WordPress Compliance Standards
WordPress is the world’s most popular CMS, powering over 40% of websites globally. One of the biggest reasons for its popularity is that WordPress follows several international compliance standards by default. These compliances help website owners meet security, privacy, accessibility, and coding standards without relying heavily on third-party plugins.
In this blog, we’ll explain how many compliance standards WordPress follows by default and which ones they are.
How Many Compliance Standards Does WordPress Follow?
By default, WordPress Compliance Standards follows 8 major compliance and best-practice standards, with additional compliance support available through themes and plugins.
1. GDPR Compliance (General Data Protection Regulation)
Status: Partially Compliant by Default
WordPress introduced GDPR-related features starting from version 4.9.6 to help website owners manage user data responsibly. These features include:
- Privacy Policy generator
- User data export and erase tools
- Consent support for comments
- Personal data management hooks for plugins
👉 Full GDPR compliance depends on plugins, hosting setup, and how user data is handled, but WordPress provides a solid base.
2. Accessibility (WCAG 2.1 – Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)
Status: Core Level Support
WordPress follows WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility guidelines to ensure websites are usable by people with disabilities. This includes:
- Semantic HTML structure
- Screen reader compatibility
- Keyboard navigation support
- An accessible admin dashboard
Many default WordPress themes, such as the Twenty Twenty series, are accessibility-ready.
3. PHP & Web Standards Compliance (W3C)
Status: Fully Compliant
WordPress strictly adheres to modern web development standards, including:
- HTML5 standards
- CSS3 guidelines
- PHP coding standards
- JavaScript best practices
This ensures cross-browser compatibility, clean code, and long-term performance stability.
4. Security Best Practices (OWASP)
Status: Core Security Compliance
WordPress follows OWASP security best practices to protect websites from common vulnerabilities, such as:
- Data sanitization and validation
- Nonce-based CSRF protection
- Secure password hashing
- Role-based access control
Regular core updates help strengthen WordPress against known security threats.
5. Privacy & Data Protection Compliance
Status: Built-in Support
WordPress supports major privacy regulations, including:
- GDPR (European Union)
- CCPA (California)
- LGPD (Brazil – partial support)
Key privacy-related features include:
- Data export and erase requests
- Privacy policy linking
- User consent management hooks
6. REST API Standards
Status: Fully Compliant
The WordPress REST API follows modern API standards, including:
- RESTful architecture
- JSON data formatting
- Secure authentication methods
This makes WordPress headless-ready, scalable, and integration-friendly.
7. Multisite & Enterprise Compliance
Status: Enterprise-Ready
WordPress is widely used by enterprises and government organizations because it supports:
- Multisite governance
- User role separation
- Scalable data handling
- Enterprise-level workflows
It is trusted by large-scale enterprise and government websites worldwide.
8. Open Source License Compliance (GPL)
Status: Fully Compliant
WordPress is licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL v2), which provides:
- Freedom to modify the source code
- Freedom to redistribute software
- Complete transparency
This makes WordPress legally safe and future-proof for long-term projects.
Summary Table
| Compliance Type | Default Support |
|---|---|
| GDPR | Partial |
| WCAG 2.1 | Yes |
| W3C Standards | Yes |
| OWASP Security | Yes |
| Privacy Laws | Partial |
| REST API | Yes |
| Enterprise Use | Yes |
| GPL License | Yes |
Final Thoughts
WordPress is compliance-friendly by default, but full legal compliance ultimately depends on plugins, hosting environment, and how content and user data are handled. Even so, WordPress provides a secure, scalable, and compliant foundation for almost any type of website.
