Accessibility is no longer a niche topic. Around 1.3 billion people worldwide rely on accessible digital services. At the same time, over 90% of all websites fail basic WCAG checks. This is not a marginal issue, but the norm. Consequently, many users abandon a site if it is not usable—which has a direct impact on usage and conversion rates.
For Liferay projects, the starting point is generally good. The platform delivers clean HTML, supports semantic structures, and comes with many components that are fundamentally accessible. In reality, however, the problems do not arise in the core but within the project itself. Common issues include faulty templates, messy heading structures, missing ARIA attributes, or navigation that cannot be operated via keyboard. Content also plays a major role, for example when editors fail to maintain alternative text or disrupt structures.
This is exactly where tools like Eye-Able, axe DevTools, or Siteimprove come in. They help identify WCAG violations and improve scores by flagging common issues such as contrast errors, missing labels, or structural weaknesses. These tools integrate particularly well into Liferay projects to continuously monitor whether templates, fragments, or content are regressing.
However, it’s important to note: These tools don’t solve the problem. They reveal symptoms, not the root cause. If templates are structurally flawed or components weren’t developed properly, even a perfect score won’t result in good usability.
The key to success therefore lies in implementation within Liferay. Clean templates, consistent components, and clear content rules make all the difference. Those who master these elements can achieve WCAG compliance relatively efficiently. Those who rely solely on tools optimize metrics, but not the system itself.
