Accessibility for Developers

Accessibility isn’t a WCAG audit at the end — it’s a user need. Talks about building for people, not specifications.

Accessibility is usually treated as a development problem. The process is usually just a third-party WCAG audit at the end, a list of failures, and a Jira ticket explaining how to mindlessly fix it.

A lot of the barriers we build in are easy to find, understand and unpick. They’re part of the everyday decisions we make regarding our markup, semantics and events.

Talks in this theme are for engineering audiences. I cover topics that help you to reframe accessibility as a user need, rather than a technical specification. Demonstrate user-centred thinking in the code that we write. To write proper semantic HTML, instead of “div soup”. When to use WAI-ARIA, and when not to use it at all. And, how to test for accessibility using automated and manual tooling.

Topics I cover

  • The most common WCAG failures, and the code decisions behind them
  • Semantic HTML, CSS, and their impact on accessibility
  • WAI-ARIA usage
  • Automated and manual accessibility testing
  • Why “pixel perfect” thinking fails people

Talk titles

  • Automated Accessibility Testing
  • Common WCAG failures
  • HTML: Back to Basics
  • HTML: Forms
  • HTML: WAI-ARIA
  • If it’s not user-centred, it’s not accessible
  • The problem with “pixel perfect” design
Delivery
In person or remote
Formats
  • 30 minute talk
  • 60 minute talk
Who should attend
  • Developers
  • Testers
  • Product teams
Level of experience
Understanding of HTML, CSS and JavaScript
Tags

Want me to speak at your event?

If there is a talk title you like the sound of, or there is something bespoke you’re looking for, let’s talk!

Book me to speak

In action

  • Craig stands beside a slide declaring "If it's not user-centred, it's not accessible!" at Front End North.
  • Craig smiles at the Front End North audience in front of a slide reading "Accessibility is a user need — not a technical specification", with live captions displayed on a side screen.
  • Craig gestures towards a slide titled "A lot of support for readability is lost in the AAA criteria", listing unusual words, abbreviations, reading level and pronunciation, with live captions on a screen beside the stage.
  • Craig presents to a full Front End North auditorium in Sheffield, beneath a slide titled "A lot of support for neurodivergent people is lost in the AAA criteria", mapping WCAG criteria to autism, ADHD, dyspraxia and dyslexia.
  • Craig speaks on the Front End North stage beside a slide reading "We need to do User Centred Accessibility — not User Centred Design with a WCAG audit slapped on at the end."
  • Craig closes his Front End North talk with a "Thanks!" slide showing his signature and contact links.

Previous events