Weekly Reading List 19 May 2025

One of the things I do at TPGi is compile a weekly reading list for our Chief Accessibility Officer, culled from 434 RSS feeds and 42 email lists and newsletters. The focus is on focus on digital accessibility, web dev or design, general web tech,
and disability.

Weekly industry news update for CAO

 

Everything’s More Complicated in Groups: Required Groups

Alicia Evans:  how to communicate a required status for groups.

https://www.tpgi.com/everythings-more-complicated-in-groups-required-groups/

 

JAWS Inspect Update: May 2025

Melissa Morse: faster, leaner, and even more aligned with the latest assistive technology.

https://www.tpgi.com/jaws-inspect-update-may-2025/

 

Download the May 2025 Update of Fusion Suite 2025

Elizabeth Whitaker: The May update includes new features and enhancements that will benefit all users.

https://blog.freedomscientific.com/download-the-may-2025-update-of-fusion-suite-2025/

 

Webinar: Ten Tips for Managing Windows 11 with JAWS

Elizabeth Whitaker: Thursday, May 15 at noon ET

https://blog.freedomscientific.com/join-us-for-ten-tips-for-managing-windows-11-with-jaws/

 

Educational and Cultural Exchange on Digital Accessibility — Highlights from Hong Kong

Shawn Henry: international cooperation to advance digital accessibility around the world.

https://www.w3.org/blog/2025/educational-and-cultural-exchange-on-digital-accessibility-highlights-from-hong-kong/

 

Reintroduction of the Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act

American Council of the Blind: The bill was introduced by Republican Congressman Pete Sessions from Texas.

https://www.acb.org/reintroduction-websites-and-software-applications-accessibility-act

 

The Accessibility Clock Is Ticking for State Governments

Nikki Davidson, Noelle Knell: State and local governments must prioritize upgrading their websites.

https://www.govtech.com/gov-experience/the-accessibility-clock-is-ticking-for-state-governments

 

2025 CSUNATC.TV

The hub for all livestream and digital content from the CSUN Assistive Technology Conference.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB7reFpQdLPN55Ky_N6GRTL16tAY38d2k

 

Market Drivers for Digital Inclusion

Based on current trends and projections for 2025

https://m-enabling.com/market-drivers/

 

100+ ARIA CodePens

Manuel Matuzović: useful resource

https://codepen.io/collection/rBNWPv

 

Design system annotations, part 1: How accessibility gets left out of components

Jan Maarten:  it’s a common misconception that accessible components will result in accessible designs.

https://github.blog/engineering/user-experience/design-system-annotations-part-1-how-accessibility-gets-left-out-of-components/

 

Design system annotations, part 2: Advanced methods of annotating components

Jan Maarten: How to make Preset annotations for your design system.

https://github.blog/engineering/user-experience/design-system-annotations-part-2-advanced-methods-of-annotating-components/

 

Tabindex, programmatic focus, and outline styles

Chris Ferdinandi: I sometimes need to programmatically focus on elements that would not normally be focusable.

https://gomakethings.com/tabindex-programmatic-focus-and-outline-styles/

 

Automated accessibility test tools find even less than expected

Robert Dodd: What do they catch? What do they not catch? (NB comments)

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/automated-accessibility-test-tools-find-even-less-than-robert-dodd-pk7be/

 

Talkin’ Tables @ AccessU

Adrian Roselli: As of 18 May I have embedded a 3MB tagged PDF of the slides.

https://adrianroselli.com/2025/05/talkin-tables-accessu.html

 

Selfish Accessibility 2025 @ AccessU

Adrian Roselli: As of 18 May I have embedded a 2MB tagged PDF of the slides.

https://adrianroselli.com/2025/05/selfish-accessibility-2025-accessu.html

 

Figma sites, this isn’t empowerment. It’s miseducation

Chris Yoong: This week, Figma got it wrong.

https://chrisyoong.com/blog/figma-sites

 

Organizing a design system via folksonomy

Eric Bailey: Other ways of organizing things.

https://ericwbailey.website/published/organizing-a-design-system-via-folksonomy/

 

The European Accessibility Act and B2B Software: What Internal Platforms Must Comply With

Karl Groves: Understanding the legal landscape requires reviewing […] the specific national implementations across EU Member States.

https://karlgroves.com/the-european-accessibility-act-and-b2b-software-what-internal-platforms-must-comply-with/

 

A11y 101: How to test manually

Nat Tarnoff: Too often, I see companies touting their high accessibility scores.

https://tarnoff.info/2025/05/15/a11y-101-how-to-test-manually/

 

I’m wrong. This is good.

