HandyPal Accessibility Widget

Description

HandyPal is an accessibility widget that helps make your website usable for everyone, including people with disabilities. Its visitor tools complement accessibility audits and manual remediation of your site.

Key Features

  • Visitor Accessibility Tools – Text, contrast, reading, and navigation preferences
  • Text-to-Speech – Full page narration for visually impaired users
  • Language Translation – Language translation tools
  • Customizable Widget – Match your brand with custom colors and positioning
  • Accessibility Support – Visitor tools complement accessibility audits and manual remediation
  • Real-time Accessibility Audits – Identify and fix accessibility issues

Accessibility Features Include

  • Adjust text size, line height, and letter spacing
  • High contrast modes (smart, high, higher, highest)
  • Reading guide and reading mask
  • Dyslexia-friendly font
  • Hide images option
  • Keyboard navigation enhancements
  • Focus indicators
  • Color blind filters (protanopia, deuteranopia, tritanopia, achromatopsia)
  • Text-to-speech narration
  • Page zoom
  • Stop animations
  • And many more…

Quick Setup

  1. Install and activate the plugin
  2. Go to Settings > HandyPal
  3. Enter your account token from handypal.net
  4. The widget automatically appears on your site!

Requirements

  • A HandyPal account (free trial available at handypal.net)
  • WordPress 5.0 or higher
  • PHP 7.4 or higher

External Services

This plugin connects to HandyPal when you save or verify your account token. It sends the token, site URL, and site name to https://www.handypal.net/api/wordpress/validate to authenticate and register the website. When enabled, the widget loads JavaScript and CSS from https://cdn.handypal.net and requests its configuration from HandyPal. Widget usage events may be sent to HandyPal. A HandyPal account and an authorized plan are required.

Service terms: https://www.handypal.net/terms
Privacy policy: https://www.handypal.net/privacy

Privacy Policy

HandyPal collects the following data:
* Your website URL and name (for registration and widget configuration)
* Widget usage analytics (how often the widget is opened)

Visitor analytics are handled by the HandyPal service. See the Privacy Policy.

Support

Screenshots

Installation

Automatic Installation

Once the WordPress.org listing is published, search for “HandyPal” under Plugins > Add New, install and activate it, then open Settings > HandyPal. Until then, use the manual ZIP installation below.

Manual Installation

  1. Download the plugin ZIP file
  2. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard
  3. Go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
  4. Choose the ZIP file and click “Install Now”
  5. Activate the plugin
  6. Go to Settings > HandyPal to configure

Configuration

  1. Log in to your HandyPal dashboard
  2. Go to Settings and copy your Account Token
  3. In WordPress, go to Settings > HandyPal
  4. Paste your Account Token and save
  5. Your website will be automatically registered and the widget will appear

FAQ

Do I need a HandyPal account?

Yes, you need a HandyPal account to use this plugin. You can start a free 7-day trial at handypal.net.

Will this slow down my website?

The widget loads asynchronously from the HandyPal CDN. Performance depends on your site, network, and configuration.

Is HandyPal WCAG 2.1 compliant?

HandyPal provides visitor accessibility tools. Installing a widget does not guarantee WCAG conformance or legal compliance. Audit your content and fix accessibility issues in your site code.

Does it work with caching plugins?

The plugin includes JavaScript exclusions for WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache, and Autoptimize. Test your caching setup after installation.

Can I use this on multiple sites?

Yes! Depending on your plan, you can use HandyPal on 1-20+ websites. Each WordPress installation will automatically register as a site on your account.

What if I already have another accessibility plugin?

HandyPal will detect other accessibility plugins and display a warning. We recommend using only one accessibility widget to avoid conflicts.

How do I customize the widget appearance?

Widget customization (position, colors, icons, button text) is managed from your HandyPal dashboard. Go to your website’s Customize page at handypal.net/dashboard to adjust the appearance.

What happens if my subscription expires?

The widget will stop appearing on your site. Your settings are preserved, so if you resubscribe, the widget will work again automatically.

Reviews

There are no reviews for this plugin.

Contributors & Developers

“HandyPal Accessibility Widget” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

Contributors

Changelog

1.5.2

  • Refresh clean, visible dashboards every 15 seconds without replacing unsaved edits.

1.5.1

  • Share widget visibility and page-path rules with the HandyPal dashboard.
  • Retire local visibility overrides after an explicit import/keep choice when needed.
  • Refresh shared settings when returning to either dashboard, preserving unsaved edits.
  • Save only changed appearance fields so unrelated settings from the other dashboard are preserved.

1.5.0

  • Customize widget color, position, icon, and size directly in Settings > HandyPal.
  • Control automatic accessibility fixes in grouped WordPress dashboard controls.
  • Keep appearance and fixes synchronized with your HandyPal website settings.
  • Private account tokens stay server-side; site ownership and active subscriptions are verified on every request.
  • Tested on WordPress 7.1.3 and PHP 8.3, with PHP 7.4 compatibility regression coverage.

1.4.4

  • Fixed: Replacing or clearing an account token disconnects the previous website.
  • Fixed: Validation and fallback caches are bound to the token; fallback expires after 24 hours.
  • Improved: Repeatable WordPress.org and direct-download packaging with consistent release metadata.

1.4.3

  • Fixed: Removed directory assets (banners, icons, screenshots) from plugin package
  • Fixed: Removed inline script/style tags, using wp_enqueue exclusively
  • Fixed: Renamed main plugin file to follow plugin-slug.php convention
  • Fixed: Removed discouraged load_plugin_textdomain() call
  • Fixed: Proper input sanitization for nonce verification
  • Removed: Custom auto-update filter in favor of WordPress native auto-updates

1.4.0

  • Improved: Widget assets now loaded via wp_enqueue_style and wp_enqueue_script for better compatibility
  • Improved: Proper output escaping throughout admin interface
  • Improved: WordPress.org plugin guidelines compliance
  • Fixed: Prefixed global variables in uninstall routine
  • Removed: Debug logging from production code

1.3.0

  • Improved: New 2-column layout for settings page – easier to navigate and less scrolling
  • Improved: Cleaner sidebar with connection status, updates, and quick links
  • Improved: More compact auto-update toggle design

1.2.0

  • Added: Auto-update toggle – keep your plugin automatically updated with the latest features and security fixes
  • Added: Auto-updates enabled by default for new installations

1.1.0

  • Added: Live widget preview with actual dashboard styling
  • Security: Added nonce verification for cache clear operations
  • Security: Added environment check for SSL bypass in dev mode
  • Security: Improved escaping of dynamic content

1.0.9

  • Added: Widget preview in admin settings
  • Added: Page exclusion feature – hide widget on specific pages

1.0.8

  • Added: HandyPal shield logo on plugin settings page
  • Fixed: Icon handling in update info

1.0.7

  • Added: Check for updates section in plugin settings with one-click update

1.0.6

  • Improved: Reduced update cache time and added force refresh support

1.0.5

  • Improved: Customize link now goes directly to website’s customize page

1.0.4

  • Added: Helpful message directing users to HandyPal Dashboard for widget customization

1.0.3

  • Removed: Documentation link from settings

1.0.2

  • Removed: Position setting from plugin (now syncs from HandyPal dashboard)

1.0.1

  • Fixed: Widget CSS now loads correctly
  • Added: Automatic update notifications

1.0.0

  • Initial release
  • Account token authentication
  • Automatic website registration
  • Caching plugin compatibility
  • Conflict detection with other accessibility plugins
  • 24-hour fallback caching for API issues