Status: draft, seeking feedback
This is a non-exhaustive and opinionated guide to becoming an accessibility expert. What you should learn depends on the specialization that you want to target.
In general, this will look something like this:
- Learn the fundamentals (types of disabilities, standards, laws, etc)
- Learn how to use assistive technologies
- Learn how to do an assessment
- Find a personal a11y coach
- Specific topics for your specialization
- Certification
The fundamentals include topics such as types of disabilities, standards, laws, etc.
- (paid, course) Deque University Accessibility Fundamentals: Disabilities, Guidelines, and Laws
- (free, site) WAI - Accessibility Fundamentals
- (free, course) Microsoft - Accessibility fundamentals
- (free, site) WCAG
Practice this skill: create a set of personas that include a mix of different disabilities. Think about the experience each persona might have when trying to complete a task on some of the sites that you visit most frequently. For examples of personas, see the gov.uk personas, or Cards for Humanity.
WCAG is the international standard for digital accessibility. It has been adopted by many governments as a legal requirement. As such, it is used to assess how well a given digital resource meets the minimal requirements for accessibility. As such, this is a vital resource to learn.
One critical thing to understand about WCAG (and standards in general) is the difference between "normative" and "non-normative" or "informative". Parts of WCAG are marked as "normative", which means that these sections are required for conformance. The rest of WCAG, including supporting documents, are marked as "non-normative" or "informative", which means that these sections are not required for conformance. In other words, when performing an WCAG audit, an accessibility expert must only test to the "normative" parts of WCAG, and can not fail something if it is not a "normative" requirement or if it is only mentioned in "non-normative" information. For more information on why this is important, read Accessibility auditing and ego.
WCAG isn't something you will learn or memorize over night. Learn how it is structured. Learn how to use it as a reference and a resource.
Pay close attention to:
- The WCAG SC for level A and AA (normative). These are the requirements that WCAG defines. Most laws do not include level AAA SC.
- WCAG conformance requirements (normative).
- WCAG glossary (normative).
- Understanding WCAG (informative). Many parts of WCAG, including the SC, can be difficult to understand. This document attempts to make WCAG more understandable, by providing examples, further details, and further information about different parts of WCAG.
- WCAG Techniques. The WCAG techniques describe different ways that SC can pass or fail.
Practice this skill: Practice applying the conformance requirements and SC to your favorite websites.
WCAG compliance is the worst you can legally do, and does not guarentee a good user expierence for someone with a disability. The following are some resources to help you discover how to go beyond WCAG compliance.
TODO: more resources and feedback
- (free, site) Inclusive Design Principles
Deque University has great screen reader guides that are free to use. Pick one screen reader and practice using it. Also famailiarze yourself with other assistive technologies such as Voice Control for iOS, Voice Control for MacOS, and Switch Control for iOS and Switch Access for Android.
TODO: more guides and resources
- (paid, course) Deque University - Web Accessibility Testing: Screen Readers
Practice this skill: Try to use a screen reader to complete some tasks on sites that you frequently visit.
Practice performing a few WCAG assessments on some websites and/or native mobile applications. While WCAG was originally crafted for web content, the requirements are usually abstract enough that they can be applied to other technologies, such as native mobile applications and PDFs. The purpose of this exercise is less about memorizing how to perform an assessment for a specific technology, and more about learning how to approach perfomring an audit for any technology.
- (free) Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology - a free resource to help guide you through performing a solid WCAG assessment.
- (paid) Deque University - WCAG Conformance Testing, Detailed Methodology - has detailed WCAG testing instructions for multiple platforms, including web, native mobile, PDF, etc.
Practice this skill: Perform an audit on at least two different sites or applications.
A personal accessibility coach is someone who will work directly with you on a one-on-one basis to help you achieve your goal of becoming an expert. While a coach is not a hard requirement, a coach can be very helpful by:
- Answering your questions
- Tailoring your learning journey to meet your specific needs
- Helping you keep on track and be accountable
- Challenging you to better your skills
TODO: list ways to find personal a11y coaches
Digital accessibility can be broken into many sub-specializations. The general goals of each specialization are:
- To deeply understand how to apply WCAG to the specific technology and perform actionable audits
- To understand how to craft good remediation advice for the specific technology (often requires a solid understanding of code)
- To understand how to go above and beyond the minimal requirements of WCAG for the specific technology
- To understand techniques and behaviors that development crews can follow to become proactive rather than reactive when it comes to accessibility
TODO, seeking resources and feedback
TODO, seeking resources and feedback
- (paid, course) Deque University - Document Accessibility Curriculum Package
TODO, seeking resources and feedback
- (paid, book) Android Accessibility by Tutorials
- (free, site) Android developer documentation - Accessibility gude - links to many technical resources on how to implement accessibility in Android.
- (free, site) Apple developer documentation - Accessibility on iOS - links to many technical resources on how to implement accessibility in iOS.
- (free, videos) Apple developer documentation - Videos
- (paid, book) Developing Accessible iOS Apps: Support VoiceOver, Dynamic Type, and More
- (paid, book) Developing Inclusive Mobile Apps
- (paid, course) Mobile App Accessibility Fundamentals
TODO, seeking resources and feedback
- (paid, course) Deque University - Web Accessibility Curriculum Package
- (free, standard) HTML - HTML is often overlooked, but it is critical for a developer to understand what is and what is not possible in HTML. The semantics (name, role, value, states, and properties) provided by HTML elements and attributes are what makes screen readers possible. For example,
<button disabled>submit</button>is announced something like "Button, submit, disabled". Additionally, there are rules about how elements can be nested and what attributes are allowed under different circumstances. Assistive technologies like screen readers have much better support for HTML than ARIA, so reach for HTML first. - (free, standard) Using ARIA - The attributes provided by the Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) standards are often overused, misunderstood, and implemented in such a way that actually worsens the user experience for people with disabilities. This 'standard' (it's more of a note) explains when to use and not use ARIA. This is a must read.
- (free, standard) ARIA Authoring Practices - ARIA is designed to be malleable and flexible so that developers can make wacky and innovative designs accessible when there isn't a native way build the design (or example, if an HTML element doesn't exist). This document details some common patterns that ARIA can help with and attempts to standardize them. It provides details on expected keyboard interactions and working examples. Check here first if you have to reach for ARIA.
- (free, standard) ARIA in HTML - You can't just mix ARIA with HTML willy nilly. To guarantee the best possible support with assistive technologies like screen readers, you should also adhere to the restrictions defined in this document. This document describes which ARIA roles and attributes are allowed on different HTML elements. Tools like axe test against these requirements.
- (free, standard) ARIA - If all else fails and you need to roll your own, or if you need to fix something and can't correct the HTML due to silly business constraints, reach for ARIA. However, just like HTML, there are rules around when and where you can use various roles and attributes. Read this before writing any ARIA.
- (free, standard) Accessible Name and Description Computation - this standard describes how accessible names and descriptions are computed in various scenarios. This isn't something you will likely need to memorize as a developer, but is a fun deep dive and may help you understand why a screen reader is conveying a specific name or description in certain cirumstances.
- (free, standard) HTML AAM - The HTML Accessibility API Mappings describe how browsers should translate various HTML elements and attributes to system accessibility APIs for consumption by assistive technologies like screen readers. This isn't something most developers need to know about, but can be a fun read if you want a deep dive into how your code is translated into a screen reader experience. Note that there are other AAM documents, such as the Core AAM, which focuses on ARIA mappings.
Consider seeking certification in your area of accessibility. The main accessibility certification body is the International Association of Accessibility Professionals.
TODO: pros/cons, study advice