Modify the read more text with accessibility support

Recently, I became aware of a new accessibility feature in the Genesis Framework. I know that accessibility support was added to the Genesis Framework 2.2. For a theme I’m developing, I wanted to change the read-more text on the Blog and Content Archive pages and discovered there was something new.

The old snippet

The read-more link on the blog or content archive pages can easily be changed. I always use the snippet beneath and add this to the child theme’s functions.php.

This snippet changes the [Read more…] text into the text Continue reading.

What’s changed?

So, what has changed since Genesis 2.2? If we take a closer look at the HTML markup of the read-more link, we notice it differences from the link we created with the snippet above.

Do you see the difference? Those who use a screen reader don’t hear Read more, but now hear Read more about Post examples. How cool is that? So, if you have been using a snippet similar to mine to change the read-more text, you lose this accessibility feature.

The new snippet

First, make sure your Genesis child theme does support these accessibility features. Open your theme’s functions.php and look for the following line of code. If this line isn’t in your functions.php, your theme doesn’t support accessibility features.

If the line is in your functions.php, you can add the following snippet to your functions.php.

This new snippet changes the read-more link and retains the accessibility support. So, those who use a screen reader will hear ‘Continue reading about ‘the post title‘.

I hope you find this tutorial helpful. If so, consider sharing it with your audience!