Web Accessibility Guidelines

💎 Accessibility For Designers Checklist (PDF: https://lnkd.in/e9Z2G2kF), a practical set of cards on WCAG accessibility guidelines, from accessible color, typography, animations, media, layout and development — to kick-off accessibility conversations early on. Kindly put together by Geri Reid. WCAG for Designers Checklist, by Geri Reid Article: https://lnkd.in/ef8-Yy9E PDF: https://lnkd.in/e9Z2G2kF WCAG 2.2 Guidelines: https://lnkd.in/eYmzrNh7 Accessibility isn’t about compliance. It’s not about ticking off checkboxes. And it’s not about plugging in accessibility overlays or AI engines either. It’s about *designing* with a wide range of people in mind — from the very start, independent of their skills and preferences. In my experience, the most impactful way to embed accessibility in your work is to bring a handful of people with different needs early into design process and usability testing. It’s making these test sessions accessible to the entire team, and showing real impact of design and code on real people using a real product. Teams usually don’t get time to work on features which don’t have a clear business case. But no manager really wants to be seen publicly ignoring their prospect customers. Visualize accessibility to everyone on the team and try to make an argument about potential reach and potential income. Don’t ask for big commitments: embed accessibility in your work by default. Account for accessibility needs in your estimates. Create accessibility tickets and flag accessibility issues. Don’t mistake smiling and nodding for support — establish timelines, roles, specifics, objectives. And most importantly: measure the impact of your work by repeatedly conducting accessibility testing with real people. Build a strong before/after case to show the change that the team has enabled and contributed to, and celebrate small and big accessibility wins. It might not sound like much, but it can start changing the culture faster than you think. Useful resources: Giving A Damn About Accessibility, by Sheri Byrne-Haber (disabled) https://lnkd.in/eCeFutuJ Accessibility For Designers: Where Do I Start?, by Stéphanie Walter https://lnkd.in/ecG5qASY Web Accessibility In Plain Language (Free Book), by Charlie Triplett https://lnkd.in/e2AMAwyt Building Accessibility Research Practices, by Maya Alvarado https://lnkd.in/eq_3zSPJ How To Build A Strong Case For Accessibility, ↳ https://lnkd.in/ehGivAdY, by 🦞 Todd Libby ↳ https://lnkd.in/eC4jehMX, by Yichan Wang #ux #accessibility

Ever notice the little cutouts at street corners, designed so wheelchairs can easily cross the street? That small change—often referred to as the “curb cut”—is a classic example of inclusive design. Initially created to assist people using wheelchairs, these curb cuts have ended up benefiting far more people, from parents pushing strollers to delivery workers with heavy carts and travellers rolling suitcases. This phenomenon is known as the “curb-cut effect.” But here’s why it matters on a bigger scale: over 1.3 billion people (about 16% of the world’s population) live with some form of disability, according to the World Health Organization. Why Inclusive Design Matters 🔻 1️⃣ Empathy Translates to Innovation When we put ourselves in the shoes of people with different abilities, we often stumble upon creative, universally helpful solutions. Curb cuts are just one example—voice recognition technology, originally developed for people with mobility or visual impairments, is now used daily by millions of people around the world. 2️⃣ Better Customer and Employee Experience Companies that prioritise accessibility foster a culture where everyone feels valued. According to a Harvard Business Review article, diverse and inclusive teams often make better decisions up to 87% of the time. Making environments usable for all can translate into stronger loyalty from both customers and employees. 3️⃣ Economic and Social Impact An environment that’s easier to navigate means more people are able to fully participate in the economy and society. Whether it’s allowing someone to shop independently or enabling them to access education and job opportunities, inclusive design has a real impact on quality of life and financial well-being. The curb-cut effect is a reminder that when we remove barriers for some, we often end up elevating the experience for all. This video really highlights how it feels to live in a world not designed for your sensory abilities.

🚫 WCAG Levels Are Not a Grading Scale There’s a common misconception in digital accessibility: that WCAG levels A, AA, and AAA represent a “good, better, best” system. They don’t. ✅ WCAG levels are not about quality—they're about scope. • Level A addresses critical blockers for access. • Level AA covers common barriers that impact many users. • Level AAA includes enhanced requirements aimed at specific user needs—not a gold star for perfection. 🔍 Not every AAA criterion is feasible or appropriate for every website or document. That’s by design. AAA is not “better,” it’s more specific. If you got caught up in this misconception, I hope this brought some clarity. 💡 True accessibility is about meeting user needs, not chasing a letter grade. #DigitalAccessibility #WCAG #InclusiveDesign #AccessibilityEducation #A11y #UX #DocumentAccessibility #Chax

