Stop thinking accessibility is just about blind people and screenreaders.
Authentic conversations so far...
This is an archive of the email messages I sent to my daily mailing list since March 12th, 2024. Enjoy!
Not everyone needs to be an accessibility expert
Oct 23rd, 2025
You don't need everyone to be an accessibility expert. You need everyone to know their part.
5 things automated tests catch that actually matter
Oct 22nd, 2025
Automated tests catch the obvious stuff. Here are 5 things they can catch that actually matter to people.
How to build a fire
Oct 21st, 2025
Accessibility is like starting a fire. It works better when you don't overwhelm everyone with massive changes.
Managing complexity
Oct 20th, 2025
Accessibility specialists often end up as "complexity managers," whose job is to make sense of unnecessarily complicated systems.
Access Denied #68: Time allocation
Oct 19th, 2025
In issue 68 of Access Denied, Gary values accessibility but can't find time to prioritise it.
The right thing for the wrong reasons
Oct 18th, 2025
It doesn't matter why you make your site accessible as long as it gets done.
Real talk: It's all theater
Oct 17th, 2025
Companies mandate yearly training, everyone gets a certificate, but nothing changes. True for security, GDPR or accessibility.
Who owns accessibility?
Oct 16th, 2025
Who's actually responsible for accessibility in the team?
Automated tests catch the obvious stuff. Here are 5 things they miss that actually break products for people.
Shaky foundations
Oct 14th, 2025
Ignoring accessibility means building on a shaky foundation.
Best case worst case
Oct 13th, 2025
What is the best case and the worst case scenario when you don't fix your accessibility problems?
Access Denied #67: Representative samples
Oct 12th, 2025
In Issue 67 of Access Denied, Gary thinks early adopters of a product is a representative sample.
Words
Oct 11th, 2025
Make things simpler to understand and problems can become easier to fix.
Real talk: Innovating the dropdown
Oct 10th, 2025
We made dropdowns unnecessarily complex.
Start with the people
Oct 9th, 2025
Accessibility starts with people.
Do you absolutely need more than what automated testing gives you?
You don't need permission
Oct 7th, 2025
You don't need permission to work on accessibility because the majority of accessibility improvements are about how you build the stuff.
From scrappy wins to organisation buy-in
Oct 6th, 2025
Get org-level support for accessibility without turning your practical wins into empty strategy documents.
Access Denied #66: Team-level problems
Oct 5th, 2025
In Issue 66 of Access Denied, Gary thinks having an accessibility strategy solves everything.
Accessibility is a system-level problem
Oct 4th, 2025
Accessibility is a system-level problem, but system-level solutions without unit-level action are useless.
Work smarter, not harder!
Oct 3rd, 2025
Stop making accessibility harder than it needs to be. Use semantic HTML elements and get accessibility built in instead of fighting ARIA.
10 things you should focus on
Oct 2nd, 2025
10 tips for a sustainable accessibility strategy, from focusing on people to automated tools, feedback loops and the impact of your choices.
Two types of accessibility data
Oct 1st, 2025
Lab data tells you what's broken. Field data tells you if users can actually use your site.
What's next
Sep 30th, 2025
Every decision in product development is an accessibility decision. We just don't always realise it.
Desire paths
Sep 29th, 2025
Shift from "accessibility as compliance checkbox" to "accessibility as following natural user behaviour."
Access Denied #65: 100% coverage
Sep 28th, 2025
In Issue 65 of Access Denied, Gary thinks just adding any alt text to images solves accessibility.
Simple hacks for long-term problems
Sep 27th, 2025
Simple accessibility hacks rarely fix long-term use experience and process problems.
Real talk: This is why we can't have accessible things
Sep 26th, 2025
A code horror story with a giant pull request that fixes accessibility.
Should you outsource accessibility or build it in-house?
Sep 25th, 2025
Weighing up outsourcing accessibility vs building in-house expertise? There are compelling reasons for each approach.
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I send out short emails like these every day to help you gain a fresh perspective on accessibility and understand it without the jargon, so you can build more robust products that everyone can use, including people with disabilities.