Developers & IT

Accessibility resources for Developers & IT roles to make your journey easier

Content based on Developers & IT roles

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The 2020 State of Digital Accessibility Report
Webinar: The State of Digital Accessibility in 2020

Level Access Founder & CEO Tim Springer shares hard data and insights on digital accessibility trends, new developments, and key projections for the year ahead.

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Featherstone & Friends: Accessibility and Design Systems

Original Presentation: June 11, 2020 Design Systems help us drive better products to market faster. By pulling out well-designed components for reuse on future products.

The 2020 State of Digital Accessibility Report
Industry Report: The 2020 State of Digital Accessibility

This 2020 State of Digital Accessibility Report compiles the results of this year’s survey of over 1100 professionals across industries and job roles who shared.

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Featherstone & Friends: Designing & Developing Responsive Pages

Derek and special guest Ethan Marcotte explore the benefits of responsive web design for people with disabilities and some of the biggest areas in RWD where accessibility can slip through the cracks.

Animation graphic, decoration.
Featherstone & Friends: The Current State of Web Animations with Val Head of Adobe

Derek sits down with Val Head, Senior Design Advocate at Adobe and author of Designing Interface Animation, to chat about the latest trends in web animation and best practices for accessibility.

The Difference Between WCAG A and WCAG AA Conformance

The WCAG criteria aim to make web content more accessible to a wider audience of people with disabilities. All success criteria are important access issues for people.

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Inaccessible Healthcare Websites: The Risk of Litigation and Patients’ Health

Original Presentation Date: January 16, 2020 We get it, healthcare providers need to comply under a lot of accessibility laws. Section 1557, Section 504, ADA.

Image of a smartphone with a healthcare application open
How Does Accessibility Impact Healthcare Patient Privacy?

If you receive funding from HHS or other federal agencies, the law requires you to make your information and communications technology accessible to people with disabilities. If you have not audited your systems for accessibility, that is a great place to start.

Several screens showing financial services websites and apps
Value-Based Accessibility for Financial Services Companies

Learn how a value-based approach to accessibility can help organizations of all sizes in creating a lean, cost-effective practice of user-centered design, development, and project management. We’ll review case studies from some of Level Access’ clients in the financial industry, both large and small, and how they gained immediate benefits by integrating these accessibility techniques into their existing processes.

Several screens showing websites and apps. Bubbles float around them with icons like calendar, chat, and shopping cart.
Beyond the Web: How to Ensure Your Mobile Content is Accessible

Using smartphones to perform basic activities of daily living like banking, shopping, or scheduling appointments is no longer just a convenience—it’s become the norm. And the ability to use these features is often even more valuable to people with disabilities, removing real world barriers to the products & services they need.

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How We Do Our Work Matters: Accessibility and Inclusive Design

Many people use accessibility and inclusive design as interchangeable terms. However, they are not the same thing. Accessibility is an outcome, and inclusive design is.

A yellow file folder with printed pages on top of it. The top page is a checklist that shows all items checked off.
Navigating VPAT 2: A Guide for Vendors

Reporting Accessibility with VPAT 2 The landscape of digital accessibility has changed quite a bit since the original Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) was created.

A flower-lightbulb hybrid sprouts out of a laptop. Icons of video, art, writing, and more fly toward it.
Growing Accessibility and Inclusion Through Design Systems

Three experts come together to share their combined experience in the trenches working with clients through development, training, and roll-out of user-experience-driven design systems. They share valuable lessons learned along the way–and innovative ideas for moving forward–to ensure that the right systems are in place to build technology that’s accessible to everyone.

Meaghan Roper sits at her laptop with Twitter open on the screen
Understanding Assistive Technology: How Does a Blind Person Use Twitter?

For people who are blind or low vision, screen reading software enables them to browse the web and use applications. We asked Level Access business.

A man uses an iPad that is mounted to his wheelchair
Understanding Assistive Technology: How Do People with Mobility Disabilities Use Technology?

Understanding digital accessibility challenges is easy if you know people with disabilities. But what if you’ve never seen a person with limited mobility use their.

a book printed in braille with two hands resting on it
Understanding Assistive Technology: How Do Deaf-Blind People Use Technology?