“No one has ever requested captions or ALT text” I recently pointed out to an organisation that none of their social media content was accessible to me as a blind person, or to anyone who cannot access spoken language. The response I received was: “No one has ever requested ALT text or captions for our posts.” That sentence alone reveals just how much is still wrong with how accessibility is understood and practiced. First, disabled people do not request access every single time it is missing. We simply cannot. Inaccessibility is everywhere. Were we to contact every organisation, brand, university, conference, or charity about their inaccessible communications, we would quite literally not have the time or energy to do anything else. This is what research increasingly refers to as disability work: the invisible, unpaid labour disabled people perform every day just to exist in systems that were not designed for us. Flagging barriers, explaining basic access needs, advocating for changes, and then often being told those changes are too difficult, too expensive, or too time-consuming. This work takes time, cognitive effort, and emotional energy, and it is rarely acknowledged. Second, accessibility and reasonable adjustments are an anticipatory duty under the UK Equality Act 2010. That means it is not the responsibility of disabled people to notify organisations that they are inaccessible. It is the responsibility of organisations to know this already, to anticipate diverse access needs, and to design accordingly. If you operate in the EU or engage EU audiences, web accessibility regulations make this obligation even clearer. Access is not a favour. It is not an act of kindness. It is not a “nice to have”. It is a legal and ethical responsibility. Third, the argument that an organisation is “too small” or that creating ALT text and captions is “very time consuming” simply does not hold. With the technology currently available, including generative AI tools, creating ALT text takes seconds. Automated captions may not be perfect, but imperfect access is always preferable to none at all. Claiming a lack of budget or capacity shifts the burden onto disabled audiences, who did not create the barriers in the first place. And yes, accessibility benefits far more people than those it is usually associated with. Captions support Deaf and hard of hearing people, but also neurodivergent users and people whose first language is not English. Descriptive content improves clarity and engagement for everyone. Finally, designing with inclusion in mind from the outset is not only the right thing to do, it is also cheaper and more effective than retrofitting access later. It is how innovation happens. Inclusive design consistently leads to better user experiences for all. So if your organisation’s response to inaccessibility is “no one has asked”, it may be time to ask yourselves a different question: why should disabled people have to keep asking at all?

Most classically trained accessibility engineers will tell you that when an experience is equally terrible for disabled and non-disabled users, it doesn’t qualify as an accessibility violation. As a native assistive technology user (magnification and keyboard), I respectfully, but vehemently, disagree. Equal misery is not equity. When a design decision leaves everyone frustrated, the impact on disabled users is compounded. We often lack the same workarounds as nondisabled users, and even when we do have the same workarounds, they often take us longer to recognize and execute. This can trigger fatigue and pain that leaves us unable to finish our tasks. Framing usability problems as “not an accessibility issue” misses the point. Accessibility is not about checking WCAG criteria boxes. It’s about whether people with disabilities can accomplish their tasks with independence, dignity, and efficiency. When an experience creates barriers for everyone, accessibility professionals should not dismiss it. They should lead the charge in requesting design and coding changes by engaging with UX to improve the experience for all users. #Equity #Equal #disability #accessibility #WCAG

The Truth About AI and Digital Accessibility. "The AI will sound very confident. It will say, 'I have coded this website. It's completely accessible.' And then I look at it and go, 'No, it's not.'" That's Eugene Woo, CEO of Venngage, during a fascinating conversation Debra Ruh and I had on the latest AXSChat episode. Here's the hard truth: +90% of websites aren't accessible. So when AI models train on existing data, they're learning from inaccessible examples. The result? Confident hallucinations about accessibility that don't hold up under scrutiny. The real challenge isn't AI itself—it's the training data. AI is incredibly helpful for scaffolding, efficiency, and speed. But right now, when it comes to color contrast, semantic structure, and proper layering for screen readers? It still falls short. But here's the optimistic part: This is fixable. We need to: - Feed AI models with truly accessible examples - Train algorithms on accessibility standards, not just existing (flawed) websites   - Combine AI intelligence with human expertise and built-in accessibility features - Stop treating accessibility as an afterthought—it needs to be baked into the foundation The future isn't about choosing between AI or accessibility. It's about building AI with accessibility from the start. If you're building products, hiring vendors, or working in tech: Hold AI accountable. Don't accept confident-sounding claims about accessibility. Demand better training data. Support tools and platforms that prioritize accessible design from day one. The web's accessibility crisis won't be solved by AI alone—but AI trained on accessible data, combined with human judgment and vendor commitment? That's where the real transformation happens. Tune into AXSChat to hear the full discussion with Eugene on how companies are rethinking accessibility in the AI era. What's your experience been with AI-generated content and accessibility? I'd love to hear your thoughts. #Accessibility #AI #DigitalInclusion #ArtificialIntelligence #InclusiveDesign #AXSChat