Nat Tarnoff: If you fail, own it and work it out. Feel free to fail.

https://tarnoff.info/2025/05/12/im-wrong-this-is-good/

 

We launched our first Shopify theme

Nic Chan: I will not shut up about the accessibility of Shopify themes.

https://www.nicchan.me/blog/we-launched-our-first-shopify-theme/

 

Need help navigating accessibility? Let’s talk in my Accessibility Office Hours

Scott Vinkle: Think of these as your quick, focused video call lifeline to unblock any accessibility roadblocks.

https://scottvinkle.com/blogs/work/need-help-navigating-accessibility-lets-talk-in-my-accessibility-office-hours

 

How to Convince People to Care and Invest in Accessibility

Stéphanie Walter: Making the Case for Accessibility: Empathy, ROI, and Real Change.

https://stephaniewalter.design/blog/how-to-convince-people-to-care-and-invest-in-accessibility/

 

How to (not) use aria-label, -labelledby and -describedby

Steve Frenzel: Thank you once again James Edwards from TPGi and Adrian Roselli.

https://stevefrenzel.dev/posts/how-to-not-use-aria-label-aria-labelledby-and-aria-describedby/

 

HTML Email Accessibility Report 2025

Geoff Graham: The top 10 issues haven’t changed order since last year.

https://css-tricks.com/html-email-accessibility-report-2025/

 

The Hidden Gold of Web Accessibility: Everything About ARIA Labels

Florian Schroiff: Dive into ARIA labels for web accessibility.

https://www.a11y-collective.com/blog/aria-labels/

 

Unlocking Accessibility: Frontend developers discuss semantic HTML and accessible code

Kelly Clarkson & Samantha Merrett: asking various professions or teams specific questions about digital accessibility.

https://accessibility.blog.gov.uk/2025/04/25/unlocking-accessibility-frontend-developers-discuss-semantic-html-and-accessible-code/

 

95% of Home Pages are Inaccessible

Allie Paschal: Here’s what UX designers can do about it.

https://archive.md/P0gi6

 

How to have the browser pick a contrasting color in CSS

Jen Simmons:  now you can, with contrast-color(). Here’s how it works.

https://webkit.org/blog/16929/contrast-color/

 

Integrating Localization Into Design Systems

Rebecca Hemstad & Mark Malek: integral to delivering inclusive and accessible experiences to global users.

https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2025/05/integrating-localization-into-design-systems/

 

The problem with good design

Adam Silver: how good design leads to more problems.

https://adamsilver.io/blog/the-problem-with-good-design/

 

The Height Enigma

Josh Comeau: it feels random until you learn about the underlying mechanisms that explain the behaviour.

https://www.joshwcomeau.com/css/height-enigma/

 

Fallback lang attributes

Medienbäcker Thomas Günther: automatic language detection for screen readers [is] often unreliable.

https://medienbaecker.com/articles/fallback-lang-attributes

 

Missing a Human Touch: Why Automated Testing and AI Don’t “Solve” Digital Accessibility… Yet.

Alexis Hubbard: automation and AI are extremely high tech, so they should be able to solve these issues with ease, right?

https://afb.org/blog/entry/missing-human-touch-1

 

How Often Should We Speak About HTML Conformance?

Jens Oliver Meiert: it’s rare for sites to ship with valid HTML.

https://meiert.com/blog/speaking-about-html-conformance/

 

Building an Accessibility Paper Trail Using Automatic Logging

Dara Brewington: a robust accessibility paper trail that protects your organization by proving your commitment to inclusivity.

https://accessibleweb.com/tips-tools-tutorials/building-an-accessibility-paper-trail-using-automatic-logging/

 

One-click fix: Get suggestions to make your code accessible in the IDE

Could a more accessible web finally be on the horizon?

https://www.deque.com/blog/one-click-fix-get-suggestions-to-make-your-code-accessible-in-the-ide/

 

