November 13, 2023 • Issue #370

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Featured: Accessibility training will not save you

"The idea behind training was that while we still needed a subject matter expert (me), my role would be an advisor and program manager, teams would only need me once they'd exhausted their research or newly-gained knowledge.

This model does not work. Especially for an organization with multiple products, multiple platforms, and multiple development teams."

Read more of Accessibility training will not save you.

Sponsored: Component pattern libraries for an accessible WordPress experience with Reed Piernock

This presentation will demonstrate how pattern library systems work, how themes and blocks can be built using shared components, and how accessibility testing is an integral part of the process from concept to deployment. It will also illustrate how building an accessible system takes the burden away from content editors by allowing them to focus only on any accessibility warning or errors in the content they control.

Read more about Component pattern libraries for an accessible WordPress experience with Reed Piernock.

News, resources, tools and tutorials

• Inspecting websites and web views on iOS devices (blog post - yatil.net)
• Legal update: October 2023 (blog post - convergeaccessibility.com)
• Removing list styles without affecting semantics (blog post - matuzo.at)
• Disability complaints against educational institutions (blog post – equalentry.com/
• Addressing accessibility concerns with using fluid type (blog post – smashingmagazine.com)
• Amendment to the Public Sector Accessibility Regulations (blog post – tetralogical.com)
• Why we need a "green" perf metric (video – youtube.com
• Why aren’t disabled astronauts exploring space? (article – wired.com)
• To hell with the business case (newsletter issue – buttondown.email/practicaltips
• How long until your website is accessible? (blog post – karlgroves.com)
• Front end devs really don't understand accessibility (blog post – gomakethings.com
• Why you should use px units for margin, padding, & other spacing techniques (blog post – ashleemboyer.com)
• Minimalist affordances: Making the right tradeoffs (blog post – lea.verou.me

New to A11y

Nathan Knowler explains that context matters for semantic HTML, laying out three stages for learning HTML. I like this breakdown, and it's a good way to judge your understanding of HTML elements.