As part of UsableNet’s 25th-anniversary series, we focused this session on what teams can ship now and what will still matter next year.
Why Teams Should Invest in Web Accessibility Now
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The market is large and persistent. In the U.S., more than 1 in 4 adults report a disability; globally, about 1.3 billion people (≈1 in 6) experience a significant disability.
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Regulatory timelines are here. The European Accessibility Act applies from June 28, 2025, In the U.S., the DOJ Title II web and app rule sets compliance dates in April 2026 / April 2027, depending on entity size.
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Litigation pressure continues. UsableNet tracked 4,000+ ADA digital accessibility lawsuits in 2024 across federal and key state courts.
About our Digital Accessibility Panel
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Giacomo Petri — Director, Accessibility Auditors (UsableNet). At UsableNet for fifteen years, Giacomo discussed audit practices and journey-based testing across various brands and languages.
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Jeff Adams — VP, Accessibility Operations (UsableNet). With fourteen years of experience at UsableNet. Jeff shared his expertise advising on building a sustainable accessibility program, emphasizing ownership, role-based education, and a repeatable program cadence.
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Joseph DiNero — Blind Accessibility Tester (UsableNet); Assistant Program Director and Director of Business Outreach (Helen Keller Services). Joe brings lived user testing and a day-to-day screen reader perspective.
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Jason Taylor — Chief Innovation Strategist and moderator (UsableNet). Jason focuses on operational alignment across product, engineering, legal, and procurement.
Together, the panel covers program operations, deep auditing, lived user testing, and vendor/contract execution.
5 Takeaways from Accessibility Experts With Enterprise, Audit, And User-Testing Experience
1) Build A Program That Lasts (Not Another One-Off Project)
The panel aligned on one pattern that consistently works: a lightweight, repeatable loop—test → prioritize → fix → re-test → monitor—run by a named owner who aligns design, development, content, and QA. If accessibility “belongs to everyone,” it belongs to no one.
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Ownership and cadence. Appoint a single cross-functional owner and establish a cadence that persists through releases. Avoid big-bang efforts that stall when roadmaps shift.
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Definition of done. For each defect, record expected behavior, observed behavior (including what a screen reader announced if relevant), and explicit re-test criteria. This speeds fixes and prevents “almost fixed” regressions.
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Report the correct numbers. Track time-to-fix and coverage of shared templates/components, not just raw ticket counts. When templates improve, dozens of pages improve with them.
“…start with executive buy-in.” —Jeff Adams
Digital accessibility programs can fail when they chase lists of pages. Programs last when they chase repeated patterns and journeys that drive outcomes.
2) Test Reality, Not Page Lists
Giacomo was clear: stop measuring progress by pages scanned. Measure by journeys completed and patterns fixed.
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Representative journeys. Maintain a small, steady set that mirrors real-world usage—such as checkout and other high-impact flows—along with shared components like navigation, forms, dialogs, and dropdown controls.
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Shared components. Always include global navigation, headers/footers, and reused templates so one fix multiplies.
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Automation as triage. Automated checks catch obvious failures and regressions, but confirm with manual checks and assistive technology before filing tickets, or you will flood teams with low-value work.
Practical Tip: Name the control, describe expected keyboard and screen reader behavior, then the observed result. That makes a defect actionable for engineers on the first pass.
3) Fix Interaction Patterns First (Where Usability Succeeds Or Fails)
Joe’s examples anchored the conversation: customers succeed or fail on menus, dialogs, forms, and custom selectors—not on “pages” in the abstract.
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Menus & submenus. Avoid hover-only behavior. Menus must be fully keyboard-operable; focus must remain visible and predictable as users open, traverse, and close items.
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Dialogs & overlays. Provide a visible close control and ensure focus is managed correctly while the dialog is open and after it closes. Treat email pop-ups, cookie banners, and promo modals as dialogs that require the same level of care.
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Custom selectors. If you build bespoke dropdowns or pickers, expose name, role, and value; support Enter/Space and arrow keys as expected; and announce changes.
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Forms. Associate labels to inputs; place errors where they occur; ensure errors are announced so a user hears exactly what to fix.
