SEO
WordPress 6.0 Features Numerous Accessibility Improvements
WordPress recently announced that version 6.0, due out in May 24, 2022, will feature a significant amount of accessibility improvements that will make using WordPress easier for users and bring it closer to WCAG 2.0 AA compliance.
WordPress Accessibility
WordPress maintains inclusiveness and accessibility as a core goal “as much as possible” for all WordPress releases.
In order to achieve this goal WordPress has an internal team that is focused on accessibility.
The WordPress statement of accessibility notes:
“The WordPress community and the open source WordPress project is committed to being as inclusive and accessible as possible.
We want users, regardless of device or ability, to be able to publish content and maintain a website or application built with WordPress.”
Accessibility Improvements in WordPress 6.0
WordPress offered a sneak preview of the numerous improvements coming to WordPress 6.0, currently scheduled for May 24, 2022.
Alt Text
An improvement to the alt text used on the featured image is to use the post title as the alt text for it when the featured image is linked to the post.
Improvements to Tabbing
WordPress noted an addition that allows tabbing into a block placeholder.
The GitHub pull request describes this fix:
“When focus is on a block with a placeholder (e.g. Image or Columns block) and we are in Edit mode, we should be able to Tab into the placeholder controls.
This makes the placeholder controls keyboard accessible when the “Contain text cursor inside block” preference is enabled (arrow key navigation in or out of a block doesn’t work with that preference).
It also makes it possible to tab into a block that only contains a block inserter, such as an empty Group block.”
Screen Reader Related Improvements
A number of the improvements are related to making it easier for publishers who use screen readers to navigate through the blocks and get things done.
- Announce search results in the Block Manager.
- Ensure that blocks with a placeholder setup have their description read by VoiceOver, giving context for the block itself and the resulting controls.
- Improve successful draft save notification for screen readers by making it more descriptive.
“…screen readers now announce Draft saved instead of just Saved.” - Add button text labels to site editor.
“…this adds an option to the site editor to show text labels instead of icons on interface buttons.” - Avoid duplicate labels for “Save Draft” and “Save as pending” buttons to reduce confusion
A particularly interesting fix is this one: No error message provided upon incomplete input in Tags Administration Screen. It was discovered during an accessibility audit that when a user leaves a required name field blank in the “tags” editing section that there is a visual color notice of an error but that no actual error message was generated. This is fixed in version 6.0 of WordPress.
Another useful fix involves a flaw in how the toolbar functions in iOS and a lack of text labels.
According to the GitHub pull request:
“When you use VoiceOver on iOS, the link to open the “New” dropdown menu in the toolbar is read out as “post new.php”.
Aria-Related Accessibility Fixes to WordPress 6.0
RichText: Reverse disableLineBreaks to determine aria-multiline state.
Remove role attributes on SVGs meant for “decoration.”
This is an improvement that one of the WordPress contributors called a small change that resulted in an important improvement. This is about adding a role=”img” tag but without adding an aria-label to SVGs. So what they did was to remove the role attribute, which fixed the issue.
Improvements to the Navigation Block
The improvements to the navigation block are going to be welcomed by many.
For example, several of the fixes make it easier for those using screen readers to understand situations where there are multiple navigation menu blocks, like a high level site navigation menu and a second level menu for categories, as well as improving the user interface feedback for screen readers when creating a new menu.
There are additional improvements to various other blocks, including the addition of an aria label to the search button.
Improvements to WordPress List View
The List View is a user interface for navigating through sections of content.
The list view interface is available through an icon at the top of the page in the WordPress toolbar.
Screenshot of List View Toggle Button
Activating the icon through the toggle button reveals the drop down menu that stays open while in use.
WordPress announced eight improvements to the list view user interface that among other things improves the ability to select specific blocks, improve aria labels, improves keyboard controls and announcements while navigating through the list view and other improvements.
Improvements to Handling Media
WordPress is also introducing improvements to how media is handled.
