Where do I start with Accessibility? [Updated 11 Aug 24]

Where do I start with Accessibility? is the first question that anyone new to accessibility asks. Therefore, this post aims to provide a starting point to get involved with accessibility, regardless of you level of knowledge or role.

This post was last updated on 11 August 2024. Jump to updated Section

What is Accessibility?

Accessibility is the practice of designing and creating products, services, and environments that can be used by everyone, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. Accessibility ensures that people with different needs and preferences can access and interact with information, technology, and society without barriers or discrimination.

Resources for Everyone to Start with Accessibility

This section includes links to resources that everyone will find useful for learning about accessibility:

Fundamentals

• A beginner’s guide to digital accessibility | AbilityNet A great overview of digital accessibility and how to get started.
• Microsoft Accessibility Fundamentals course is a fantastic starting point. The course is free and covers accessibility in many situations for a range of disabilities.
• Giving a damn about accessibility (uxdesign.cc) – An excellent book providing a practical perspective on accessibility.
• Useful external resources on accessibility | Barclays (home.barclays) – a collection of resources on Accessibility, collated by Barclay’s.
• HSBC Accessibility Hub
• An Introduction to Accessibility and Inclusive Design | Coursera – Course
• Introduction to Web Accessibility | edX – Course
• Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Accessibility | edX – Course
• Best Practice Guides from the Business Disability Forum > Technology – Business Disability Forum
• Do’s and Don’ts of Accessible Design > Dos and don’ts on designing for accessibility – Accessibility in government (blog.gov.uk)
• Home – The A11Y Project – an extensive accessibility resource covering all aspects of accessibility.
• A11y Cat: the most useful accessibility resources online
• A11y Web Ring – A ring of websites about accessibility
• WCAG Explained Intro (getstark.co) – a great resource for starting to understand WCAG.
• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Overview | Accessible.org
• Confronting ableism to build a more inclusive web (assistivlabs.com)

Document Accessibility

• How to Make Documents Accessible – a post covering a number of resources for making documents more accessible.
• Make your content accessible to everyone – Microsoft Support – a hub of resources from Microsoft for improving your content accessibility.
• Create accessible Office documents – Microsoft Support
• Creating accessible PDFs in Adobe Acrobat – How to create accessible PDF’s with Adobe Acrobat
• Creating accessible PDFs (adobe.com) – How to create accessible PDF’s with Adobe InDesign
• Create and verify PDF accessibility, Acrobat Pro (adobe.com) – Using Adobe Acrobat Accessibility Checker
• Glossary of accessibility terminology in PDF – PDF Association – Key terms used in Accessible PDF documents.
• WebAIM: PDF Accessibility – Defining PDF Accessibility
• Adobe Acrobat’s New Accessibility Features (theaccessibilityguy.com)
• Checking PDFs for accessibility – Accessible Technology (washington.edu)
• A To Z Of Assistive Technology For Reading Digital Text (veroniiiica.com)

Meeting Accessibility

• Be flexible with the times of meetings, breaks and environments.
• For Microsoft Teams, used PowerPoint Live or Excel Live to provide the most accessible experience for attendees.
  • Present from PowerPoint Live in Microsoft Teams – Microsoft Support
  • Excel Live in Teams meetings – Microsoft Support
• Marie Dubost Accessibility checklists (podia.com) for online and in person events.
• Accessibility tips for inclusive Microsoft Teams meetings and live events – Microsoft Support

Chat and Email Accessibility

• Always provide documents in their native format for their maximum accessibility. For example, send the Word Document or PowerPoint file over sending a PDF or Screenshot.
• Use plain, simple language in emails and chats.
• Minimise the use of emoji’s.

Where do Employers / Managers Start with Accessibility

Accessibility can be a daunting topic for employers and managers, however there a many adhantages to having a diverse workforce and providing accessibility. Here are some resources:

• Disability inclusion and accessibility articles – Scope for Business – a fantastic resource highlighting UK specific resources to support with employment.
• Best Practice Guides from the Business Disability Forum > Technology – Business Disability Forum
• Reading a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) or Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) – Equal Entry
• Accessibility training 2022: A guide to available online resources (businessdisabilityforum.org.uk)
• Disability-Inclusion-and-Accessibility.pdf (mildon.co.uk) A guide by Toby Mildon

Where to Designers start with Accessibility?

