WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

October 2025 Newsletter

Features

Word and PowerPoint Alt Text Roundup

WebAIM's Jonathan Whiting explores the intricacies and inconsistencies of alternative text in documents and converted PDF files.

Global Digital Accessibility Salary Survey #2

This survey seeks to collect salary and job-related data from professionals whose job responsibilities primarily focus on making technology and digital products accessible and usable to people with disabilities.

Web Accessibility In Mind Conference Videos

The recordings for this year's WebAIM conference have been published to YouTube.

Upcoming WebAIM Events

Resources

What State ARIA In?

Attributes like aria-selected, aria-pressed, aria-current, and aria-checked are often confused because they all express some form of "state" or "selection."

When to Use Modal vs Dialog Components

Confused about modal vs dialog components? Discover implementation patterns, accessibility guidelines, and best practices for creating user-friendly interfaces.

"Straight to the Pool Room": The Risks and Pitfalls of Placing Accessibility Issues in the Backlog

In this article, we'll explore why digital accessibility issues should not be relegated to the backlog and the pitfalls of doing so.

Identifying Accessibility Data Gaps in CodeGen Models

So we have a choice: we can complain about the inevitable tide of AI-generated garbage code, or we can get in there and figure out how to make it better — especially when it comes to accessibility.

YouTube Studio Update: Where to Find Captions and Add Audio Description

YouTube changed how creators add captions and descriptive audio to videos. This post shows where to find the new tools, how to use them, and why they matter for accessibility.

Headers, headings, and titles

Three particular terms I often hear being used interchangeably are 'header', 'heading', and 'title'; I even catch myself doing it sometimes! Let's have a look how they can be confused.

OpenAI, ARIA, and SEO: Making the Web Worse

Accessibility practitioners who've bothered to check in on the ChatGPT interfaces over the years have demonstrated the OpenAI team largely fails to understand HTML, let alone any aspect of accessibility.

Testing Methods: Reflow

WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow is a Level AA conformance level Success Criterion. It requires that content can be presented without loss of information or functionality, and without requiring scrolling in two dimensions, when viewed at a width equivalent to 320 CSS pixels (typically a small mobile screen).

ADA Title II and PDFs: Fix, Archive, or Delete?

By distinguishing between active, archived, and obsolete content, government agencies can create a roadmap that balances compliance risk with practical realities.

Page headings don't belong in the header

Recently, I've been considering <h1> elements and where they live in the document, and I’ve landed on keeping it outside the header.

Designing for Dyslexia: Accessibility Requirements and Best Practices

Although there isn't a single "fix," practical steps based on WCAG 2.2 can enhance usability for people with dyslexia and promote inclusivity for all readers.

Guide to the Inclusive Design Principles

The principles were developed to plug that gap with people-centred guidance that helps teams make better design decisions without adding unnecessary complexity.

Accessible form validation with examples and code

Getting stuck on a form can feel like being lost: frustrating, confusing, and enough to make someone turn back. That's why your error messages need to act like a map, guiding users with clarity and reassurance, turning a moment of frustration into a moment of trust.

A threat model for accessibility on the web

There is one basic, underlying threat to disabled users having a consistently accessible experience when using the web: The primary threat for accessibility on the web is neglect.

WCAG's Longevity

Some aspects of WCAG have also been created under the premise of a 2005-era web that do not hold true for 2025.

Quick Tip: Readability for Users With Dyslexia

To improve web readability for users with dyslexia, use simple, familiar fonts, adequately-sized text, and generous line spacing while avoiding italics and all caps for large sections of text. Maintain comfortable color contrast - preferably dark text on an off-white background - and organize content with short paragraphs, clear headings, and ample white space. Support user adjustments to font, size, and colors, and use plain language to keep content accessible and easy to understand.