Easy A11y Guide

  • Home
  • Easy A11y Guide

Easy A11y Guide Accessibility is about removing barriers for people, we remove barriers to getting started with A11y.

30/07/2026

Another accessibility scan report landed in your inbox.

Same failures as last month, and the month before.

- Illegal use of ARIA attribute.
- A contrast error on some component you didn't build and can't find in the page editor.
- A third-party widget from a vendor installed two years ago, flagged again, and you have no idea where to even start.

And April 2027 continues to get closer.

Finance is asking you what budget you need, and you don't even know where to start.

You don't need more data, you're drowning in it.

You need someone who can cut through the data overload and actually tell you what needs fixing and how big a barrier that actually is.

I just finished a 3 month sprint getting a county government office from "I'm pulling my hair out and losing sleep" to "it's handled and I can sleep at night".

If you are a county, city, or local gov entity facing April 2027 alone and have a WordPress site, I can probably help you get some clarity. I have a couple slots in early for a conversation. No charge, no commitment, just a chat about what you are looking at and what it will take to get you a good night's sleep. Drop me a DM to schedule.

27/07/2026

It's the 36th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Web Accessibility enforcement is accelerating.

A business reached out to me this week with a demand letter in hand. They were panicking. What did this mean? What did they need to do?

They had already paid for UserWay accessibility overlay. Unfortunately, they learned the hard way why UserWay regularly has class action lawsuits against them.

Overlays are accessibility theater. And the lawyers know this.

I ran my own 10-point lightning review caught the issues that stand behind every lawsuit: serious blockers for real people to use the site.

Here's what's coming:

- We're on track for 6,000+ ADA web lawsuits this year.

- For every lawsuit, 10+ demand letters go out first.

- That's 60,000+ letters in 2026 alone.

And the sites getting hit hardest? The ones running an overlay. They get sued 20-30x more often than sites that don't, because lawyers know overlays don't fix anything underneath.

30 days is what you get once a demand letter lands. Not "when I get to it." Not "add it to the list."

36 years in, and most businesses still don't know if their site would survive a real test, not just a scan.

Would yours?

24/07/2026

3 ARIA mistakes that make your site less accessible, not more.

If you've been sprinkling ARIA attributes onto every element hoping it'll fix your accessibility score, here's the tip: native HTML almost always beats ARIA patched onto a div.

Here's why this matters: ARIA overrides what the browser already knows how to communicate. Get it wrong, and you've made things worse for screen reader users, not better.

A few things you can try this week:

- Use a real instead of a with role="button".
- Don't add aria-label to elements that already have visible text.
- Skip tabindex values above 0. They break natural tab order.

The biggest thing to remember: semantic HTML solves most of what ARIA is trying to patch. Use ARIA to fill gaps, not as a first move.

If you want the full list, I put together a video series on ARIA. It'll show you exactly when to reach for ARIA and when to skip it.

Comment ARIA and I'll send it to you.

22/07/2026

Another day, another website owner who thought that their overlay would protect them but instead got hit with a demand letter.

A very quick review of the site found 9 of the top 10 issues found in lawsuits were sitting on their site. The overlay (userway) did not fix it. This is why Userway has a class action lawsuit from their users. Because it doesn't protect you, it actually paints a large target on you saying "I know I should be accessible, but I chose cheap & easy instead".

You can fix it on a very tight deadline with rush fees. And pay your lawyer. And pay their lawyer. Or you can fix those issues now, before the letter arrives. It's entirely up to you.

Additionally, they are probably losing revenue from visitors quietly leaving.

Data has shown that accessibility improves conversion rates. Frequently to the tune of around 10x return over 5 years vs not having the accessibility.

What choice will you make?

Invest now and get ROI? Or play risk roulette?

21/07/2026

3 things to check before you tell a client their site is accessible.

If you've been running a Lighthouse or Wave scans, fixing the flagged issues, and calling it done, you're not alone. Most agencies stop there.

Here's why that's a problem: automated scanners catch roughly 30-40% of WCAG issues. The rest only shows up when a real person tries to use the site.

A few things you can try this week:

- Tab through the entire site using only your keyboard, no mouse.
- Check whether your modals trap keyboard focus when they open.
- Turn on a screen reader and try to complete the checkout or contact form.

The biggest thing to remember: a passing scanner score isn't a passing site. These scanners are like what Jiffy L**e checks when they do an oil change on your car, passing it doesn't mean you'll pass state inspection. Your clients are trusting you to know the difference.

If you want help closing that gap, I put together a free test you can have Claude run called the Lightning Test. It'll give you a much deeper look at the site than the scanners alone.

Comment LIGHTNING and I'll send it to you.

