Why dark mode matters beyond aesthetics
Dark mode is more than a design trend. For a significant group of users, it’s a functional necessity. People with light sensitivity, migraines, vestibular disorders (e.g., vertigo), and low vision rely on dark mode to use screens comfortably. When a site ignores the OS setting and forces light mode, it creates a barrier for the […]
What two major retailers can teach us about quantity steppers
Quantity steppers appear on almost every e-commerce site. They look simple: a minus button, a number, a plus button. But they’re deceptively tricky to implement with accessibility best practices. I recently looked at two real-world examples, Hannaford and Walmart, and found that both get different parts right and different parts wrong. Hannaford Hannaford’s implementation has […]
Did you know there’s a U.S. tax credit for accessibility work?
Here’s a secret that most small business owners have no idea exists. The IRS offers the Disabled Access Credit under Section 44 of the Internal Revenue Code. It covers 50% of eligible accessibility expenses between $250 and $10,250 per year. The maximum credit is $5,000 annually, and unlike a deduction, which reduces your taxable income, […]
The web shouldn’t work better for AI than for people
There’s a proposal circulating in web standards circles called WebMCP. The idea is straightforward: give AI agents richer, more actionable access to web content so they can interact with sites more effectively on a user’s behalf. The problem is how it’s being built. WebMCP creates a separate layer of semantics specifically for AI agents. Screen […]
What to do when WCAG doesn’t have an answer (Part 2)
Last week, I introduced first principles reasoning as a way to tackle accessibility problems where no WCAG pattern exists. We covered the first phase, framing the problem, which provides a foundation to work from (steps 1-3). This week, we are going to look at how to actually build and validate a solution (steps 4-6). Step […]
What to do when WCAG doesn’t have an answer (Part 1)
Earlier this year, I was working with a client on an interactive ticketing site. We were troubleshooting an issue related to the pan and zoom controls, which were designed to help users select their seats on a seating map. Above 200% browser zoom, the pan controls disappeared entirely. The obvious fix seemed to be keeping […]
Integrating disability into your UX personas
Most persona sets have 4-6 profiles built from demographics and goals. Disability rarely makes the cut. When it does, it gets bolted on as a separate “accessibility persona” that the team references once and forgets. The fix isn’t a special persona. It’s building disability into the ones you already have. Think in a spectrum, not […]
Are you designing for aesthetic or for action?
There’s a quiet tension that exists in design work. The version that looks best in a mockup isn’t always the version that works best for users. Minimal forms with no visible labels look clean in a Figma file. Low contrast text feels sophisticated on a landing page. Icon-only navigation looks uncluttered in a portfolio screenshot. […]