Erik Aybar
Definition varies from person to person and context
*Intro question on A11y Rules podcast
Building digital products and services in a way that enables the largest audience possible to use them. Specifically removing barriers for people with disabilities.
Saves typing. Saves typos.
Keyboard navigation as a starting point
Color contrast matters
Number of ADA lawsuits nearly tripled from 2017 to 2018
ADA is fuzzy on the details for website compliance, but "reasonable accommodation" is expected.
Source: Seyfarth Shaw law firm
2017: 814 ➡️ 2018: 2,258
Image source: iStock
Even Beyoncé's website!
About 56.7 million people — 19 percent of the US population — had a disability in 2010, according to a broad definition of disability, with more than half of them reporting the disability was severe
U.S. Census Bureau report: Americans with Disabilities: 2010
U.S. with disability > Population of Canada
About 8.1 million people had difficulty seeing, including 2.0 million who were blind or unable to see.
U.S. Census Bureau report: Americans with Disabilities: 2010
In addition, they make up a significant market of consumers, representing more than $200 billion in discretionary spending
An active focus on accessibility can indirectly:
We all have different resources that "stick" with us. Here are some of mine:
MDN is typically a great reference for anything web related -Me
HTML element reference
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Element
A11y related guide
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn/Accessibility/HTML
Recommended reading:
<h1>A heading</h1>
<h2>A heading</h2>
<h3>A heading</h3>
<h4>A heading</h4>
<h5>A heading</h5>
<h6>A heading</h6>
<p class="big-and-fancy">
Big typography, but not a heading!
</p>
Reduce friction to baking accessibility in up-front and automate enforcement to nudge more accessible development by default
No ARIA is better than bad ARIA
Adding a role to an element is a promise that you have also incorporated JavaScript that provides the keyboard interactions expected for a button. Unlike HTML input elements, ARIA roles do not cause browsers to provide keyboard behaviors or styling.
Using a role without fulfilling the promise of that role is similar to making a "Place Order" button that abandons an order and empties the shopping cart.
Lindsey Kopacz is a frontend developer who specializes in accessibility. She has a pretty great blog! Especially on the topic of ARIA in a way that doesn't make your eyes glaze over.