This beginner-friendly series introduces the fundamentals of digital accessibility and explains how to create websites, applications, and digital content that are usable by people with disabilities. Explore essential accessibility concepts, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), accessible design and development practices, assistive technologies, accessibility testing, and common barriers. Whether you are new to accessibility or beginning your organization’s accessibility journey, this series provides practical guidance for building more inclusive digital experiences.
Sara Soueidan reflects on lessons from learning and teaching web accessibility. She explores semantic HTML, ARIA, progressive enhancement, inclusive design, and user-centered development, offering practical guidance for building more accessible and resilient web experiences.
Read What a Year of Learning and Teaching Accessibility Taught Me …
Christopher Schmitt explores color theory, color perception, color blindness, and accessible web design. Learn how WCAG addresses color, contrast, relative luminance, and contrast ratios, plus techniques and tools for evaluating color accessibility and creating more inclusive digital experiences.
Shell Little explains why accessible code alone cannot create an accessible product. The article explores cognitive accessibility, inclusive design, cognitive load, assistive technology, and the importance of involving disabled people throughout the product development lifecycle.
Devon Persing explores how organizations can build accessibility literacy by borrowing ideas from Dungeons & Dragons. Rather than expecting everyone to become an expert, teams can develop shared knowledge, collaborative processes, and role-specific skills that make accessibility part of everyday work.
Sarah Higley explores the challenges of building accessible custom select controls, comparing native <select> behavior across platforms with ARIA combobox and listbox patterns. The article examines semantics, keyboard interaction, multi-select, autocomplete, and the accessibility tradeoffs of custom UI.
Sara Tabor explains why digital agencies are uniquely positioned to improve accessibility across diverse projects. She explores shifting accessibility left, integrating WCAG into workflows, reducing remediation costs, strengthening QA, training teams, and building scalable accessibility practices.
Read Why is an Agency the Perfect Place to Observe and Improve Digital Accessibility? …
For the past three years, I have been working in the Cloud +AI division of Microsoft as a subject matter expert, advising teams on how best to fix accessibility bugs and promoting accessible design. I find the work very fulfilling and look forward to continuing to make an impact on disabled people’s ability to seek […]
Catharine McNally explores how customer-service experiences can exclude people with disabilities. From inaccessible contact forms to phone-only support, she advocates for multiple, consistent communication pathways, including email, chat, video, and human assistance, so every customer can get help.
Melanie Sumner explores the future of digital accessibility, focusing on the tools developers need to build accessible websites more easily. She examines gaps in accessibility testing, developer tooling, semantic HTML, ARIA, and assistive technology, and challenges the industry to create better solutions.
Ian Pouncey explores how design, development, and product decisions shape the web experience. He argues for simpler, accessible, usable, performant websites that prioritize real people, native controls, thoughtful design, and reduced complexity over unnecessary features and technical complexity.
Melanie Richards guides developers through the world of W3C specifications, explaining how to navigate web standards and find authoritative guidance. This practical introduction helps developers better understand specifications related to HTML, accessibility, WCAG, and the technologies that shape the web.
Becky Gibson explains why people with disabilities should be active participants in accessibility testing. The article explores how blind, low vision, cognitive, and other testers identify barriers that automated tools and nondisabled testers may miss, while promoting inclusive testing teams.
Homer Gaines explains how the WCAG POUR principles, Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust, provide a foundation for digital accessibility. The article explores practical examples involving alternative text, keyboard access, clear forms, semantic HTML, and assistive technology compatibility.
Ather Sharif explores the challenges of making visual content accessible, from images and alternative text to GIFs, graphs, and interactive visualizations. The article examines how screen reader users experience visual information and why accessibility should be built into emerging technologies.
Erik Kroes exposes 8 misguided accessibility tips with humor, challenging common assumptions about WCAG, ARIA, automated testing, focus indicators, accessible alternatives, and inclusive design. Learn why meeting technical requirements is only part of creating truly accessible digital experiences.
Read 8 Weird Tips Accessibility Specialists Don’t Want You to Know! …
Dennis Deacon explores why WCAG Level AA compliance should be a starting point, not the finish line. The article examines headings, link text, focus indicators, abbreviations, and other areas where going beyond minimum requirements can create more usable and accessible digital experiences.
In today’s article, Birkir Gunnarsson tells us what’s new in ARIA 1.1, the new roles and properties that excite him, and the others that disappoint, due to their lack of support.
In today’s article, Jason Rodriguez shares some best practices on creating more accessible and inclusive email campaigns, routinely ranked as one of the world’s most valuable marketing channels, yet very little work has been done to make it more accessible for under-represented groups.
Read Accessibility and Inclusion with the World’s Most Popular Communication Tool: Email …
In today’s article, Heather Burns looks at the potential impact to Accessibility Law in the UK after Brexit and challenges faced in these interesting times.
Read All Change? What Could Happen to Accessibility Law in the UK after Brexit …
In today’s article, Nicolas Steenhout shares the story of his podcast, A11Y Rules, how he made its website accessible through careful decisions about players and plugins, and the move to WCAG 2.1.
Read Case Study – Podcast Becomes a WCAG 2.1 Implementation Site …
Rachel Olivero explains how blind screen reader users efficiently navigate websites and web applications without relying solely on the Tab key. The article explores page summaries, element lists, headings, landmarks, quick navigation keys, and semantic HTML, offering valuable insight for accessibility testers and developers.
Read Not Your Father’s Navigation Strategy: There’s More Than Just the TAB Key …
Olivier Nourry examines how ableism contributes to digital inaccessibility, from excluding people with disabilities from design decisions to treating accessibility as optional. He argues that meaningful accessibility requires challenging systemic ableism and centering disability rights.
Mikey Ilagan explains how technology events can become more accessible and inclusive. He covers disability representation, accessible venues, captioning, ASL interpretation, sponsorship, and other practical considerations that help ensure everyone can participate and feel welcome.
Read How To Advocate For Accessible And Inclusive Tech Events …
Denis Boudreau explores why web accessibility can be challenging for UX/UI designers and introduces 10 practical accessibility heuristics. By translating WCAG concepts into design-focused guidance, he shows how designers can address accessibility earlier and create more inclusive digital experiences.
Marco Hengstenberg explains how to create accessible SVG icons using inline SVG sprites. Learn when to label icons, hide decorative graphics, use ARIA attributes, and build reusable SVG symbols that provide meaningful information to screen reader users and other assistive technology.
Anthony Jeffery explores how thinking of web pages as documents can improve accessibility. He explains how meaningful page titles and well-structured headings help screen reader users navigate content, while logical HTML provides a solid foundation for accessible web experiences.
Mike Gifford challenges accessibility professionals and developers to give back by improving accessibility in open source projects. He explains how contributing to issue queues, testing software, sharing expertise, and advocating for users can help make accessibility the default across the web.
Ray Campbell explores how to become an accessibility specialist, addressing common misconceptions, essential skills, accessibility standards, training options, career opportunities, and the importance of understanding diverse disabilities and assistive technologies.