editor.
Opens WPIDE on
Code
add_action( 'save_post', function ( $post_id, $post ) {
if ( wp_is_post_revision( $post_id ) || wp_is_post_autosave( $post_id ) || ! current_user_can( 'edit_post', $post_id ) || ! class_exists( 'WP_HTML_Tag_Processor' ) ) {
return;
}
if ( ! is_post_type_viewable( $post->post_type ) || '' === trim( (string) $post->post_content ) ) {
return;
}
$issues = array();
$tags = new WP_HTML_Tag_Processor( $post->post_content );
$level = 1;
while ( $tags->next_tag() ) {
$name = $tags->get_tag();
if ( 'IMG' === $name && null === $tags->get_attribute( 'alt' ) ) {
$issues['img'] = 'an image has no alt attribute';
} elseif ( 'IMG' === $name && '' === trim( (string) $tags->get_attribute( 'alt' ) ) ) {
$issues['img-empty'] = 'an image has empty alt text (fine only if it is decorative)';
} elseif ( preg_match( '/^H([1-6])$/', (string) $name, $m ) ) {
if ( (int) $m[1] > $level + 1 ) {
$issues[ 'h' . $m[1] ] = sprintf( 'a heading jumps from H%d to H%d', $level, (int) $m[1] );
}
$level = (int) $m[1];
}
}
if ( preg_match( '#<a\b[^>]*>\s*</a>#i', $post->post_content ) ) {
$issues['link'] = 'a link has no text';
}
if ( preg_match( '#<h[1-6]\b[^>]*>\s*</h[1-6]>#i', $post->post_content ) ) {
$issues['heading'] = 'a heading is empty';
}
if ( $issues ) {
set_transient( 'wpide_a11y_notice_' . get_current_user_id(), array_values( $issues ), MINUTE_IN_SECONDS );
}
}, 20, 2 );
add_action( 'admin_notices', function () {
$key = 'wpide_a11y_notice_' . get_current_user_id();
$issues = get_transient( $key );
if ( ! $issues ) {
return;
}
delete_transient( $key );
echo '<div class="notice notice-warning is-dismissible"><p><strong>Accessibility check:</strong> ' . esc_html( implode( '; ', $issues ) ) . '.</p></div>';
} );
Notes
Checks published content as stored in the database; results are kept for one minute per user, so the notice shows once after each save.
How to add this snippet
- Install WPIDE on your WordPress site (it is free) and open Code Snippets.
- Use snippet above adds it from the library in one click. Or copy the code into a new snippet with the same code type.
- It is added inactive: review the code and settings, then switch it on.