Ghost Accessibility Checker
Ghost powers thousands of publications and membership sites. Scan yours to ensure content is accessible to all readers, including those using screen readers and keyboards.
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Why Ghost Accessibility Matters
Ghost is a modern publishing platform used by independent creators, newsrooms, and businesses for blogs, newsletters, and membership sites. With over 3 million published posts and a growing membership economy, Ghost sites reach audiences that include people with disabilities — an estimated 16% of the global population, according to the WHO.
Content-heavy sites have a unique accessibility obligation: the primary value is in the written and visual content, which must be perceivable and navigable by everyone. A Ghost publication with inaccessible navigation, missing image alt text, or broken heading hierarchy fails its core mission of delivering content to readers.
Common Accessibility Issues in Ghost Sites
Ghost's Handlebars theme system produces clean HTML, but accessibility varies significantly by theme. CompliScan frequently identifies these issues on Ghost publications:
- Missing alt text on feature images and inline images — Ghost's editor supports alt text, but many authors skip it, producing images that are invisible to screen reader users.
- Heading hierarchy violations — authors jumping from H1 to H4 for visual sizing, breaking the document outline that screen reader users depend on for navigation.
- Inaccessible membership/subscribe forms — Ghost's built-in subscription forms sometimes lack visible labels and error announcements, especially in custom themes.
- Custom code injection without accessibility — Ghost's code injection feature lets publishers add arbitrary HTML and JavaScript to headers and footers, often introducing inaccessible widgets, analytics scripts, and popup elements.
How to Fix Ghost Accessibility Issues
Run a free CompliScan scan on your Ghost publication's URL. The scanner analyzes your rendered theme output, including injected code, membership forms, and navigation elements. AI-powered fix suggestions reference Ghost's Handlebars template syntax for direct implementation.
For content accessibility, establish editorial guidelines: always add alt text to images (Ghost editor: click image, enter alt text), use heading levels sequentially (H2, then H3, then H4), and add descriptive link text instead of "click here." For theme-level fixes, update your default.hbs to include skip navigation links, ensure the <html lang> attribute is set, and add ARIA landmarks to key sections.
For membership sites, test the entire subscription flow — signup form, email confirmation, and member content — with keyboard-only navigation. CompliScan's Shield plan ($49/mo) monitors your publication with weekly scans to catch accessibility regressions.
Legal Requirements for Ghost Publications
Ghost publications serving U.S. audiences are subject to ADA Title III, and those operated by public entities face the April 24, 2026 ADA Title II deadline. European Ghost sites must comply with the European Accessibility Act, which covers digital services including subscription-based content platforms.
Newsrooms and media organizations face particular scrutiny because their content serves a public interest function. The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) also applies to online video and captioning, relevant for Ghost sites embedding video content.
CompliScan's automated scanning detects roughly 30-40% of WCAG 2.1 AA violations. For content-heavy Ghost sites, this includes contrast issues, missing alt text, empty links, and heading structure problems — the most common violations publishers face.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Ghost have built-in accessibility features?
Ghost produces relatively clean semantic HTML and its default Casper theme includes basic ARIA attributes. However, accessibility depends heavily on the active theme, author content practices, and any injected custom code. The platform does not enforce WCAG compliance in its theme marketplace.
How do I add alt text to images in Ghost?
In the Ghost editor, click on any image to reveal the alt text field below it. Enter a descriptive text that conveys the image's content or function. For decorative images, set alt text to empty (Ghost doesn't currently support this natively, requiring theme-level handling).
Are Ghost membership forms accessible?
Ghost's built-in Portal membership forms have basic accessibility but vary by theme implementation. Common issues include missing visible labels, lack of error message associations, and insufficient color contrast on form elements. Scan your membership pages specifically to identify issues.
Can I scan password-protected Ghost member content?
CompliScan scans publicly accessible URLs. For member-only content behind Ghost's paywall, you'll need to test those pages manually or provide CompliScan with authenticated access via the Shield plan's configuration options.
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