2024 Session Archive

A lot is happening in the legal space across the globe to advance disability inclusion in tech. Lainey Feingold's keynote will offer an up-to-date overview of existing laws, regulations, and agency guidance and what we can expect in the coming year. She'll also share how disabled people, both with and without lawyers, use the law…

If you test websites for accessibility issues, you are likely used to identifying issues and making recommendations at the level of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Conversely, if you are a website owner and you get a third-party accessibility audit, the issues and recommendations in the report will likely be at the level of HTML, CSS,…

Today, accessibility is not only a legal requirement but a moral obligation. As software teams embrace the agile method of software development, it is important for accessibility to be seamlessly incorporated into this iterative process too. During this talk, the speaker will explore important aspects of agile accessibility for product managers, designers, software developers and…

If your job is to create text content for websites, blogs, and social media, you may think that accessibility is not something you should worry about. In this talk we dispel that myth: there are many accessibility best practices you can adopt when writing your content. From the use of plain language to effective alt…

Have you been tempted to use the WordPress API to drive a SPA (Single Page Application)? SPAs are notorious for being inaccessible, and for good reason. Tutorials introducing developers to frameworks like React, Vue, and Angular seem like they never take accessibility into consideration at all and teach some less than ideal practices. It is…

Every company is strongly invested in their brand colors, even when these don’t meet contrast ratio requirements against their site’s background color. From an accessibility specialist’s perspective, it’s essential to know where these colors cannot be used, but from a designer’s practical and aesthetic perspective, it’s important to know where and how they can safely…

Page builders, such as Elementor and Divi, can make building a website easier, but are they really accessible? Scarlett will be diving into the accessibility concerns and common issues that come with using page builders. She'll be going over the accessibility red flags you need to look out for, some common fixes, and the do's…

Security measures and accessibility don’t always play nice. Captchas, timed logins, alert pop-ups, gated content, and modals are often used for security but not all assistive technology can get their users past the barriers. We’ll look at practical and straightforward ways to implement open source, secure, and accessible solutions that will keep people from abandoning…

It's the little things that make websites easier for visitors. This talk is a collection of CSS tips that are included in builds and make websites just easier to interact with. From adjusting underlines on links to making sure text doesn't go outside the box boundaries. The little details matter and they add up to…

Over the past two years, in collaboration with the /r/blind community, we conducted a web accessibility survey across many online communities to gather feedback from individuals with disabilities about their web accessibility experiences and associated challenges. Over the course of 2023, despite platform concerns from Reddit regarding accessibility, the survey received over 1,200 submissions. This…

As a web developer, learn how to perform keyboard and screen reader testing to identify issues with your website's code conformance to WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards and what code changes you can make to remediate the issues you find. The talk includes brief demos of using both keyboard and screen readers to interact with…

Explore how cognitive disabilities intersect with digital accessibility as we uncover the complexities of cognitive and neurological disabilities and shed light on their impact on digital experiences. Uncovering common pitfalls that can inadvertently exclude users with conditions like autism, ADHD, dyslexia, migraines, and more, we'll review real-world examples and practical insights. Learn how small changes…

Web designers and stakeholders often have resistance against accessibility, especially contrast ratio, appropriate link styles, and visible focus. They cannot imagine how a webdesign can be trendy with these elements. This presentation aims to explain the real expectations of WCAG, create trendy designs, and demonstrate the user impact of incorporating accessible design components.

How do you read a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) and associated Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR)? What are the differences between the Section 508, WCAG and International VPATs? Gian Wild talks through the layout of a VPAT and how to properly interpret the associated ACR. She discusses the red flags, what to do about them…

Due to a last minute schedule change, members of the WordPress Accessibility Day organizing team answered questions from attendees during this session.

How can a blind blogger or web developer customize their site’s interface, with less help as possible? And how can a sighted person be helpful without being a full-time assistant? When could AI replace eyes, and where human expertise remains fundamental? Elena and Gloria can witness how in the Gutenberg era designing a site without…

In the digital age, building accessible websites is a moral imperative – no user should be excluded from using your client's website. "Inclusive Design Strategies for WordPress Professionals" is tailored to elevate the skills of developers and designers, focusing on the integration of accessibility principles into the entire production cycle from start to finish. This…

Digital accessibility is an important feature in the development and design of digital components we use every day, but despite the importance and compliance guidelines, a number of people with disabilities still struggle to engage with digital platforms. There are currently several laws that enforce Accessibility standards and guidelines around the world, however in Africa,…

Automated accessibility tools like Lighthouse and Axe are excellent for quickly detecting issues on your site. However, they can't replace the value of human experience in testing for accessibility. To ensure your site is truly accessible, it's necessary to perform manual testing, either by yourself or with actual users, rather than relying solely on automated…

New applications and components in web and mobile are being built at light speed. The velocity that companies deliver is at an all time high, and accessibility is seemingly always left out or seen as "too much" for this fast pace. As much as we all want organizations development teams to just know Accessibility, it…

You may be an accessibility expert, but it’s likely not everyone or every team in your company has your experience and expertise. It’s also very likely that different teams or departments are at varying stages in their accessibility journey, and working across these multiple teams at different knowledge and skill levels can be both rewarding…

Almost every website uses cards. They guide users to new content and usually consist of a title, an image, an excerpt and a "learn more" link. Seems simple enough, but from an accessibility standpoint, cards present some challenges, and many popular WordPress themes don't get it right out of the box. In this talk, Tina…

We all love shopping, don't we? But when there are blockers to complete the purchase or add something to the cart, it just adds to frustration and disappointment that takes you someplace where you can complete the purchase. This could result into loss of revenue and customers. In today's diverse digital space, ensuring that your…

You’ve just rebuilt your site and made sure your functionality and content are accessible and conform to standards. Now that you’re shifting to day-to-day operations, how do you make sure you maintain that level of accessibility as you make content and development updates? And, how can you make the site even better for your audiences…