Thinking about Digital Accessibility

It is sometimes difficult to remember, but most digital resources have not really been around that long. What we affectionately call "the Internet", more accurately known as "the Word Wide Web," is younger than the 30 year-old Americans with Disabilities Act, and digital accessibility is younger than that. With the rise in demand for access, and the massive migration to online resources in 2020, designers and engineers are eager to ensure their digital resources are accessible, but they are often at a disadvantage from the lack of information and rapid technological changes they face.

In this book, we explore what digital accessibility is, how it is integrated with common functional roles, such as content writer, user experience designer, or engineer, and how it grows as the knowledge and skill of an individual develops, answering the question "how do I get there from here". Three resources developed exclusively for the Thinking about Digital Accessibility series, the Plain Language Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, the Plain Writing Guidelines, and the Universal Design Guidelines, are included in this book.