Accessibility can feel intimidating. ARIA? Screen readers? WCAG? 😵💫
But as a web developer starting to care about it, I realized that a few simple practices already make a big difference.
This series of articles is not a deep dive into the full accessibility specifications.
It’s a beginner-friendly, practical guide, written by someone who’s learning, just like you.
No theory overload, no guilt. Just simple things you can actually do.
📦 Structure & Semantics
- Use proper semantic HTML:
<header>,<main>,<section>, etc. - Each page should have a unique and meaningful
<title> - Follow a logical heading structure (
<h1>to<h6>) - Every
<section>should have a heading - Set the correct language in
<html lang="..."> - Use
<button>for actions,<a>for links - Use Chrome DevTools to explore the Accessibility Tree
🛠️ I’m currently writing a full blog post on this topic. I’ll add the link here as soon as it’s published!
🎯 Keyboard Navigation & Focus
- Everything must be usable with just a keyboard
- Don’t Mess Up
tabindex, stick to0and-1 - Add a skip link at the top of the page
- Keep focus outlines, or replace them visually
- Test it with an assistive tool
🛠️ I’m currently writing a full blog post on this topic. I’ll add the link here as soon as it’s published!
🧩 Forms & Inputs
- Link inputs and labels using
<label for="id"> - Use
aria-describedbyfor help text or errors - Use
role="alert"oraria-livefor live error messages - Labels and buttons should be clear
🛠️ I’m currently writing a full blog post on this topic. I’ll add the link here as soon as it’s published!
🧠 ARIA (Only If Needed)
- Use
aria-hidden="true"for purely decorative elements - Add
aria-labelto describe blocks like navs - Use
aria-current="page"for the active page - Use
.sr-onlyfor screen-reader-only info - Prefer native HTML whenever possible
🛠️ I’m currently writing a full blog post on this topic. I’ll add the link here as soon as it’s published!
📺 Media & Motion
- Add relevant
alttext, oralt=""for decorative images - Videos and audios need subtitles or transcripts
- Use audio descriptions if visuals are important
- Don’t autoplay audio/video, or at least give controls
- Use
prefers-reduced-motionto reduce animations
🛠️ I’m currently writing a full blog post on this topic. I’ll add the link here as soon as it’s published!
🔍 Visual & Readability
- Don’t rely on color alone to show meaning
- Check contrast and font size
- Content should stay readable at 400% zoom
- Let users adjust spacing, line height, etc.
- Clickable elements shouldn’t be too small
🛠️ I’m currently writing a full blog post on this topic. I’ll add the link here as soon as it’s published!
🔄 Advanced
- For SPAs, update the
<title>and move focus on route change - Menus must be keyboard-friendly
- Modals/popups should trap focus and return it on close
🛠️ I’m currently writing a full blog post on this topic. I’ll add the link here as soon as it’s published!
That’s it! Let’s make the web better, one small fix at a time. 👊
This guide will evolve as I keep learning, so feel free to share your tips, corrections, or suggestions in the comments.
Note: I just started writing this guide. The detailed posts will be released shortly. Follow me on Twitter if you don’t want to miss them.
I’m a freelance interactive developer from Paris. You can find more information about me on my portfolio, follow me on Twitter or subscribe to the newsletter to never miss the latest posts.