Understanding digital accessibility challenges is easy if you know people with disabilities. But what if you’ve never seen a person who is blind use their.

A man sits at a desk between two laptops, testing a website for accessibility. Behind him are an audit report with compliance score of 94% and various charts and graphs.
W3C Publishes Draft of Standard Format for Writing Accessibility Test Rules 

Today, July 30, 2019, the W3C published the draft of the first standard format for writing accessibility conformance testing rules—the ACT Rules Format 1.0. Level.

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Webinar: WCAG 2.1 and Mobile Accessibility

WCAG 2.1. Mobile Accessibility expert Kara VanRoekel walks through everything you need to know about the new guidelines (including when you should be implementing them).

People with various disabilities using technology
Expanded for M-Enabling: The 2019 State of Digital Accessibility Report

UPDATE: The 2020 State of Digital Accessibility Report is available now! Level Access has expanded the 2019 State of Digital Accessibility Report to reveal more insights.

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Webinar: Big Organization Accessibility – Aetna Case Study

Original Presentation Date: June 13, 2019 Establishing an enterprise-wide accessibility program for a large and diverse company can be a challenging task. In this webinar,.

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Webinar: Gray-Box Mobile Accessibility Testing

Original Presentation Date: June 5, 2019 Do you find accessibility testing for mobile to be difficult compared to testing websites? You’re not alone. There are different.

Two people working on laptops. A variety of healthcare themed websites and app icons are in the background.
Inaccessible Healthcare Websites Risk Lawsuits, As Well As Patients’ Health

Getting quality medical care is tough, but it’s even tougher when you can’t access critical information on your provider or insurance company’s website.

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Webinar: Winning at Scale: Accessibility in Design Systems and Design Ops

Original Presentation Date: May 28, 2019 Design Ops, which operationalizes the design process to give designers and copywriters room to focus on the things they.

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Webinar Series:
Best of CSUN 2019

If you weren’t able to attend the 2019 CSUN Assistive Technology Conference (or maybe you were, but had to miss some of our sessions) now you’ll be able to enjoy the same talks by industry experts from the comfort of your own desk.

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2019 Digital Accessibility Trends: An Evening With Tim Springer [2019-04-02]

Download Tim Springer’s A11yNYC Meetup Slides Level Access CEO Tim Springer shared a data-driven overview of where digital accessibility is heading in 2019, including the.

A woman in a wheelchair wearing headphones and using a laptop. A man sits on the ground crosslegged and reads his smartphone.
Report: State of Digital Accessibility 2019

UPDATE: The 2020 State of Digital Accessibility Report is available now! Level Access surveyed 550 accessibility professionals working in accessibility programs in organizations large and.

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Future AccName Spec planning, strategy, and functional testing using the AccName Prototype

Not long ago, I published a notice about the AccName Prototype and how it can be used to test the W3C AccName algorithm. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-test-accname-algorithm-dynamically-using-bryan-garaventa/ Since.

A man wearing a VR headset and holding a game controller in one hand. His other hand is reaching for something we cannot see.
Accessibility within AR/VR: Jonathan Avila on the AT Banter podcast

I recently had the pleasure of being a guest on AT Banter: An Assistive Technology Podcast for their EPISODE 140 – Accessibility within Virtual Reality.

A team is working together to make a website and its elements accessible
Level Access Launches Developer Community Website on Google .dev Registry

Accessibility.dev to Feature Free Digital Accessibility Testing Tools and Inclusive Design Resources Vienna, VA. February 19, 2019 Level Access, the global leader in digital accessibility.

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Federal Court Decision in Gomez v. GNC Highlights Importance of Choosing an Experienced Accessibility Expert

A recent decision out of the Southern District of Florida highlights the importance of hiring an experienced accessibility expert in web accessibility cases under Title.

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Automated Testing for Web Accessibility

It’s a common situation: an organization has an extensive website that is central to the customer experience. It receives millions of visits a month, gets.

Positive check mark beside best practice
Responsible Web Animation: Giving Users More Control of Their Experience

Since the arrival of HTML5, the web has seen a tremendous increase in complex animations. Whether they are decorative or explanatory, animations must be built.

