WP Builds 444 – Accessibility made easier: Natalie MacLees on Aaardvark for agencies and developers
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Nov 6, 2025 Natalie MacLees, an accessibility specialist and co-founder of Aardvark Accessibility, shares her journey into web accessibility and the evolution of inclusive design. The conversation highlights how Aardvark assists developers and agencies in identifying and resolving accessibility issues with tools focused on user-friendly guidance. They discuss the importance of clear explanations for motivating fixes, the use of automated and manual testing, and how the platform enhances client reporting and agency workflows.
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Early University Triggered Accessibility Career
- Natalie first learned accessibility in 2000 while building sites for a university chemistry department.
- Disability services trained her after students couldn't use her sites, and she carried that knowledge throughout her career.
Basics Persist Amid Growing Complexity
- The core accessibility basics (HTML semantics, links) remain stable even as tech evolves.
- New devices and expectations make accessibility both more capable and more complex today.
Inaccessibility Now Has Larger Social Cost
- The web's pervasiveness makes inaccessible sites a larger social problem today.
- When critical services go online but aren't accessible, many people remain effectively excluded.