Digital accessibility watch — August-September 2026

As the new season begins, a new version of the RGAA (the French accessibility standard) is expected by the end of the year; it has been long-awaited. This article provides an overview (in French): https://www.temesis.com/blog/rgaa-5-quelles-evolutions-attendre-et-comment-vous-y-preparer/.
We also see the release of the French version of the WCAG 2.2 guidelines, along with the corresponding update to the French translation of WCAG 2.1 (fr): https://access42.net/mise-a-jour-traductions-wcag-w3c/.
Finally, the results of the WebAIM screen reader survey are out—always a highly informative resource: https://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey11/.
Happy reading!

Accessibility in laws, standards, and recommendations #

• Update to "ARIA in HTML": https://www.w3.org/news/2026/updated-w3c-recommendation-aria-in-html/
• Update to the WCAG-EM report tool for WCAG-EM 2: https://www.w3.org/WAI/eval/report-tool/
• How WCAG levels were assigned: https://alastairc.uk/blog/2026/09/wcag-leveling-process/
• What’s changing in EN 301549 v4.1.1: https://www.axall.digital/insights/en301549-version-4-1-1-what-changes-and-when-it-applies
• WCAG 3 available for review—share your feedback: https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-wai-announce/2026JulSep/0001.html

Accessibility strategy #

• The cost of an accessibility consultant: https://vispero.com/resources/accessibility-consulting-cost/
• Why your accessibility program is plateauing: https://www.levelaccess.com/blog/why-mature-enterprise-accessibility-programs-plateau/
• Managing accessibility risks: https://tetralogical.com/blog/2026/08/10/board-getting-accessibility-governance-right/
• Roles and responsibilities in the accessibility process: https://tetralogical.com/blog/2026/09/08/roles-and-responsibilities/
• Accessibility as an operational capability: https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2026/06/why-accessibility-operational-capability-not-feature/
• Building sustainable accessibility: https://tetralogical.com/blog/2026/09/14/sustainable-accessibility-compliance-capability-culture/
• Going beyond the base design system: https://zeroheight.com/blog/how-accessibility-gets-lost-between-base-and-product-design-systems/
• Cognitive impairment and design systems: https://zeroheight.com/blog/people-are-the-point-why-cognitive-accessibility-needs-to-be-part-of-your-design-system/
• A good VPAT: https://webaim.org/blog/if-you-have-to-ask-is-it-accessible/
• Accessibility as a strategy game: https://www.sheribyrnehaber.com/accessibility-game-theory/
• How to handle inaccessible product releases: https://intopia.digital/articles/when-you-cant-stop-the-ship-a-developers-guide-to-handling-inaccessible-releases/
• Building a resilient accessibility program: https://buttondown.com/access-ability/archive/bend-do-not-break-building-resilient/
• When accessibility gets lost between project phases: https://buttondown.com/nic-steenhout/archive/accessibility-getting-dropped-in-the-process/

Testing accessibility #

• Why manual accessibility testing is necessary (an educational perspective): https://www.sitelint.com/blog/why-devtools-and-screen-readers-are-inconsistent
• Testing and understanding 2.5.5 and 2.5.8 target size: https://www.digitala11y.com/how-to-test-touch-target-size-for-wcag-compliance/
• Testing and understanding 3.3.3 Error suggestion: https://tarnoff.info/2026/07/27/a11y-101-3-3-3-error-suggestion/
• Testing and understanding 3.3.4 Error prevention: https://tarnoff.info/2026/08/03/a11y-101-3-3-4-error-prevention/
• Testing and understanding 4.1.2 Name, role, value: https://tarnoff.info/2026/08/24/a11y-101-4-1-2-name-role-value/
• Testing and understanding 4.1.3 Status messages: https://tarnoff.info/2026/08/31/a11y-101-4-1-3-status-messages/
• Testing and understanding 3.3.7 Redundant entry: https://tarnoff.info/2026/08/10/a11y-101-3-3-7-redundant-entry/
• A GitHub scanner plugin for checking image alternatives: https://github.blog/engineering/user-experience/your-alt-text-passes-automated-checks-that-doesnt-mean-its-any-good/
• How to evaluate a criterion: https://adrianroselli.com/2026/09/evaluating-a-success-criterion.html
• WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard: sometimes the temporal aspect is overlooked: https://adrianroselli.com/2026/08/the-2-1-1-specific-timings-clause.html
• The problem with compliance percentages: https://afixt.com/accessible-is-conformant/?ref=frontenddogma.com
• Robust, user-centred accessibility testing: https://afixt.com/your-accessibility-tests-stop-at-the-page-your-users-dont/
• Testing 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication: https://tarnoff.info/2026/09/28/a11y-101-3-3-8-accessible-authentication-minimum/
• Accessibility testing methodology, the basics: https://silktide.com/blog/accessibility-vs-usability-testing/
• Testing user journeys is important: https://equalentry.com/accessibility-user-journey-testing-pac-nyc/

Technical points #

• aria-details explained: https://www.maxdesign.com.au/articles/aria-details-explained.html
• Poor support for the HTML headers attribute—worth a read: https://adrianroselli.com/2026/09/support-for-headers-attribute.html
• Closing the window by clicking outside of it: https://adrianroselli.com/2026/08/should-a-dialog-close-when-clicked-outside.html
• aria-roledescription explained: https://www.maxdesign.com.au/articles/aria-roledescription-explained.html
• Comprehensive recommendations for handling destructive actions: https://www.sheribyrnehaber.com/practical-guidelines-for-making-destructive-actions-accessible/
• The accessibility tree explained: https://tetralogical.com/blog/2026/09/22/foundations-the-accessibility-tree/
• How long should remediation take after an audit? A good question: https://inclusionimpact.co/blog/how-long-does-it-take-to-remediate-accessibility-audit-findings/
• "Decorative" images—are they really: https://nicolas-steenhout.com/retire-decorative-images/

