So, you’ve found your website’s accessibility issues using WAVE or other testing tools, and by completing manual testing using a keyboard, a screen reader, and zooming the browser window. Now what? When it comes to prioritizing web accessibility fixes, ranking the severity of each issue is an effective way to prioritize and make impactful improvements ..read more

As WebAIM celebrates our 25 year anniversary this month, we’ve shared 25 accessibility tips on our LinkedIn and Twitter/X social media channels. All 25 quick tips are compiled below. Tip #1: When to Use Links and Buttons Links are about navigation. Buttons are about function. To eliminate confusion for screen reader users, use a <button> ..read more

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 ..read more

Tomorrow, October 1st, marks a significant milestone in WebAIM’s 25 year history of expanding the potential of the web for people with disabilities. In partnership with our colleagues at the Institute for Disability Research, Policy & Practice at Utah State University, we’re launching a new technical assistance center. The National Center on Accessible Digital Educational ..read more

Introduction As was mentioned in an earlier blog post on “Alternative for Time-based Media” and “Media Alternative for Text,” understanding the differences between terms in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is essential to understanding the guidelines as a whole. In this post, we will explore two more WCAG terms that are easily confused—change of ..read more

Recently, we have seen significant movement in Federal policy on web and digital accessibility. Specifically, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which is enforced by the Department of Justice, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, as implemented by the Federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), now include specific accessibility requirements for websites, mobile apps, and kiosks (more on kiosks later). They both include specific standards, implementation timelines, and some notable exceptions. These two updates represent a huge step forward in protecting th ..read more

There’s nothing quite like a presidential campaign year to gin up comparisons between rivals on a seemingly endless inventory of attributes, whether it’s their condiment preference, choice in footwear, or agility in ascending a set of stairs. Unable to resist the temptation to pile on to the bandwagon, we here at WebAIM would like to put our own spin on things, and have run our 2024 presidential candidates’ campaign websites through our AIM (“Accessibility Impact”) testing sequence to answer the burning question of which is more accessible. Politically speaking, who cares about accessibility ..read more

The results of WebAIM’s 10th Screen Reader User Survey are now available. This survey was conducted in December 2023 and January 2024 and had 1539 respondents. Supported by BrowserStack Support for this research is funded in part by a donation from Here are a some of the notable items from this survey: JAWS remains the highest reported primary desktop/laptop screen reader at 40.5% of respondents, though usage dropped compared to NVDA which is now the primary screen reader for 37.7% of respondents. VoiceOver usage remains relatively stable at 9.7%. Primary screen reader usage varies by regi ..read more

WebAIM is thrilled to announce a strategic collaboration with BrowserStack, which shares our objective of creating an accessible digital world. WebAIM + BrowserStack = A shared vision for accessibility Late last year WebAIM Director Jared Smith sat down with the co-founders of BrowserStack to discuss our shared vision for inclusion and digital accessibility testing. He was impressed with their commitment to accessibility and excited about the ways we might work together. WebAIM has long been at the forefront of championing accessibility—striving to make the digital landscape inclusive for all ..read more

In the early years of Microsoft Office, support for screen reader users was limited, and in most cases required third-party software and workarounds. In Office 2007, the Ribbon interface was introduced. This “Fluent UI” was a boon to productivity for some users, but it initially posed significant challenges for screen reader users. To its credit, Microsoft moved quickly to develop keyboard shortcuts and other navigational aids to provide a more equivalent experience. Microsoft continued to improve support for screen readers users in Office 2010. It also introduced the Accessibility Checke ..read more