Happy picture and pencil work together to make great alt text
Meaningful Alt Text for Pictures & Portraits

Back in the days when our computers screeched as they connected to the internet, we needed alternative (“alt”) text to stand in when images wouldn’t.

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Quick Tips for Writing Meaningful Alt Text Webinar – Q&A and Resources

Thank you to everyone who attended my webinar/writing workshop last week, Quick Tips for Writing Meaningful Alt Text (Even If You’re Not a Writer). It was a.

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WCAG 2.1 Factsheet

When standards change, Level Access is here to bring clarity! Download our WCAG 2.1 Factsheet for a no-nonsense guide to the new success criteria. Contents.

Happy picture and pencil work together to make great alt text
Quick Tips for Writing Meaningful Alt Text (Even If You’re Not a Writer)

Original Presentation Date: October 25, 2018 Alternative text is a key part of making a website accessible to people who are blind or low vision. Without.

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Mobile Accessibility 401: Let’s Get Testing!

When people ask questions about doing accessibility testing on mobile devices they are often making two basic assumptions. The first is that accessibility testing on.

A smartphone displays a bookshelf. An open book is labeled WCAG 2.1
WCAG 2.1: What You Need to Know to Ensure Compliance Q&A and Webinar Resources

Chief Accessibility Officer Jonathan Avila and Manager of Accessibility Services and UX expert Kara VanRoekel hosted a well-attended webinar last week, “WCAG 2.1: What You.

A webinar app seen on a laptop. The speaker's photo is large at center and attendees are in a small row across the bottom.
WCAG 2.1: What You Need to Know to Ensure Compliance

Original Presentation Date: September 19, 2018 The WCAG 2.1 standards were released this summer and have made several new (or updated) recommendations for digital accessibility best.

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VIDEO: AbiliTrek Founder (& Level Access Alum) Daman Wandke on Accessible Travel

Traveling can and should be a great experience for everyone, but all too often, the hospitality industry does not meet the needs of people with.

A smartphone screen showing a bookshelf. An open book is labeled WCAG 2.1.
WCAG 2.1: Exploring the New Success Criteria

Welcome, WCAG 2.1; we’re glad you’re here! The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) has been a part of digital accessibility since 1999. WCAG 2.0 was.

A screen showing an audit report summary with a score of 94%
WCAG 2.1 in AMP (Accessibility Management Platform)

We have added the 17 new WCAG 2.1 A, AA, AAA Success Criteria (SC) to AMP (Accessibility Management Platform). We have created a total of.

3 hands holding up mobile phones
Mobile Accessibility 201: Colors, Contrast, and Magnification, Oh My!

Screen readers might be the best-known aspect of mobile accessibility, but they’re not the only game in town.

A smartphone displays a bookshelf. An open book is labeled WCAG 2.1
The Future is Now: WCAG 2.1 is Finally Here!

This week, the W3C officially released its latest update to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). WCAG 2.1 builds upon the principles and guidelines found.

Person with a white cane using screen reader software on a mobile phone.
Mobile Accessibility 101: Mobile Screen Readers

We’re kicking off our mobile accessibility series with a comparison of the TalkBack (Android) and VoiceOver (iOS) screen readers.

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Procurement & Digital Accessibility: I Like WCAG & Long Walks on the Beach

In our recent post – 10 Essential Questions to Include in Every RFP to Ensure Accessibility – you got our handy cut-and-paste list of questions to.

A smartphone displays a bookshelf. An open book is labeled WCAG 2.1
A B2B Buyer’s Crash Course in Digital Accessibility

Congrats! You have a job spending oodles of someone else’s money. But you’ve been told that you need to procure accessible technology. What exactly does.

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CSUN 2018 Takeaways: Pearson’s Accessible Equation Editor Teaches Us More Than Math

Did you attend CSUN this year? If not, we can bring a little bit of CSUN to you! We asked our Levelers to share about some.

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CSUN 2018 Takeaways: VIKF, AOM, and AblePlayer

Did you attend CSUN this year? If not, we can bring a little bit of CSUN to you! We asked our Levelers to share about some.

