July 2025 Newsletter
Feature
Accessibility by Design: Preparing K–12 Schools for What's Next
For K–12 educational agencies, including state educational agencies (SEAs) and school districts, digital accessibility efforts must align with existing priorities, practices, and policies. A one-size-fits-all approach simply won't work.
Upcoming WebAIM Events
- Accessibility in Technology Procurement and Use - August 7
- Virtual Web Accessibility Training - August 20-21
- Document Accessibility Course - August cohort is now open for registrations.
- Web Accessibility in Mind Conference - September 16-17 - free virtual conference
Resources
Tabindex: What it is, how it works, and when to use it
Tabindex is an HTML attribute that controls keyboard focus and can hurt or support accessibility depending on how you use it.
PDF Strategy in Improving Accessibility
While PDFs may offer convenience for some, they create significant barriers for others. In fact, in many cases (and depending on my mood that day, most cases), PDFs completely block access for people who rely on assistive technology like screen readers.
Tying Accessibility to Business Objectives
The question is no longer "Do we have to do accessibility?" or "Can we afford to do accessibility?" The real question is "Can we afford not to?"
What to Say When You Don't Know the Accessibility Answer
This guide provides professional response templates and follow-up strategies to help you handle unknown accessibility scenarios with confidence while building credibility with colleagues.
Screen reader HTML support tables
Work continues on expanding and improving the HTML and screen reader support information.
Managing Focus and Visible Focus Indicators: Practical Accessibility Guidance for the Web
Managing keyboard focus is one of the most important—and frequently overlooked—parts of building accessible interfaces. Clear visible focus, a sensible tab order, and strong contrast all work together to support users who navigate without a mouse.
Hierarchy in tables
If a complex hierarchical table can be broken down into several more digestible tables, that's what should be done. If it's absolutely unavoidable to use hierarchy in a table, it should be done with caution.
A11y 101: 2.1.4 Character Key Shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts are designed to help multiple disabilities. Keyboard only users, users with limited control, and screen reader users are just the beginning. But we always need to be careful when developing them.
Accessible by Design: Building Inclusive Digital Products from the Ground Up
"Accessible by design"—you keep using that phrase. I do not think it means what you think it means.
2025 Midyear Accessibility Lawsuit Report: Key Legal Trends
The numbers are in: digital accessibility lawsuits are on track to surge nearly 20% in 2025, with over 2,000 cases already filed in the first half of the year.
A label and a name walk into a bar
When is a label also an (accessible) name, when is it not and when is it neither?
Fast, Simple, High Impact: DIY Accessibility Testing for Any Team
Accessibility doesn't have to be overwhelming or expensive. In fact, some of the most valuable improvements begin with quick, no-cost checks that anyone on a team can do.
Implementing Accessible SVG Elements
Master SVG accessibility: Learn techniques for ARIA roles, testing, and creating inclusive graphics that work for everyone.
We need to talk about your accessibility statement
Having an accessibility statement in itself is saying a lot, but only if the statement is telling the truth and in the right way.
From Word Fluff to Real Impact: Achieving Specific, Measurable, and Accountable Accessibility
The fundamental challenge is that today it is far too common for accessibility to be a hit and miss proposition between different experiences from the same company, between different versions of the same application and much more.
Quick Tip: Typeface Familiarity
When reading, your brain can quickly build models for the typefaces and fonts you are seeing to allow quick parsing of the characters to generate meaning. Familiarity with the typeface goes a long way to supporting better reading and accessibility. Some widely available fonts that are familiar and that support good legibility are Tahoma, Calibri, Helvetica, Verdana, and Times New Roman.