According to WordPress:
- “Preserve attachment properties on cropping custom logo. This means that the alternative text, title, description, and caption of an image will migrate over to the cropped copy of the image after cropping.
- Stop arrow keys switching media if URL focused.
- Add a “Copy URL to clipboard” function to the list table view.
- Set break-word on sample permalink so the full permalink will be visible on mobile devices in posts, media, and comments.
- Remove target blank attribute from media uploader edit links.
- Remove target=”_blank” from the link to change permalink structures and change link text to clarify link purpose.”
Additional Accessibility Improvements
WordPress 6.0 also improves screen reader and keyboard functionality in the Quick/Bulk editing, fixes issues with the login and registration buttons to add autocomplete values but in a way that doesn’t represent a security issue since the values are stored in the browser (more here).
Lastly there were miscellaneous accessibility improvements to official WordPress themes:
- “Twenty Nineteen: Override flex order in comment form.
- Twenty Twenty: Transform search into a dialog role and fix the handling of aria-expanded to synchronize mobile and desktop buttons.
- Twenty Twenty-One: Reverse logic for prefers-reduced-motion media query.
- Use the pointer cursor when hovering over the theme details button for consistency with the theme card.”
WordPress 6.0 Accessibility
The WordPress accessibility team put a lot of effort into making WordPress 6.0 accessible and inclusive, in accordance with their stated goal of making WordPress WCAG 2.0 AA compliant as possible.
Read the Official WordPress Announcement
SEO
Google Declares It The “Gemini Era” As Revenue Grows 15%
Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, announced its first quarter 2024 financial results today.
While Google reported double-digit growth in key revenue areas, the focus was on its AI developments, dubbed the “Gemini era” by CEO Sundar Pichai.
The Numbers: 15% Revenue Growth, Operating Margins Expand
Alphabet reported Q1 revenues of $80.5 billion, a 15% increase year-over-year, exceeding Wall Street’s projections.
Net income was $23.7 billion, with diluted earnings per share of $1.89. Operating margins expanded to 32%, up from 25% in the prior year.
Ruth Porat, Alphabet’s President and CFO, stated:
“Our strong financial results reflect revenue strength across the company and ongoing efforts to durably reengineer our cost base.”
Google’s core advertising units, such as Search and YouTube, drove growth. Google advertising revenues hit $61.7 billion for the quarter.
The Cloud division also maintained momentum, with revenues of $9.6 billion, up 28% year-over-year.
Pichai highlighted that YouTube and Cloud are expected to exit 2024 at a combined $100 billion annual revenue run rate.
Generative AI Integration in Search
Google experimented with AI-powered features in Search Labs before recently introducing AI overviews into the main search results page.
Regarding the gradual rollout, Pichai states:
“We are being measured in how we do this, focusing on areas where gen AI can improve the Search experience, while also prioritizing traffic to websites and merchants.”
Pichai reports that Google’s generative AI features have answered over a billion queries already:
“We’ve already served billions of queries with our generative AI features. It’s enabling people to access new information, to ask questions in new ways, and to ask more complex questions.”
Google reports increased Search usage and user satisfaction among those interacting with the new AI overview results.
The company also highlighted its “Circle to Search” feature on Android, which allows users to circle objects on their screen or in videos to get instant AI-powered answers via Google Lens.
Reorganizing For The “Gemini Era”
As part of the AI roadmap, Alphabet is consolidating all teams building AI models under the Google DeepMind umbrella.
Pichai revealed that, through hardware and software improvements, the company has reduced machine costs associated with its generative AI search results by 80% over the past year.
He states:
“Our data centers are some of the most high-performing, secure, reliable and efficient in the world. We’ve developed new AI models and algorithms that are more than one hundred times more efficient than they were 18 months ago.
How Will Google Make Money With AI?
Alphabet sees opportunities to monetize AI through its advertising products, Cloud offerings, and subscription services.
