Digital accessibility monitoring October-November 2023

For the official release of WCAG 2.2, this October 5 in English (https://www.w3.org/TR/2023/REC-WCAG22-20231005/), many articles have been written, here are some of them collected in these are two lists: https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2023/10/roundup-wcag-explainers/ and https://adrianroselli.com/2023/10/obligatory-wcag-2-2-launch-post.html.
And soon a French version (in progress) and will arrive in EN 301549 and EAA (https://cerovac.com/a11y/2023/11/wcag-2-2-will-be-a-part-of-en-301-549-and-with-that-a-part-of-wad-and-eaa/)... So use it now!
Happy reading, happy end of the year!

Accessibility in laws and standards #

• WCAG 2.2 and what it means: https://www.craigabbott.co.uk/blog/wcag-22-and-what-it-means-for-you/
• WCAG 2.2, explanations (fr): https://access42.net/wcag-2-2-publication/
• Everything about EN301549 and its impacts, read: https://www.tpgi.com/understanding-en-301-549-the-european-standard-for-digital-accessibility/
• The United Kingdom reviews this A11y obligation (fr): https://tetralogical.com/blog/2023/11/07/amendment-to-public-sector-accessibility-regulations/
• An update on regulations in France on a11y (fr): https://www.temesis.com/blog/synthese-des-nouvelles-reglementations-encadrant-laccessibilite-numerique-en-france/
• Obligations following the decrees in France (fr): https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/compte-à-rebours-2025-laccessibilité-numérique-pour-tous-croix-ggm2e/
• Press release on the ratification of the ordinance for sanctions on publicly non-accessible sites (fr): https://www.numerique.gouv.fr/espace-presse/accessibilite-numerique-le-politique-enterine-lordre-visant-to-control-the-accessibility-of-public-administration-sites-from-2024/

Accessibility strategy #

• An accessible shopping cart, video and transcription: https://www.nicchan.me/blog/talk-developing-an-accessible-add-to-cart-flow/
• Take into account a11y in your company or activity: https://meryl.net/how-to-be-accessibility-ally/
• Who is responsible for accessibility: https://silktide.com/blog/who-is-responsible-for-web-accessibility/
• Accessible translation of an interface: https://benmyers.dev/blog/multilingual-web-accessibility/
• Accessible kiosks, a niche for innovation (fr): https://www.devprojournal.com/software-development-trends/accessibility-is-the-key-to-kiosk-market-growth/
• Go faster, be more effective in improving accessibility: https://karlgroves.com/how-long-until-your-website-is-accessible/
• Of course, training in a11y is not enough: https://www.reidmore.online/post/accessibility-training-will-not-save-you
• The 2023 symposium on AI and A11y by W3c/WAI, nice (fr): https://www.w3.org/WAI/research/ai2023/
• Ensure a11y in a large entity (fr): https://www.ekino.fr/publications/comment-generaliser-laccessibilite-au-sein-dune-entite-mondiale/

Test accessibility #

• Automate the a11y, not so simple but...: https://daverupert.com/2023/10/nine-a11y-jobs-where-robots-suck/
• Contrast testing tools: https://blog.pope.tech/2023/10/17/color-contrast-accessibility-tools-with-examples/
• The good a11y KPIs in an agile project: https://www.levelaccess.com/blog/best-practices/agile-accessibility-kpis-how-to-measure-what-matters/
• WCAG Tester 2.2, 3.2.6 Consistent Help: https://www.tpgi.com/how-to-test-3-2-6-consistent-help/
• A nice little tool for designers, allowing you to find the right contrast according to different types of visual disabilities but also in dark mode or exposure to sunlight (very common on mobile applications): https://www.whocanuse.com/
• Supervise the a11y, tools roundup: https://www.digitala11y.com/enterprise-accessibility-tools-roundup/