Feedback #

• A framework for classifying and prioritizing accessibility errors—worth a try: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44523-026-00010-y
• The Dunning–Kruger effect in accessibility: https://www.craigabbott.co.uk/blog/2026/the-dunning-kruger-effect-in-accessibility/
• The accessibility expert as a “unicorn” (an impossible combination of skills)—can one person really do it all? https://a11ywithdiana.substack.com/p/will-the-web-accessibility-specialist
• Reflections and actionable insights based on the 2026 accessibility report for email markup—worth checking out, especially if you manage email (fr): https://www.nicolas-hoffmann.net/source/1727-de-l-importance-de-rapports-comme-l-Accessibility-Report-2026-de-l-Email-Markup-Consortium.html
• Designing for motor impairments: https://tetralogical.com/blog/2026/08/19/designing-for-no-or-limited-mobility/
• Beware of poor accessibility auditors (fr): https://www.copsae.fr/nimporte-qui-peut-pretendre-faire-audit-accessibilite-numerique/
• A university reduces its accessibility errors by 90%: https://blog.pope.tech/2026/08/12/how-one-university-reduced-web-accessibility-errors-by-90/
• Accessibility and frustration: https://buttondown.com/nic-steenhout/archive/upcoming-book-frustration-and-accessibility-and/#frustration
• Comprehensive accessibility audit methodology from Vispero: https://vispero.com/resources/digital-accessibility-audit-checklist/
• Revisiting accessibility overlays—in a negative light, of course: https://adrianroselli.com/2026/09/corpowid-and-skynet-technologies-will-get-you-sued.html
• A failed tooltip and its accessibility fix—worth a read: https://jakearchibald.com/2026/my-tooltip-a11y-mistake/#the-fix

Mobile apps, mobile web #

• Foldable phones: pros and cons in terms of accessibility: https://buttondown.com/access-ability/archive/foldable-phones-and-accessibility-benefits/
• Inclusive Android Apps #9: the problem of fixed heights: https://buttondown.com/inclusive-android-apps/archive/inclusive-android-apps-9-the-problem-of-fixed-heights/
• Inclusive Android Apps #10: the problem of gesture-only interactions: https://buttondown.com/inclusive-android-apps/archive/inclusive-android-apps-10-the-problem-of-gesture-only-interactions/

Assistive technologies #

• The latest Screen Reader User Survey (#11) from WebAIM—worth a read: https://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey11/
• Plenty of statistics on the use of assistive technologies—interesting stuff: https://beaccessible.com/post/assistive-technology-market-size/
• Sometimes AI acts as an assistive technology: https://lanie.work/advocacy/i-am-using-my-brain/
• How a screen reader reads a page: https://www.maxdesign.com.au/articles/do-screen-readers-read-screen.html
• Voice control and complex tables: https://blog.pope.tech/2026/08/31/speech-recognition-and-complex-tables-with-fields/

Ergonomics, UI & UX #

• Testing a digital service with people with disabilities: https://tamarasredojevic.substack.com/p/tester-avec-des-personnes-handicapees
• Using AI to identify usability issues: https://measuringu.com/does-ai-find-real-usability-problems-a-replication/
• Dark mode: is it always necessary: https://lea.verou.me/blog/2026/dark-mode-toggles-2/
• A case study on usability and a11y: https://accessibility.ttcglobal.com/case-study-navigation-cognitive-usability-research-for-a-public-facing-digital-service

Artificial Intelligence (AI) #

• You can’t automate everything—a new installment: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/automating-all-accessibility-testing-pipe-dream-nicolas-steenhout-118dc/
• A promising AI agent for accessibility auditing—worth a look: https://arxiv.org/html/2609.09379v2
• A perspective on using AI as a partner during an accessibility audit: https://onsman.com/using-ai-as-your-accessibility-testing-partner/
• AI for accessibility testing: underwhelming, but worth nothing: https://cerovac.com/a11y/2026/07/promises-of-accessibility-complaiance/

Resources #

• Accessibility errors are often structural in nature — accessibility bugs are often architecture bugs: https://hackernoon.com/accessibility-bugs-are-often-architecture-bugs
• A study of over 100 accessibility statements—very informative: https://scandiary.com/accessibility-statements
• A library of bookmarklets—handy and practical: https://www.spotcheck.tools/
• WCAG 3 and covering accessibility needs: https://www.w3.org/blog/2026/crafting-wcag-3-for-more-accessible-user-experiences/
• 7 accessibility data visualizations from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg—nicely done: https://accessibility-luxembourg.github.io/observatory_dataviz_demo/
• How to make WCAG 3 better: https://noti.st/hdv/2cNacB/how-we-want-to-make-wcag-3-better
• Another perspective on WCAG 3—worth considering: https://yatil.net/blog/wcag-3-road-to-hell-paved-with-supplemental-requirements?ref=frontenddogma.com
• More on WCAG 3, highlighting further concerns: https://nicolas-steenhout.com/wcag-3-transition-phase/
• Extensive feedback on WCAG 3: https://afixt.com/afixt-comments-on-the-wcag-3-conformance-model/
• Accessible tab systems: https://webaim.org/techniques/tabs/

Other #

• An interesting perspective on disability: https://sightlessscribbles.com/posts/disability-dongle/
• Multiple disabilities: https://lanie.work/advocacy/not-an-edge-case/