CSUN Educates on Machine Learning

Did you attend CSUN this year? If not, we can bring a little bit of CSUN to you! We asked our Levelers to share about some.

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Creating Accessible Menus and Mega Menus

Introduction The meaning of the word “menu” within web technologies is variable and encompasses many different types of functionality. A navigational menu: Is often used.

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Wet Willie’s Lawsuit Puts Web Developer in the Litigation Crosshairs

Web developers and hosting companies may need to start worrying about demand letters and suits under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), if a Florida.

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AT&T Presents the First Real-Time Text (RTT) App

In mid-December, AT&T unveiled Real-time Text (RTT) communication service to better serve the deaf, deaf-blind, and speaking impaired community. RTT is intended to replace the.

Pushing the Boundaries of Automatic Testing Through Machine Learning

Original Presentation Date: November 7, 2017 DevOps/Agile naturally demand more and more Accessibility tests be fully automatic, and through the power of Machine Learning, we are.

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Accessibility in the Virtual/Augmented Reality Space

Original Presentation: July 13, 2017 Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) is one of the hottest topics in technology right now. One of the challenges.

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The Trouble with Tables: A Brief Introduction

This is the first in a three-part series of blog posts that is dedicated to the many people in Government agencies who deal with PDF files.

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Setting Focus in Angular 2

Setting focus in Angular 2 requires working with native DOM elements. While this is possible, the documentation recommends against doing so. But making ARIA widgets.

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Beautiful, Accessible UX: SSB Presents at Accessibility Camp Bay Area

Websites can be both beautiful and accessible, but it takes teamwork to make it happen. Learn technical tricks as well as process solutions for making.

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Accessible Images Using Angular

Angular.js is becoming a widely used framework for web development. The framework allows developers to create readable code, is known to be fully extensible, and.

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M-Enabling 2015 and the Importance of Accessibility Training

This week I had the pleasure of attending the 4th Annual M-Enabling Summit in Washington DC.  For those of you not familiar with the event,.

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Diving into the Deep End: A Discussion on SVG, Angular, and Accessibility

Recently I had the pleasure and privilege of attending my first Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities conference, commonly referred to as CSUN. CSUN.

Using CSS Floats with Image Links

Using CSS Floats with Image Links The use of CSS floats has been a common method for developers to position content on a web page..

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How to Provide Accessible Form Error Identification

Overview This post covers the basics of providing accessible form error identification to users with disabilities. Accessible error identification in particular benefits users who are.

Expanding the Use of the aria-haspopup Property

The WAI-ARIA 1.0 Specification adopted by the W3C currently limits use of the aria-haspopup attribute to context menus and sub-level menus. It also states that.

JRE 7 Update 6 Now Comes Bundled with the Java Access Bridge

Introduction With the release of the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 7 update 6 (7u6), Oracle has begun distributing the Java Access Bridge as part.

Developing Accessible e-Learning – Where to Begin

With so many instructional design models, online content and e-Learning development tools it’s easy to get overwhelmed with choices or waylaid by the tools themselves.

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How much time does it take to remediate a site or application for compliance?

One question we receive a lot at Level Access is, how long does it take to bring a system into compliance with Section 508 or.

Methods of Indicating the Purpose of a Link

Overview The different methods of indicating a link’s purpose are often misunderstood and incorrectly implemented. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) explicitly require that link.

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Remarks on Internet Explorer 9 Accessibility and Compatibility with Assistive Technology

The release of Internet Explorer 9 has brought about new accessibility challenges which have, as a result, necessitated many assistive technology manufacturers to release new.

Accessible Text Clouds

The use of text clouds can offer a fun, visually appealing method of displaying the frequency or popularity of words on a web page. Merely relying on font-sizes, weights and color to convey hierarchy can exclude some users from accessing important information on the website, though. By ensuring that the raw data is structured with OL tags in HTML, screen readers such as JAWS will convey the hierarchy of the list items and render the information as it is structured and in the order that the content appears in the Document Object Model (DOM).

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Normative and Functional Testing

As the field of accessibility has become larger, it has also become more formal and professional. Prior to formal accessibility standards, governments and other organizations.

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