Manual testing with a screen reader will help you catch and fix accessibility issues that can't be identified by automated tests. Sara Soueidan has a great guide on various screen readers and how to set them up on your computer. www.sarasoueidan.com/blog/testing...

Setting up a screen reader testing environment on your computer

— The personal website of Sara Soueidan, inclusive Web UI engineer

sarasoueidan.com

Plain language is communication that your audience or readers can understand the first time they hear or read it. The terminology you use will vary depending on the audience. Always aim to avoid jargon when possible, especially when you have a broad general audience.

Don't forget to add alt text on Instagram and Facebook, too. When you forget, the auto-generated alt text is not as helpful, complete, or accurate as human-written alt text. A.I. can't know the purpose of a photo. Always add your own alt text on Instagram and Facebook.

Alt text should be as long as it needs to be in order to effectively describe the content. In some cases, this will be a few phrases. In other cases, it will take a few more sentences. Aim to be as efficient as possible without leaving out key details.

Automatic transcription can be much faster than manual transcription, but it's not as accurate. Humans can catch errors that software may miss because of background noise or poor audio quality. Always review and edit transcripts before publishing.

Accessibility-focused job interview questions can cover much than just reciting specifications. These questions compiled by Scott O'Hara can be helpful for those conducting job interviews, as well as for those prepping to be interviewed. scottaohara.github.io/accessibilit...

A transcript is the only way to make video or audio content accessible to someone who is both deaf and blind. Transcripts can be converted into braille, to be read on a refreshable braille output device.

The BBC's Accessibility Guide has several resources, including step-by-step instructions to using assistive technologies. The resource includes insight into several assistive technologies, including VoiceOver, JAWS, NVDA, TalkBack, ClaroRead, and Dragon. bbc.github.io/accessibilit...

Do not cram alt text with keywords just to improve search engine optimization. This will hinder alt text’s true purpose: improving accessibility. Focus on describing the photo's content. Search engine optimization should not be the goal for writing good alt text.

When using Microsoft Word or Google Docs, don't just make text bigger and bolder to make it a heading. That will work for sighted users, but screen reader users will miss that and just hear it as normal paragraph text. Use actual heading styles, like level 1 through 6.

Beware of companies promising to make sites completely accessible, compliant, and immune from lawsuits with just a few lines of code. This just isn't possible. Disabled users have long said these tools don't actually help them, and can often make things worse.

If you have a hashtag with multiple words, write the hashtag in #PascalCase or #camelCase to help users of screen readers. That helps the screen reader to read out the words out individually, rather than trying to read them in one long word.

You probably wouldn't publish an article filled with mistakes, so don't do it with transcripts or video captions, either. Auto-transcription services can be a great starting point, but that's what they are: a starting point. They still need editing to be publication ready.

Many live with the limitations of not understanding numbers and the impact that has on everyday life. Laura Parker's Accessible Numbers project offers guidance on how to design services and write content for people who need help with numbers. accessiblenumbers.com

Designing services for people who need help with numbers

Low numeracy affects half of adults in the UK. Many live with the limitations of not understanding numbers and the impact that has on everyday life.

accessiblenumbers.com

Don't make animations, sliders, videos, or rapid movement start automatically. Give an indicator of what movement will happen on the site when someone takes action. Allow the option to turn off any animation and movement at any point in the process.

If you need to review keyboard shortcuts, or just curious to see what keyboard shortcuts are already claimed by running apps, then "What Can't I Press" is for you. Made by Eric Bailey, this app helps prevent you from overriding something someone might rely on to get what they want or need.

Eric Bailey (@ericwbailey.website)

I made an app! What Can't I Press helps you discover what keyboard shortcuts are already claimed by running apps, with a focus on screen readers. This helps prevent you from overriding something…

bsky.app

The term "overlay" refers to any product using third-party source code to change a website's front-end code to attempt to improve accessibility and avoid legal risks. But no overlay can truthfully promise it can make a website fully conform with existing accessibility standards.

Everyone who works on a website has a role to ensure the site and its content are accessible. This resource from Vox Media breaks down some accessibility tasks by job role, including content creators, designers, developers, project managers, and testers. accessibility.voxmedia.com

Looking for a digital accessibility job? Or looking to hire someone for an accessibility role? A11yjobs is a digital accessibility job board. www.a11yjobs.com

Digital Accessibility & Assistive Technology Jobs | A11yjobs

Browse 229 digital accessibility & assistive technology jobs — remote & on-site, WCAG, ADA, Section 508 roles — updated daily.

a11yjobs.com

The Xbox Accessibility Guidelines are a set of best practices compiled by industry experts, gamers, and disabled people. The guidelines have been written to help developers, designers, and testers make games more accessible to people with disabilities. learn.microsoft.com/en-us/gaming...

Xbox Accessibility Guidelines - Microsoft Game Dev

Game development documentation for creating accessible games.

learn.microsoft.com

For people who want to see a screen reader in action, it can be helpful to start with this demo from Hadi Rangin of the University of Washington's IT Accessibility Team. Among the things Rangin discusses are ARIA landmarks, headings, and text content. youtu.be/7Rs3YpsnfoI

Using a Screen Reader

Hadi Rangin is an expert user of screen reader software. In this video, he demonstrates the elements of a well designed web page and how they sound to someone who is blind. Issues discussed include…

youtu.be

Avoid jargon when possible. Use language you know your audience will know. This will vary by audience. For certain audiences, terms like "pedagogy," "praxis," or "dramaturgy" might make sense, but these terms aren't necessarily intuitive for more general audiences.

Each day, @wai-a-day.yatil.net shares a different resource from the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Sometimes, the resources are more technical. Sometimes they are broader. They should be on the radar for everyone pursuing a more accessible web.

WAI A Day@wai-a-day.yatil.net · 6d ago

https://www.w3.org/WAI/perspective-videos/

Avoid making users remember information like verification or authentication numbers. Allow users to copy and paste these things, or automatically input them when it is sent to the user through their phone. This helps people with and without cognitive disabilities.

Consistent layout makes websites easier to navigate and understand as it helps users learn what elements to expect and in what order. This is especially helpful to low vision users or blind users using a screen reader. It also helps those with cognitive and learning disabilities.

Automated captions and transcripts can save time so that you don't have to manually transcribe on your own. But automated captions and transcripts aren't 100% accurate, so they need manual editing before you publish them. www.w3.org/WAI/media/av...

Captions/Subtitles

Helps you understand and create captions (also called “subtitles”) for audio and video media accessibility.

w3.org

Overlays are widgets or technologies that promise to improve a site's accessibility with third-party source code. More than 1,000 accessibility advocates and web developers have signed an open letter to explain the limitations and dangers of these products. overlayfactsheet.com

Sighted users often use bold or large fonts to create the appearance of headings in documents. People using screen readers have no way of understanding these visual cues. Use heading styles from the styles menu to correctly format headings.

Chartability is a resource to help make data visualizations and charts more accessible. It's organized into principles with testable criteria aimed at making sure people with disabilities are able to access data. chartability.fizz.studio

Chartability

Chartability is a set of heuristics (testable questions) for ensuring that data visualizations, systems, and interfaces are accessible. Chartability is organized into principles with testable…

chartability.fizz.studio

Avoid using emoji as bullet points in social media posts. An emoji has a coded description that gets read by screen readers, and thus could confuse users who think that's part of the content. If you can't use standard lists, use dashes for bullet points or add line breaks.