25 years ago, in October of 1999, the Web Accessibility In Mind (WebAIM) project began at Utah State University. In the years previous, Dr. Cyndi Rowland had formed a vision for how impactful the web could be on individuals with disabilities, and she learned how inaccessible web content would pose significant barriers to them. Knowing that higher education institutions could be a model for accessibility, she submitted for grant funding to increase awareness and education on this topic. Surprisingly, the Department of Education funded the project and WebAIM was born.
View a timeline of WebAIM’s 25-year history.
With 3 staff members and a small budget, they began the work – the WebAIM.org web site was soon launched, then the WebAIM email discussion list. Educational articles and resources were created and trainings provided. Over the years the project grew and our online resources greatly expanded. Within a few years WebAIM was providing consultation services – training, web site accessibility testing, and other technical assistance – all focused on WebAIM’s mission of expanding the potential of the web for people with disabilities by empowering individuals and organizations to create accessible content.
As WebAIM proudly celebrates 25 years of advancing web accessibility, we’re thrilled by the great progress made in this field. Our WebAIM Million work shows that many of the common accessibility issues from 1999 persist, but we remain committed to our vision of the web being universally accessible and we look forward to the next 25 years of achieving this dream.