4) Make Vendors Part Of Your Process (And Your Release Gates)
Jason’s message was blunt: third-party tools are part of your product, not “someone else’s problem.”
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State the bar up front. Before you buy or integrate, tell vendors the accessibility outcomes you expect and ask how they meet them.
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Verification, not claims. Require self-verification and usable evidence at handoff, and ask again after updates.
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Keep a single internal owner. Even with partners, keep one person accountable to coordinate fixes and enforce a light accessibility gate before releases.
“You need a way for them to self-verify what they’re providing to you is accessible.” — Jason Taylor
Where to start: Chat widgets, cookie banners, review components, and other overlays are frequent blockers—test them as part of every journey.
5) AI — With Guardrails
The panel’s stance was pragmatic: AI is useful when scoped and reviewed.
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Good fits today. Draft component documentation, generate acceptance checks for known patterns, and suggest code aligned to established components.
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Non-negotiable validation. Treat AI output as a draft that speeds experts; manual review and assistive-tech testing remain required.
AI can accelerate people who know the patterns; it cannot replace the patterns—or the testing.
Actionable Web Accessibility Steps
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Keyboard navigation and menus that work for screen readers. Avoid hover-only menus. Ensure submenus open via keyboard and that focus stays visible and predictable. Customers should open, use, and close dialogs without a mouse.
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Accessible forms: labels, errors, and focus that help people complete tasks. Associate labels and inputs. Make errors clear at the field and ensure announcements guide correction and completion.
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Dialogs, banners, and chat widgets that meet expectations. Treat overlays like dialogs. Provide a clear close-control. Keep focus inside while open and return focus on close. Include chat, cookie banners, pop-ups, and review widgets in audits.
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Test real customer journeys, not just pages. Use a small, repeatable set that mirrors usage—checkout and other high-impact flows—plus shared components so one fix lifts many screens.
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Bring third-party tools and vendors into your process. Review contracts and require vendor verification for anything added to your site. Keep internal ownership and validate before launch and after updates.
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Run a sustainable program: ownership and cadence. Name an owner. Keep a shared backlog. Test, prioritize, fix, re-test, monitor. Report time to fix and coverage across shared templates.
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Automation and AI — useful with guardrails. Treat automated findings as triage. Confirm with manual checks and assistive tech before ticketing. Use AI for documentation, targeted checks, and code suggestions; retain human validation.
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Add real user testing with NVDA, JAWS, and VoiceOver. Schedule sessions with blind screen reader users and keyboard-only testers. Observe one journey from start to finish and prioritize genuine blockers.
Which Remediation Approach is right for you? Answer a few key questions now.
Accessibility Q&A — Answers To Common Questions
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Where should we start? Fix blockers in checkout and other high-impact flows that customers use most.
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Do we need separate audits for every brand and market? When code and templates are shared, one deep audit often covers patterns; verify local language and unique components afterward.
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How do we hold vendors accountable? Put expectations in agreements, ask for verification, and validate before and after launches with a named internal owner.
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Where does AI help today? Use it for targeted support and documentation; confirm usability with assistive tech.
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What does an ongoing program look like? Assign ownership, run a monthly remediation sprint, track progress, and keep a short list of automated checks aligned to fixes you will ship immediately.
EAA and ADA compliance starts with testing—check your site’s accessibility now
If Each Function Does One Thing This Month
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Design — Ship visible focus states and document patterns for menus, dialogs, and error handling in your design system.
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Development — Prefer native controls where possible. Add focus management to custom components and a unit test for keyboard support.
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Content — Write clear labels and error text; keep titles and headings accurate; use plain language that a screen reader announces well.
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QA — Add a keyboard-only pass to each build and one full-journey pass with NVDA, JAWS, and VoiceOver.
Why This Approach Works
It prevents repeat regressions by fixing shared patterns and templates first. It aligns with delivery through a light, repeatable cadence that survives release pressure. It reduces risk by pulling vendors into the same verification loop as internal teams. And it improves task completion for customers with disabilities where it matters most.
Next Steps
Visit our 25th Anniversary hub to explore how accessibility has evolved—and where we’re headed next.