• Playbook for universal design – Universal design methods for more inclusive solutions (universaldesignguide.com)
• Accessibility Handoff: a guide for product designers | by Jahde Vaccani | UX Collective (uxdesign.cc) A guide on how to hand off designs to development teams.
• Harnessing AI for a More Accessible and Inclusive Internet: Tools and Plugins Making Waves | by Hamish Baxter | Jan, 2024 | Medium
• Microsoft Inclusive Design – a toolkit explaining inclusive design and providing resources to help.
• Booking.com Accessibility Case Study > Building accessibility research practices | by Maya Alvarado | Booking.com UX Research | Medium
• Web: How to document the screen reader user experience – Accessibility, Your Team and You (bbc.github.io)
• Conducting Accessibility Research In An Inaccessible Ecosystem — Smashing Magazine

Where Developers Start with Accessibility?

This section includes links to resources developers will find useful in learning how to include accessibility.

• Learn Accessibility (web.dev) – This course is created for beginner and advanced web developers. You can go through the series from start to finish to get a general understanding of accessibility practices and testing, or you can use it as a reference for specific subjects
• Accessibility Developer Guide A resource covering how to get and set up the tools you need to develop and test accessibility.
• Quick and Small Accessibility – Bite-Sized Accessibility (bite-sized-a11y.com) For learning in bite-sized chunks.
• Accessibility First: Rethinking the Way We Approach Website Design and Development – 24 Accessibility (24a11y.com)
• An Introduction to Accessibility and Inclusive Design | Coursera – Course
• Introduction to Web Accessibility | edX – Course
• Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Accessibility | edX – Courd
• Accessibility in plain language for programs – The Book on Accessibility – a fantastic resource on how to measure accessibility in enterprises.
• Digital Accessibility Laws around the world – an overview of accessibility laws around the world.
• BBC Accessibility Guidelines a fantastic resource on how to create inclusive content and test it.
• Vox Product Accessibility Guidelines (voxmedia.com) A great checklist for a product team to use for driving accessibility. (Added 15 July 2023)
• A Brief Introduction to JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver | CSS-Tricks – CSS-Tricks – a resource to understand how to use a screen reader for testing.
• Accessibility Testing Best Practices in CI/CD – TestProject – embed accessibility testing into your development processes.
• Accessibility checklist – MagentaA11y a great tool for generating acceptance criteria.
• Five Screen Reader Accessibility Tests Your QA Team Should Do – TPGi
• Apple Developer Resources: https://developer.apple.com/accessibility/
• Google Developer Resources: https://www.google.com/accessibility
• Mobile Screen Reader Cheat Sheets | //TODO: Blog (qbalsdon.github.io) – a useful guide to using screen readers on mobile phones.
• Setting up a screen reader testing environment on your computer – Sara Soueidan, inclusive design engineer – step by step guides for setting up screen reader testing environments.
• GitHub – cvs-health/ios-swiftui-accessibility-techniques: Demonstrates iOS SwiftUI Accessibility programming techniques using live good and bad examples that can be tested with VoiceOver and other AT. Includes documentation for developers explaining how to code accessible
• Mobile App Accessibility: What Blind Customers Want You to Know (ampproject.org)patterns for iOS.
• Accessibility Insights – A Microsoft backed, open-source AI tool to help identify accessibility issues on websites.
• Accessibility testing spreadsheet version 2 – Rachele DiTullio – A fantastic spreadsheet to help with accessibility testing against WCAG.
• iOs & iPadOS for blind users (blindios.uk) – How to use an iPhone or iPad with Voiceover for testing your sites accessibility.
• A11yAutomation (a11y-automation.dev) – A website dedicated to sharing the latest information on tools for automating accessibility testing.
• GAAD Accessibility UI Testing Series’ Articles – DEV Community – Great articles on automating accessibility UI testing released in 2024 by Mark Steadman.
• How to Make CAPTCHA Accessible: A Hands-On Guide – The A11Y Collective (a11y-collective.com)

Where Social Media Managers Start with Accessibility

Social Media is one of the most notable online places to witness a lack of accessibility. The resources listed below will help ensure your social media is accessible.

• Inclusive Design for Social Media: Tips for Creating Accessible Channels (hootsuite.com)
• Social for Everyone
• Your A-Z guide for social media accessibility – Life of a Blind Girl
• Social media etiquette for accessibility | CharityComms
• All In – Inclusive Marketing Insights (all-in.withgoogle.com)

Where Content Creator’s Start with Accessibility

• A complete guide for content creators to start making accessible content – Pope Tech Blog
• How to create audio descriptions for accessible YouTube videos – Pope Tech Blog
• How screen readers read special characters: an update | Eleven Ways

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