Google is integrating Gemini into ad products like Performance Max. The company’s Cloud division is bringing “the best of Google AI” to enterprise customers worldwide.
Google One, the company’s subscription service, surpassed 100 million paid subscribers in Q1 and introduced a new premium plan featuring advanced generative AI capabilities powered by Gemini models.
Future Outlook
Pichai outlined six key advantages positioning Alphabet to lead the “next wave of AI innovation”:
- Research leadership in AI breakthroughs like the multimodal Gemini model
- Robust AI infrastructure and custom TPU chips
- Integrating generative AI into Search to enhance the user experience
- A global product footprint reaching billions
- Streamlined teams and improved execution velocity
- Multiple revenue streams to monetize AI through advertising and cloud
With upcoming events like Google I/O and Google Marketing Live, the company is expected to share further updates on its AI initiatives and product roadmap.
Featured Image: Sergei Elagin/Shutterstock
SEO
brightonSEO Live Blog
Hello everyone. It’s April again, so I’m back in Brighton for another two days of Being the introvert I am, my idea of fun isn’t hanging around our booth all day explaining we’ve run out of t-shirts (seriously, you need to be fast if you want swag!). So I decided to do something useful and live-blog the event instead.
Follow below for talk takeaways and (very) mildly humorous commentary. sun, sea, and SEO!
SEO
Google Further Postpones Third-Party Cookie Deprecation In Chrome
Google has again delayed its plan to phase out third-party cookies in the Chrome web browser. The latest postponement comes after ongoing challenges in reconciling feedback from industry stakeholders and regulators.
The announcement was made in Google and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) joint quarterly report on the Privacy Sandbox initiative, scheduled for release on April 26.
Chrome’s Third-Party Cookie Phaseout Pushed To 2025
Google states it “will not complete third-party cookie deprecation during the second half of Q4” this year as planned.
Instead, the tech giant aims to begin deprecating third-party cookies in Chrome “starting early next year,” assuming an agreement can be reached with the CMA and the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
The statement reads:
“We recognize that there are ongoing challenges related to reconciling divergent feedback from the industry, regulators and developers, and will continue to engage closely with the entire ecosystem. It’s also critical that the CMA has sufficient time to review all evidence, including results from industry tests, which the CMA has asked market participants to provide by the end of June.”
Continued Engagement With Regulators
Google reiterated its commitment to “engaging closely with the CMA and ICO” throughout the process and hopes to conclude discussions this year.
This marks the third delay to Google’s plan to deprecate third-party cookies, initially aiming for a Q3 2023 phaseout before pushing it back to late 2024.
The postponements reflect the challenges in transitioning away from cross-site user tracking while balancing privacy and advertiser interests.
Transition Period & Impact
In January, Chrome began restricting third-party cookie access for 1% of users globally. This percentage was expected to gradually increase until 100% of users were covered by Q3 2024.
However, the latest delay gives websites and services more time to migrate away from third-party cookie dependencies through Google’s limited “deprecation trials” program.
The trials offer temporary cookie access extensions until December 27, 2024, for non-advertising use cases that can demonstrate direct user impact and functional breakage.
While easing the transition, the trials have strict eligibility rules. Advertising-related services are ineligible, and origins matching known ad-related domains are rejected.
Google states the program aims to address functional issues rather than relieve general data collection inconveniences.
Publisher & Advertiser Implications
The repeated delays highlight the potential disruption for digital publishers and advertisers relying on third-party cookie tracking.
Industry groups have raised concerns that restricting cross-site tracking could push websites toward more opaque privacy-invasive practices.
However, privacy advocates view the phaseout as crucial in preventing covert user profiling across the web.
With the latest postponement, all parties have more time to prepare for the eventual loss of third-party cookies and adopt Google’s proposed Privacy Sandbox APIs as replacements.
Featured Image: Novikov Aleksey/Shutterstock
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