Technical accessibility points #

• Further in accessible forms: https://blog.pope.tech/2023/09/26/form-accessibility-and-usability-beyond-the-basics/
• Link or button, interesting considerations: https://www.tpgi.com/short-note-on-button-or-link/
• WCAG 2.5.8 Target size, explained: https://adrianroselli.com/2023/10/obligatory-wcag-2-2-launch-post.html
• Tips and tricks for accessible form messages:https://onsman.com/writing-accessible-form-messages/
• For those who still don't understand: https://ashleemboyer.com/blog/don-t-use-fixed-css-height-or-width-on-text-containers
• Organizer of "option" of a "select" and support of AT, case study: https://adrianroselli.com/2023/10/splitting-within-selects.html
• Unique ids are important: https://www.deque.com/blog/unique-id-attributes-matter/
• A table with selected rows: https://adrianroselli.com/2023/11/dont-turn-a-table-into-an-aria-grid-just-for-a-clickable-row.html
• Discover the semantics, an exhttps://toddl.dev/posts/section-is-the-new-div/
• Keeping semantics in lists without bullets: https://www.matuzo.at/blog/2023/removing-list-styles-without-affecting-semantics
• Accessible web tables: https://access42.net/integrer-tableaux-html-accessibles-conformes-rgaa/
• Complex tables and a11y: https://access42.net/tableaux-donnees-complexes-integration-html-accessible-rgaa/
• Tips for focus visibility: https://www.deque.com/blog/give-site-focus-tips-designing-usable-focus-indicators/

Feedbacks on accessibility #

• A11y annotations, yes, but be careful: https://ericwbailey.website/published/accessibility-annotation-kits-only-annotate/
• A really good accessible seat reservation widget: https://www.tpgi.com/accessibility-theater/
• Monitoring of public websites and mobile apps in Great Britain: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/public-sector-website-and-mobile-application-accessibility-monitoring
• The true cost of non-accessibility: https://www.tpgi.com/the-true-cost-of-not-prioritizing-accessibility/
• Front-end developers don't understand accessibility: https://gomakethings.com/front-end-devs-really-dont-understand-accessibility/
• Myths about a11y and the keyboard: https://tetralogical.com/blog/2023/11/27/keyboard-accessibility-myths-wcag/
• Role, name, value in the design phase: https://www.deque.com/blog/name-role-value-design/
• Point of view about toasts and a11y, don't use it: https://www.erikkroes.nl/blog/burn-your-toast/

Assistive technologies #

• New accessibility features in user agents: https://alastairc.uk/2023/10/accessibility-improvements-for-user-agents/
• Strikethrough text and technical aids, how to do it correctly: https://www.webaxe.org/strikethrough-html-accessibility/
• Keyboard navigation how to do it well: https://www.tpgi.com/how-to-avoid-breaking-web-pages-for-keyboard-users/

Mobile app, mobile web #

• [ Android] Release of Android 14: some new features in terms of accessibility, notably text zoom up to 200% to comply with WCAG: https://developer.android.com/about/versions/14/summary?hl=fr
• [ iOS] Linter SwiftUI: https://dev.to/steady5063/using-accessibility-rules-with-swiftlint-47cb
• [ iOS] Reveal collects data from your app to display its layout and accessibility information, for a super-fast accessibility-focused audit (14-day trial): https://revealapp.com/
• [ iOS] Tool to inspect websites and webapps on iOS (paying): https://yatil.net/blog/inspect-web-ios
• [ WCAG] An article from the Anglo-Saxon government on the application of WCAG to mobile apps: https://accessibility.blog.gov.uk/2023/10/18/how-mobile-apps-undergo-accessibility-monitoring/
• [ iOS] Inspect web code on iOS: https://yatil.net/blog/inspect-web-ios
• [ iOS] A11y test plan : https://moba11y.com/blog/ios-accessibility-test-plan/

Ergonomics, UI & UX #

• UX audit matrix: https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVM2whwko=/

Resources #

• The complete guide to accessible ChatBot, everything, there's everything: https://mitre.github.io/chatbot-accessibility-playbook/
• A font suitable for the visually impaired: https://brailleinstitute.org/freefont
• Collaborative dictionary in Easy to Read and Understand (FALC) and in simplified French (fr): https://www.falc-able.com/falc/

Others #

• Answers to frequently asked questions about a11y: https://hidde.blog/a11y-faq/
• Accessibility myths: https://a11ymyths.com/
• PlayAbility: when artificial intelligence makes video games accessible to disabled people (fr): https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/playability-quand-l-intelligence-artificielle-rend-le-jeu-video-accessible-au-handicap-1904067