Building accessible apps with Next.js and axe DevTools

Jeremy Rivera: Let’s talk about how to build apps that are both fast and accessible

https://www.deque.com/blog/building-accessible-apps-with-next-js-and-axe-devtools/

 

Section 504 digital accessibility deadlines: What every HHS-funded provider must know

Glenda Sims: a major update to Section 504 regulations. It was the first full rewrite in almost 50 years.

https://www.deque.com/blog/section-504-digital-accessibility-deadlines-what-every-hhs-funded-provider-must-know/

 

How human-centered design improves accessibility remediation

Sam Proulx: Many barriers could be avoided if companies included people with disabilities early in the UX research process.

https://makeitfable.com/article/how-human-centered-design-improves-accessibility-remediation/

 

25 Years of Progress: How Accessibility, and Mindsets, Have Evolved

This year marks UsableNet’s 25th anniversar.

https://blog.usablenet.com/25-years-of-progress

 

Designing for Everyone: Tools to Help You Nail Accessible Color Contrast

Ian Culver: Color choices aren’t just about branding—they’re about inclusion.

https://spin.atomicobject.com/accessible-color-contrast/

 

How To Create Accessible Content

Content Accessibility Checklist

https://digital.accessibility.princeton.edu/checklist

 

Easier for Everyone: A Look at Apple’s Upcoming Powerful New Accessibility Features (2025)

Venkat: Apple recently shared some exciting news about powerful new features designed to make their devices even more accessible later this year.

https://assistivetechnologyblog.com/2025/05/apple-new-accessibility-features-2025-explained.html

 

New AI and accessibility updates across Android, Chrome and more

Angana Ghosh: In honor of GAAD, we’re rolling out new accessibility updates across Android and Chrome.

https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/accessibility/android-gemini-ai-gaad-2025/

 

AI in Action: Celebrating Global Accessibility Awareness Day

Jenny Lay-Flurrie: AI has been a game changer for accessibility.

https://blogs.microsoft.com/accessibility/ai-in-action-celebrating-global-accessibility-awareness-day/

 

Talkback 16 is rolling out

Joshua: google started rolling out talkback 16.

Android 16 features and changes
list: https://developer.android.com/about/versions/16/summary

https://www.applevis.com/forum/android/talkback-16-roling-out

 

Exciting new times for Be My Eyes for Windows / updates

Jessica: completely rebuilt from the ground up.

InnoSearch AI: https://www.applevis.com/forum/assistive-technology/be-my-eyes-provide-app-accessible-shopping-blind-low-vision-users

https://www.applevis.com/forum/windows/exciting-new-times-be-my-eyes-windows-updates

 

a Deep dive into VoiceOver settings for iOS and iPadOS

Levi Gobin: how each setting in VoiceOver’s settings on iOS and iPadOS affects the way VoiceOver behaves.

https://www.applevis.com/guides/deep-dive-voiceover-settings-ios-ipados

 

Reading flow ships in Chrome 137

Chris Coyier: Chrome is dropping reading-flow and reading-order.

https://frontendmasters.com/blog/reading-flow-ships-in-chrome-137/

 

‘Shifting left’ for better accessibility in Firefox

Kim Bryant: Shifting left means building accessibility in from the start.

https://blog.mozilla.org/en/firefox/shifting-left-for-better-accessibility/

 

NVDA 2025.1beta5 available for testing

David Goldfield: For anyone who is interested in trying out what the next version of NVDA has to offer.

https://groups.io/g/tech-vi/message/9237

 

Bringing lasting change to society through accessible technology

Interview with Kazuyuki Yamamoto, Distinguished Engineer, Sony Corporation

https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/technology/stories/entries/interview_de_yamamoto/

 

Reflecting on a Year of Progress in Accessibility and What’s Ahead

Heather Dowdy: making entertainment more accessible and celebrating the community of Netflix members.

https://about.netflix.com/en/news/reflecting-on-a-year-of-progress-in-accessibility-and-whats-ahead

 

Creating a more accessible web with Aria Notify

Evelynn Kaplan & Patrick Brosset: new API that’s designed to make web content changes more accessible to all MS Edge users.

https://blogs.windows.com/msedgedev/2025/05/05/creating-a-more-accessible-web-with-aria-notify/