Happy Global Accessibility Awareness Day everyone! It's a great day to remind people, that, accessibility is the responsibility of the whole team, including designers! A couple of things designers can do: - Use sufficient color contrast (text + UI elements) and don’t rely on color alone to convey meaning. - Ensure readable typography: support text resizing, avoid hard-to-read styles, maintain hierarchy. - Make links and buttons clear and distinguishable (label, size, states). - Design accessible forms: clear labels, error help, no duplicate input, document states. - Support keyboard navigation: tab order, skip links, focus indicators, keyboard interaction. - Structure content with headings and landmarks: use proper H1–Hn, semantic order, regions. - Provide text alternatives for images, icons, audio, and video. - Avoid motion triggers: respect reduced motion settings, allow pause on auto-play. - Design with flexibility: support orientation change, allow text selection, avoid fixed-height elements. - Document accessibly and communicate: annotate designs, collaborate with devs, QA, and content teams. Need to learn more? I got a couple of resources on my blog: - A Designer’s Guide to Documenting Accessibility & User Interactions: https://lnkd.in/eUh8Jvvn - How to check and document design accessibility in your mockups: a conference on how to use Figma plugins and annotation kits to shift accessibility left https://lnkd.in/eu8YuWyF - Accessibility for designer: where do I start? Articles, resources, checklists, tools, plugins, and books to design accessible products https://lnkd.in/ejeC_QpH - Neurodiversity and UX: Essential Resources for Cognitive Accessibility, Guidelines to understand and design for Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Autism and ADHD https://lnkd.in/efXaRwgF - Color accessibility: tools and resources to help you design inclusive products https://lnkd.in/dRrwFJ5 #Accessibility #ShiftLeft #GAAD

🎭 Accessibility isn’t just a checkbox. It’s a catalyst for innovation. Last year, I created the first accessible HTML Playbill. This year, I coordinated the Playbill for Oliver! The Musical. And the curb cut effect showed up in full force. On opening night, the printer broke. The next day, the network went down. No printed programs. No network. But because I had already built an accessible HTML version for this show, we had a fast-loading, mobile-friendly program ready to go. I added a QR code, step-by-step instructions, and URLs for folks unfamiliar with QR tech. It loaded quickly on a finicky network and people could view it in low light during the show when it's too dark to see the printed program. The organization later added a QR code to a PDF version. If I could do it again, I’d direct people to the accessible version. At the top of that version, I'd link to the PDF version. This lets people choose between the faster loading page on mobile devices in a building with a poor connection or the full image program. This is the curb cut effect: a solution designed for accessibility that benefits everyone. And it’s also a reminder ... Hire us. Involve us. Disabled people bring lived experience that leads to creative, practical, and inclusive solutions. We don’t just advocate for accessibility. We design and build it. Accessibility isn’t charity. It’s a strategy. Want resilient systems? Involve disabled problem-solvers. If you're a person with a disability or have worked with disabled collaborators, what unexpected value do disabled people bring to the table? Accessibility isn’t just about compliance. It’s about creativity, resilience, and insight. If you’re ready to build smarter, more inclusive systems, drop a comment or DM. 🔔 Tap profile bell (You may need to do it again. LinkedIn reset it.) 👉 Follow #MerylMots for past posts #UserExperience #Accessibility The image shows what the signs looked like: "Oliver! Playbill" with four steps. A box where the QR code appeared and the URL beneath it.

“It’s early beta – we haven’t built that in yet.” I hear this a lot when I ask if a new product or platform is accessible. The latest was an AI tool I was invited to try. I asked whether it was usable for someone like me – a blind user. The reply? “Ah, sorry – we haven’t built something like that yet. It’s still early beta.” Here’s the thing: if you wait to think about accessibility, the people who can’t use your product won’t be in your feedback loop. You’ll be designing based on a filtered reality – and you won’t even know it. That’s why accessibility isn’t a nice-to-have after launch. It’s not a feature you “add later”. It’s a core part of UX. Of research. Of understanding your user base. Leave it out early, and you’re designing blind (ironically). Accessibility isn’t about compliance. It’s about getting the full picture from day one. Especially with AI – which has the potential to widen or close the gap, depending on the choices we make now. If you work in product, UX, or design then treat accessibility as a source of insight, not a blocker. And treat beta as the opportunity it really is – a chance to build things right, before habits set in and technical debt takes over. Want real feedback? Make sure everyone can give it. #AccessibleDesign #InclusiveDesign #UXDesign #ProductDevelopment #DisabilityInclusion

Our new paper, “Detecting bias in algorithms used to disseminate information in social networks and mitigating it using multiobjective optimization,” is now out in PNAS Nexus. Algorithms that determine how information spreads — from health campaigns to social media posts — are often optimized for one goal: maximizing reach. But what happens when reach comes at the expense of equity? Paper: https://lnkd.in/epNgJSnP ArXiv: https://lnkd.in/eAkVWwAK In this work, led by Vedran Sekara and with Ivan Dotu, Manuel Cebrian, and Manuel García-Herranz, we show that state-of-the-art influence maximization algorithms — the same kind used to identify “influencers” in social networks — systematically leave parts of the network behind. Some groups receive information late, others not at all. In other words, algorithmic bias can emerge not from data, but from the mathematical definition of the problem itself. To address this, we developed a multiobjective algorithm that balances spread and fairness. The result: we can significantly reduce informational inequality with only a minimal loss in reach. This suggests that optimization and equity don’t have to be opposing goals. As algorithms increasingly shape who gets access to opportunities, resources, and knowledge, this kind of fairness-aware design becomes essential — not just for social media or marketing, but for public health, disaster response, and social resilience.