WCAG - The most overlooked part of Web Development.

Welcome to our 142nd edition!

Before we begin, as mentioned in the previous edition, here are the changes that I’ve made for this year!

I highly appreciate your feedback on this one!

Changes made so far!

1. Refined the newsletter template to be more catchy and focused. You will have clear sections describing different things like any popular traditional news articles.

   1. We will start with the top stories that happened in the previous week.

   2. Focus on one article in-depth.

   3. …

2. Changed the recurrence from daily to weekly (Every Tuesday)

3. I’ve opened up the newsletter for your contributions. Hit reply and let’s talk more about it. You are free to provide articles for even a section (Top stories, spotlight, memes, …). You can also take control of the entire edition.

Changes still in progress!

1. Optionally, you can choose to join a Discord community where you all can interact with each other. I am working on setting one up. Will provide updates shortly.

2. I’m still working on some kind of coding platform where you can play around and have fun with some exercises.

Ok. Let’s dive into today’s edition.

🔥 Top Stories

• A 13-year-old boy beats Tetris within 38 minutes of gameplay and becomes the first-ever player in the world to break the 4-decade-long record.

Meanwhile,

Me: Damn the game got over. I missed a brick because I blinked for an extra second 🤣 

• WebAssembly: 4 predictions for 2024. Wasm’s advancements will help us build better, more secure, and more portable applications with the benefit of truly shared functionality.

• Astro web framework adds accessibility audit rules. Astro 4.1 will warn developers about unsupported ARIA attributes and missing attributes required for the ARIA role.

🌟 Spotlight

Let’s talk about Web Accessibility. Let’s pick some narratives to go over this topic.

Alright, imagine you're planning a big event - a party where everyone's invited. You've got a venue, decorations, and exciting things happening. But, there's a catch. The party is on the top floor of a building with no elevator. Some friends might struggle to climb the stairs, right?

Web accessibility is a lot like making sure everyone can easily get into that party. Some people might use different tools, like screen readers or special keyboards, to navigate the internet. If your website or app isn't set up for these tools, it's like not having a ramp or an elevator for those friends who need it.

Now, why do we need it? Well, imagine missing out on meeting awesome people at your party just because they couldn't climb the stairs. On the internet, if your site isn't accessible, you're potentially excluding people who could benefit from what you're offering.

Web accessibility ensures that everyone, regardless of their abilities or the tools they use, can access and enjoy what you've put out there. It's about inclusivity and making sure your party (or website) is open and welcoming to everyone.

As Front-end engineers, it is our at most responsibility to ensure the application that we make is accessible first. Based on my experience working in the industry so far, I’ve never worked much focusing on accessibility. This is obviously due to various factors like 1/ Importance, 2/ Priorities, 3/ Internal applications, 4/ … and I’m pretty sure this is the case with most of the applications except for those who directly involve accessible use cases.

Lately, this view is changing. Teams have started thinking of Accessibility as a part of their core development. UX engineers give importance to color contrasts, large buttons for mobile, and clear fonts, …

Similarly, we see a lot of utility tools emerging in the industry. This, further, ensures it is easier than ever to incorporate accessibility into any application.

Browsers provide various built-in helpers to evaluate the scoring of the application considering the accessibility.

There are some strict accessibility laws in various countries and they impose heavy implications if they're not followed. For eg:

1. United States (U.S.) - Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):

   • Implication: Failure to comply can result in lawsuits, financial penalties, and mandatory website updates to meet accessibility standards. Non-compliance can damage reputation and lead to loss of potential customers.

2. European Union (EU) - Web Accessibility Directive:

   • Implication: Member states are required to adopt accessibility standards for public sector websites and apps. Failure to comply can lead to legal action and financial penalties.

3. Canada - Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA):

   • Implication: Ontario-based businesses failing to meet AODA guidelines may face fines, legal action, and restrictions on operating within the province.

4. Australia - Disability Discrimination Act (DDA):

   • Implication: Non-compliance can result in legal action, fines, and the obligation to rectify accessibility issues. Entities failing to comply risk reputational damage and exclusion from government tenders.

5. United Kingdom (UK) - Equality Act 2010:

   • Implication: Businesses not adhering to accessibility requirements may face legal action, compensation claims, and mandated changes to improve accessibility. Failure to comply can damage reputation and result in loss of customers.

Just to name a few.

Let’s improve ourselves at least one step further in being inclusive to all. Let’s make this world a better and accessible place to be in :)

📚 Popular Articles

🎮 Try this out yourself

😂 Fun memes

Well, what can you say? That’s a perfect date!

I’m sure most of us can relate to the next one 😆 …

💬 What do you think about this edition?

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📢 Calling for contributions

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If you have a valuable perspective, a TypeScript tip, or a frontend engineering story to share, we welcome your submissions!

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