17/07/2026

I get the same message every time I bring up my one day accessible website build process: "I want to offer this, but I don't know where to start."

And it's never from someone who lacks the skill. It's always a solid developer or agency owner who builds great sites, gets great results for clients, and freezes the second accessibility comes up. Like it requires years of specialty training just to attempt.

And to be clear, it did take years to come up the process.

But it doesn't take years to learn or implement it. It requires following the process.

That's the whole reason the course exists. Not to make you an accessibility expert. To hand you the sequence I use on every single build, so you stop turning away work you're already capable of doing.

With full follow-along video lessons this isn't a checklist. This is getting into all of the nitty gritty details.

And I hand you all of the assets so that you get to practice all of that and build your own accessible site.

I built this for you so you can deliver an accessible website without the stress.

What are you waiting for? Link in first comment.

16/07/2026

Summer's slow for a reason. Fall isn't.

Client work always picks back up once summer ends. Most agencies spend these quieter months waiting instead of building.

Here's a better use of a slow July: learn the accessibility build order now, so you walk into fall with a new offer ready to sell, not just a new skill nobody knows about yet.

Build an Accessible Website in One Day includes a ready-to-use offer template, so by the time work picks up, you're not just capable. You're already pitching it.

$199, on sale all summer. The window that matters isn't a countdown clock. It's the one between now and the fall rush.

Do you want a ready to go new offer for the fall that you know you can deliver?

15/07/2026

A nonprofit needed an accessible website. Fast. On a nonprofit budget.

Crip the Law (the National Disabled Legal Professionals Association) had a tight budget and timeline. They needed it done right, the first time, and they needed it affordable & accessible.

We did a one day build. They were concerned it would be stressful, it wasn't.

Were there a couple hiccups? Of course.

Did we launch on time? Of course.

Did my dog get a short walk? Of course.

Because structure and processes beat out chaos. I didn't wonder what I was supposed to do next, I knew exactly what the next hour held. And so did the client.

Here's what their Executive Director said after we launched it:

"Gen was incredibly helpful and supportive as we set up our website. As a new nonprofit dedicated to supporting disabled legal professionals, we needed an accessible website at an affordable price. Gen delivered! Gen did fantastic work on the design, and so importantly for us, she made sure everything was fully accessible. She was responsive to all of our questions and about any issues that arose."

Marissa Ditkowsky, Esq.
Executive Director, National Disabled Legal Professionals Association

That build followed the exact same order I teach in Build an Accessible Website in One Day.

You can choose to struggled through your next build trying to follow best practices and cobble it all together, or you can get the full process.

What do you choose? Chaos or calm?

I know I've picked calm certainty.

The build an accessible website course is fully updated, just relaunched and on sale. Link in first comment.

P.S. - if you are that non-profit wanting this calm easy website launch, yes, I can help, drop me a DM.

13/07/2026

The rebuilt & relaunched course, Build an Accessible Website in One Day is officially live. $199, available now. Here's what's inside.

This is a follow-along video course, getting into the details, the actual build done in front of you on screen. This is not a checklist, this an over-shoulder how I actually do it.

My most popular talk has been "how I build accessible websites in one day", with everyone asking for more details on how it's done.

This is the course you've been waiting for.

This more than pays for itself it just one client build.

You don't need to become a WCAG expert, you need to know what tools to use and exactly how to use them. You need to know which tests are actually relevant.

And because I want you to actually take the lessons and build it along with me, I even include testing the finished site.

You no longer have an excuse for not building accessible sites.

Link in first comment.

10/07/2026

I used to build 1-2 sites every week while also maintaining over 100. What I learned was processes are essential, not optional.

Early on, I built sites the way most agencies still do: design, develop, launch, then circle back to "fix" if a client asked. That circling back always took longer.

The design wasn't framed right with the client. Expectations weren't managed. Small things like what shade of orange were a long debate. I learned a lot about leading the client, and keeping everything on track.

I started refining my tools, with less not more. More meant options, and I didn't have time for lots of options, I needed done.

That being choosy about my tools & processes led me to being able to deliver accessible websites start to finish in one day. The results aren't just passing tools & audits. They are real usable sites for real people with disabilities.

I've worked with organizations where the entire membership is legally blind. It has to work not just on a checklist, but in the real world.

"Build an Accessible Website in One Day" relaunches next week.

And yes, I use a fictious business with "Acme" in the name. Because I did grow up watching the roadrunner cartoons. And while the process might not be quite as fast as the roadrunner outrunning Wiley coyote, it is pretty darn fast.

Address


Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Easy A11y Guide posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Easy A11y Guide:

Shortcuts

  • Want your business to be the top-listed Advertising & Marketing Company?

Share