Know About Accessibility

  • Colorful mosaic of a tree with swirling branches, surrounded by birds, butterflies, and flowers against a vibrant blue and yellow background.

    All of us should know about accessibility.

    Welcome to Know About Accessibility. We’re happy you’re here! We are Sarah Horton and David Sloan, co-authors of the book, What Every Engineer Should Know About Digital Accessibility. We created this website to support and extend the themes and topics from the book. All of us have a role to… continue reading

  • Accessibility is a team effort. It is not exclusive to user research or front‑end development.

    By Yasmine Elglaly — Accessibility is still often viewed as a niche area in software development, where only a select few individuals—such as user researchers and front‑end developers—are expected to have knowledge and expertise in this field. These individuals may be tasked with not only identifying and addressing accessibility issues… continue reading

  • Inaccessible software does not only eliminate or limit access, but it can also cause harm to some users.

    By Yasmine Elglaly — Inaccessible software prevents users from accessing the digital information or the functionality it provides. This can result in limited or no access to educational services in the case of a learning management system or job search functionality in the case of an inaccessible job search platform.… continue reading

  • Everyone should know accessibility requirements for neurodivergent people.

    By Lē Silveus — While adhering to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is a significant step, it’s not the whole picture. Neurodivergent individuals often face unique challenges when interacting with websites and applications. Some common issues include: Next steps for advancing support for neurodivergent people include: The principles of simplicity,… continue reading

  • You need to bake layers of accessibility testing into your process. 

    By Kate Kalcevich — Accessibility testing is critical to ensure that what you build will work for all users. This includes people with disabilities and people with temporary and situational limitations. For example, both having low vision or being outdoors on a sunny day makes color contrast more important.  Layering… continue reading

  • Inaccessible design is the problem, not the user who raises the issue.

    By Erich Manser — Another thing I’d encourage engineers who are concerned with digital accessibility to understand is that when barriers exist, the issue lies with the design, and not with the person experiencing the barrier. This may seem obvious, but too often when someone reports an inability to access something,… continue reading

  • People with disabilities have a wide and diverse range of user needs.

    By Jonathan Avila — It is essential for people who design, create, and validate technology to understand the needs of people with disabilities, get feedback from users with disabilities, and understand the technology and settings people with disabilities use to access various types of experiences. You should engage diverse users,… continue reading

  • Digital Inclusion

    By Sarah Horton and David Sloan — As someone designing and building digital products, you have a responsibility to avoid introducing barriers that might inhibit or prevent disabled people from using digital products. We can think about digital accessibility as an intentional effort to meet our responsibility for avoiding creating… continue reading

  • Disability Language and Representation

    By Sarah Horton and David Sloan — A deeper understanding of disability involves an awareness of how disability is represented in everyday life. In particular, we want to look specifically at the language of disability and how disability is represented in media, which are both significant and dynamic areas of… continue reading