Accessible A to Z Index · WordPress plugin
An A to Z index that every visitor can use.
Most index and tag-cloud plugins print a wall of links and stop there. The Ananyoo Accessible A to Z Index is built the opposite way: a letter bar that is a named landmark, a real heading for every letter, focus that moves when you pick one, a live filter that announces its count, and Previous and Next inside long letters. Index your categories, tags, any taxonomy or any post type - a brand list for a shop, a glossary, a staff directory, or the sitemap page readers actually use - and every colour you choose is checked for contrast before it is saved.
- Any sourceTaxonomies · Post types
- 12 of 12Audit checks passed
- WCAG AABuilt to
- NoneTrackers · external calls
Why this exists
Index pages are where sitemaps and glossaries go wrong.
An A to Z page looks simple, so nobody audits it. Then the letter bar turns out to be a row of links in a div with no name, the letters are bold text instead of headings, choosing a letter scrolls the page but leaves keyboard focus behind, empty letters are dead links, a search box changes the list in silence, and hundreds of entries sit in one block with no way to page through them. The Accessible A to Z Index fixes every one of those before the page is ever published.
Use cases
One plugin, six pages that usually fail an audit.
Anywhere a site lists things by name, the Accessible A to Z Index gives you the page that passes - and the same block, shortcode or widget does all of them.
Brand or product index for a shop
WooCommerce brands or product categories as one A to Z page. A shopper who knows the brand name finds it in two keystrokes, and the letter bar never shows a dead link.
Glossary for a knowledge base
Every term under its own letter, with the filter for people who remember half the word. Each letter is a real heading, so screen reader users jump straight to it.
Staff or service directory
People, departments or services listed by name, with up to four columns on desktop and one on a phone. Add a second index on the same page and each keeps its own name.
Sitemap page people actually use
All your pages and posts by title, paged inside long letters so a thousand entries never become one wall of links. Replaces the plain sitemap plugin that fails the audit.
Resource or document library
Guides, policies, forms and downloads by title. The visible count and the status message tell every visitor what the filter found.
Multilingual and non-Latin sites
Bengali, Hindi, Arabic and Japanese entries group under their own first letter, with 0-9 and Other at the end, so a mixed-language site still reads as one index.
Built on the parts most index plugins skip.
Every feature maps to a real WCAG success criterion - designed by an accessibility consultant, not retrofitted.
A letter bar that is a landmark
The A to Z bar is a navigation landmark with a name you choose, so a page with two indexes stays clear. Empty letters are shown but switched off and announced as "no entries", so the alphabet never jumps around.
WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships · 2.4.1 Bypass BlocksHeadings and focus that behave
Every letter is a real heading at the level you pick - H2, H3 or H4 - so the headings list works. Choosing a letter moves keyboard focus to that heading, and "Back to the letters" returns it.
WCAG 2.4.6 Headings and Labels · 2.4.3 Focus OrderA filter that talks back
Type a few letters and the index narrows as you go. The count of matches is shown under the box and announced through a status region, with a clear button that returns focus to the field.
WCAG 4.1.3 Status MessagesPaging inside long letters
A letter with hundreds of entries gets Previous and Next inside its own row, with "Page x of y" announced and focus kept where it was. A safety cap in Settings keeps very large sources usable.
WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard · 4.1.2 Name, Role, ValueColours that cannot break it
Choose heading, text and odd and even row colours in Settings. Every pair is checked for 4.5:1 contrast before it is saved, and a failing pair is rejected with a clear error - so nobody can make the index unreadable.
WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)Compared
How the Accessible A to Z Index compares with a typical index plugin
These are the twelve checks an accessibility audit runs on an index or sitemap page. The middle column is what audits find most often; the right column is what the Accessible A to Z Index does out of the box, with the WCAG 2.2 success criterion each row is built around.
| What an audit checks | Typical index plugin | Ananyoo Accessible A to Z Index Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Letter navigation is a landmarkWCAG 1.3.1, 2.4.1 | Fails A row of links in a div with no name. | Passes A named navigation landmark per index, so screen reader users can jump to it and tell two indexes apart. |
| Headings per letterWCAG 2.4.6, 1.3.1 | Fails Letters are bold text, not headings. | Passes Every letter is a real H2, H3 or H4, your choice, so the headings list works. |
| Focus moves on jumpWCAG 2.4.3 | Fails The page scrolls but focus stays on the bar. | Passes Choosing a letter moves focus to its heading; Back to the letters returns it. |
| Empty lettersWCAG 4.1.2 | Fails Dead links, or letters that vanish. | Passes Shown but disabled, announced as "no entries"; the alphabet stays in place. |
| Filter announcedWCAG 4.1.3 | Fails The list changes silently. | Passes A status region announces "12 entries shown"; the count is visible too. |
| Paging inside a letterWCAG 2.1.1, 4.1.2 | None Hundreds of links in one block. | Included Previous and Next buttons with "Page x of y", focus kept, state announced. |
| ContrastWCAG 1.4.3, 1.4.11 | Fails Any colour can be set. | Passes Settings reject a colour pair below 4.5:1 with a clear error. |
| Focus visibleWCAG 2.4.7 | Fails Browser default or none. | Passes A 3 pixel ring on every letter, entry, button and the filter. |
| High contrast modeWCAG 1.4.11 | Fails Borders and icons disappear. | Passes System colours used in Windows high contrast mode. |
| Reflow and zoomWCAG 1.4.10 | Fails Horizontal scrolling at 320 pixels. | Passes One column on phones, no horizontal scroll at 400 percent zoom. |
| Reduced motionWCAG 2.3.3 | Fails Ignored. | Passes Smooth scrolling only when the user allows motion. |
| Privacy | Phones home External scripts and fonts loaded. | None No trackers, no external calls, nothing loaded elsewhere. |
| Audit checks passed | Varies by plugin | 12 of 12 |
Tested with JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver and TalkBack, keyboard only, 400 percent zoom, axe, WAVE and Lighthouse. The typical column describes patterns found in common index and tag-cloud plugins, not one named product.
Add an accessible A to Z index in minutes.
It's live and free on WordPress.org. Install from Plugins → Add New, search for Ananyoo Accessible A to Z Index, add the A to Z Index block to a page, pick what to index, and you have an alphabetical index that passes the audit. It is part of our collection of WordPress accessibility plugins, and pairs perfectly with the WordPress ADA-compliance theme.