Resources
Accessibility standards
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - Australian convention that holds standards and regulations for accessibility.
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - United Nations (UN) convention that provides international guidelines for individuals with disabilities.
Fact Sheet 2024 title II ADA new web rule - The newest ruling of the American Disabilities Act (ADA) signed April 2024 by the US Attorney General.
2010 ADA standards for accessible design - The ADA standards for accessibility design in the United States (US) that is often used in design.
1991 ADA standards for accessible design - American Disabilities Act (ADA) standards for accessibility design in the United States (US) that sometimes still applies to design today.
Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) 2.0 - ATAG is for developers of authoring tools, such as HTML editors, content management systems (CMS), learning management systems (LMS), multimedia tools and more by W3C.
Accessibility testing tools
Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT®) - Documentation templates for accessibility testing on digital products found on the office United States Section508.gov website for accessibility conformance reports (ACRs).
Accessible Name & Description Inspector (ANDI) tool - A free training tool developed by the United States (US) Social Security Administration (SSA) that allows you to inspect code elements in any webpage.
Color Contrast Analyzer Tool - Free Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 compliance checker tool for Windows or Mac operating systems.
Web Accessibility in Mind (WebAIM) contrast checker - A well-known web-based contrast checker tool availability by WebAIM.
WAVE web accessibility evaluation tool - A comprehensive automated web accessibility evaluation tool by WebAIM and other partners.
NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) Tutorial Video - A video on how to set-up NVDA screen reader to use for website accessibility testing.
WebAIM testing keys - An introduction overview of how to test for web accessibility with different keyboard keys.
Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Before and After Demo (BAD) sites
Basic keys to start testing:
Tab key moves to the next "clickable" link, form box, or button
Shift+Tab moves to the previous "clickable" link, form box, or button
Enter key activates or "clicks" the selected link or buttons
Space bar key checks or unchecks boxes
Practice websites to start testing for accessibility:
Website 1 - Accessible demo site
Website 2 - Inaccessible demo site
Accessibility kits
Access Guide - A a colorful accessibility guide by Access.io on web design practices that go over some common tips and tricks.
Digital Accessibility Starter Kit - A comprehensive free accessibility starter kit on the core principles of digital accessibility by QualityLogic.
IBM Equal Access Toolkit - An in-depth resource with accessibility testing tools and information to apply at different stages of design development by International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation
Assistive technologies
Job Access With Speech (JAWS) - A popular screen reader that gives speech and braille output on computer screens. Students and faculty may qualify for free subscriptions to
Mobile phone screen readers
iOS VoiceOver - VoiceOver available on Apple devices
TalkBack - Talkback available on Android devices
NVDA screen reader - Free, open-access screen reader called Non-Visual Desktop Access (NVDA) created by the NV Access charity organization currently used world-wide by people in the blind and vision impaired community. This works for computers running Microsoft Windows Operating Systems.
Web captioner - Free real-time captioner that is highly accurate in giving you speech-to-text from your microphone input audio. It is customizable, so the font, colors, text position, language and more can be changed to match specific accessibility needs.
Coding tips and tricks
Heading tags in HTML - This page by PennState gives a great summary on how to use heading tags (H1, H2, H3, and more) in HTML coding language for the best accessibility and usability. Heading tags should not be used to simply enlarge text. Note: Bigger font size isn't always "more accessible". People with tunnel vision and high acuity often read smaller text size better than larger text size.
Stylus - This is a chrome extension that uses CSS code to change the style of the web browser for individual personal use.
Courses and bootcamps
edX Introduction to Web Accessibility - A course with certification or audit option. They introduce the idea that, "Disability is caused by a mismatch between the design and the person."
Equity and Inclusion Trainings with certificates - Free online courses on diversity, inclusion, and equity on education and best non-profit practices by Nonprofitready.org.
freeCodeCamp certifications - A charitable organization that provides free certifications after completing project-based coding assignments successfully to equip aspiring software developers with marketable skills.
International Association of Accessibility Professionals - Certifications on accessibility best practices, including for web design.
NVDA Expert Certification - A course exam that follows NVDA user guide book closely that certifies individuals with the skills to test websites and other services with the NVDA screen reader.
Trusted Tester Web Certification - Free comprehensive course program by the United States Department of Homeland Security that offers web accessibility tester certification. They offer reasonable accommodations for your learning experience.
qtbiopic design - A 501(c)(3) non-profit with the mission to empower LBTQ+ designers of color with free workshops, Slack community, and low-cost accessible User Experience (UX) bootcamp from professionals in the field.
User Experience (UX) design resources
Information architecture basics - This article by Designlab provides a great starting point to learn about UX information architecture basics.
Institute of Equitable Design and Justice - A design institute that provides the case studies, research, and tools for equity design best practices.
Make your Google site more accessible - A quick guide from Google on how to make your Google site more accessible with tips.
Marvel App - A website that creates interactive iPhone or Android prototypes online for free from your paper sketches.
Placeholders in form fields are harmful - Neilson Norman Group is a world leader in research-base UX practices. This article shows why placeholders are harmful for users, especially those with visual and cognitive impairments.
What happens when equitable design isn't at the forefront of UX? - An article that dives into the importance of equitable design processes.