Quick start
This walkthrough takes you from a fresh install to a checked site, with the biggest problems fixed, in about 15 minutes. The Get started checklist on the Overview follows the same steps.
The getting-started checklist
Lumtera → Overview opens with Get set up, which shows three steps one at a time, with a line such as "Step 1 of 3." Steps Lumtera can see tick themselves off, and the card updates right after a check finishes. Skip for now moves on. When the three are done, the card says You're set up.
The other four steps are under Going further, for whenever you have time. There, Mark done ticks a step (or Not done yet to undo it).
| Step | What it does | Ticks itself off when |
|---|---|---|
| Check all your content | Runs the checks on every post and page, on your own server | Content has been checked |
| Try review mode on your home page | Open review mode opens your home page in review mode. Without a static home page, the step is Try review mode on a page and opens the page with the most errors. | A whole-page check of that page is saved |
| Get the weekly email | Send me the weekly email turns on the weekly email to the address shown, in one click. Also check my home page every week (ticked) turns on the weekly home page check at the same time. | The weekly email is on |
| Going further: Check your site parts | Headers, footers, menus and patterns: fix a problem once there. Open Site parts opens the Site parts tab of the Content report. | Every site part has been checked |
| Turn on the baseline fixes | A skip link, a visible focus outline and pinch zoom on phones. See Site fixes. | All three are on |
| Test your home page by hand | Keyboard only, zoom to 200% and a screen reader. See Manual testing. | Guided checklist results are recorded on your static home page |
| Create your statement and feedback form | See Accessibility statement | The statement is published and links to a feedback form |
Dismiss hides it for you; Show the getting-started checklist under Lumtera → Settings → General brings it back. With Lumtera Pro active, the weekly email step is left out (Pro sends its own weekly digest), and after you activate a license, Pro's first-run checklist replaces this one.
1. Check everything you've published
Go to Lumtera → Overview and click Check all content. Lumtera checks your posts, pages and products, and your site parts: menus, template parts, synced patterns and widget areas. When it finishes, the progress bar says what was found, for example "Done — 6 items checked: 2 errors on 2 items, 5 to review.", with See what to fix, which takes you straight to the items that need attention. The Overview then shows:
- an Average automated score (see Scores & severities)
- Errors: problems Lumtera is confident about
- Needs review: things a person should confirm
- Content checked: how much of your content has been checked
- Review coverage: how many of the 55 WCAG 2.2 A and AA criteria your checks look at, and how many have evidence behind them
If the check stops, for example because you closed the tab, the Overview shows A check did not finish with Continue where it stopped. See Check all content.
2. Fix the most common issues first
Start with the Fix once, clear many card, if you see it. It lists the same problem in the same markup on several items, such as a vague "Read more" link in a synced pattern, or a missing label in a form used on every page. When the problem comes from a site part, Fix at the source fixes it once in that part and checks the pages that use it again. See Site parts and Fix at the source.
The Most common issues card lists the checks that fire most often across your site. Click an issue to see every post that has it in the Content report. Then click Issues on a row to see what to fix. Many issues have Fix without opening: Lumtera shows the change before anything is saved, and you can undo it afterwards. See Fixing issues.
3. Describe your images
Missing alt text is usually the most common error. Go to Lumtera → Fixes → Alt text. Describe each image once, then click the button that adds it to the posts that show it without a description (it says how many, such as Add it to those 3 posts). See Alt text manager.
4. Fix issues in the editor
Open a post from Needs attention on the Overview. In the editor's Lumtera Accessibility sidebar:
- Click Select block to jump to the problem.
- Use the quick fix button where there is one, such as Change to H3 or Convert to a list. You can undo it like any edit.
- For other fixes, click Review fix to see the change before it is saved.
- For items that need review, decide. If it's fine, click Dismiss… and add a short reason.
See Block editor sidebar.
5. Check a live page, theme included
Open any published page while logged in, and click Accessibility in the admin bar. Review mode has these tabs:
- Whole page checks your header, menus and footer, and measures real color contrast.
- Keyboard walks the page with the Tab key and tests menus and pop-ups.
- Screen reader previews the headings, landmarks, links and form fields a screen reader lists.
The admin bar item also has a small menu: this content's counts, the last whole-page result, Check this page, Fix in the editor and Open the accessibility overview.
6. Turn on the baseline site fixes
If your theme lacks a skip link, a visible focus outline or pinch zoom on phones, switch those fixes on under Lumtera → Settings → Site fixes. They stay free, and each one is off until you turn it on. See Site fixes.
7. Get a weekly email
Click Send me the weekly email in the checklist, or turn on Send a weekly summary under Lumtera → Settings → Email summary. Each week your own site emails your score, new errors and what you fixed. Leave Also check my home page every week ticked to add a check of your home page as visitors get it. See Weekly email summary.
8. Decide how strict to be
In Lumtera → Settings:
- General → Before publishing: choose whether authors see a summary of errors before they publish (the default), or must confirm to publish anyway.
- Checks: make any check stricter or softer, or switch it off.
- Permissions: choose which roles see the reports, dismiss errors and use review mode. See Roles & permissions.
See Settings.
9. Publish a statement and a feedback form
Add the Accessibility feedback form block to a page, so visitors can report a barrier. See Feedback form and inbox.
Then go to Lumtera → Feedback & statement → Statement, choose a template and standard, fill in your details, and click Create draft statement. Review the draft, publish it, and link to it from your footer. See Accessibility statement.
10. Test the rest by hand
A score of 100 means "no automated issues found", not "compliant". Spend five minutes on the manual check on your key pages. For a fuller pass, work through the guided checklists and record the results on each page.