Some resources I appreciated along my own a11y way and can recommend not only for developers, nor designers, but for everyone.
Also available as a podcast version
So you wanna be the very best at web accessibility, but don’t know where to start? Print this page out and throw a dart at it because there’s no wrong point to start at. Only varying difficulty settings.
Universal Design
- Center of Universal Design
- Universal Design for Learning (UDL): The Why, What, and How of Learning. Especially relevant if you are developing courses or instruction materials for teaching, onboarding, or professional development.
WCAG
Duh, this is the first thing you need when talking web accessibility! The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines — or WCAG in short — are divided into 4 Principles (Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust, together, they assemble the Power Rangers’ team called POUR-Principles) and 86 Success Criteria (definitely not listing all here, go to W3C.org for that).
- WCAG, but in a language I can understand
- WCAG in plain English
- WCAG 2.2 Subway Map by Theme
- WCAG Figma Plugin
- WCAG 2.2 Figma card deck
- Honorable Mention: The WCAG 3.0 Working Draft
- And my favorite one: WCAG Pokécards
But the W3C offers us even more than that! Translations of Current W3C standards and drafts in various languages (although not everything in all languages) are also available and ever extending.
Yes, I know this one is not as fun as comparing the WCAG to Pokémon. But it helps to know the baseline laws that rule the digital accessibility world. You never have to know them by heart, as long as you know where to look them up.
Note : Most modern web accessibility laws and directives are based on the WCAG and Universal Design principles, but don’t use them directly as passing criteria.
The tools of the trade! And to be honest, it can also be more fun to learn through trial and error, instead of theory alone.
- WAVE Tool by WebAIM: An automatic testing tool that provides WCAG references for each error, alert, and feature it finds. As with every automatic testing tool, none of them is perfect, but getting acquainted with this one in particular is particularly helpful because the WebAIM Million Report uses it. Learning the limitations of automated testing will help you interpret the findings better.
- Speaking of WebAIM: The one and only Contrast Checker, and arguably even better: the Link Contrast Checker to compare 3 colors against each other at once!
- Wondering what screen readers people use? Consult the latest WebAIM screen reader survey
We love WebAIM in this virtual house because they give out knowledge for free. The WebAIM Introduction to Web Accessibility Course is free. The only thing you have to pay for is if you want to get a certification.
AccessibleEU does a lot of things, just like the incredible hustler it is; one of them is the AccessibleEU Online Training on Accessible Technology Design. It also comes with a Community of Practice, and both are free, no membership, no European passport required, nothing.
The International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) offers a number of certifications, which are, well, internationally recognized. Notably, the following:
Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies sounds intimidating but is actually only the baseline of accessibility certifications. The CPACC Body of Knowledge is available in English and German.
Web Accessibility Specialist, more self-explanatory, but also way more technical. The Body of Knowledge is available for WAS in English, WAS in German, and WAS in Spanish.
Accessible Document Specialist does exactly that: document accessibility. The ADS Body of Knowledge is only available in English.
If you enjoyed this article, you might also like A11y News, my monthly newsletter covering accessibility, practical insights, curated resources, and real-world takeaways.
Let’s connect on LinkedIn if you’d like to chat about accessibility, UX research, or making tech more equitable.
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