General Musings with Kevin Powell Navigating the World of Web Accessibility with Sara Soueidan
Sep 12, 2025
In this engaging discussion, Sara Soueidan, a front-end engineer and accessibility expert, dives into the essentials of web accessibility. She defines accessibility, distinguishes it from inclusive design, and shares her journey into the field. Sara emphasizes that WCAG is just a starting point for usability and offers practical tips for learning and implementing accessibility techniques, including the correct use of ARIA. She also discusses the impact of CSS on accessibility, shares insights on screen reader testing, and offers a peek into her food hobbies.
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Accessibility Versus Inclusive Design
- Accessibility is about removing barriers so people with disabilities can access, understand, and operate the web using assistive tech.
- Inclusive design encompasses accessibility and aims to involve diverse people across abilities, ages, and contexts.
WCAG Is A Baseline Not A Finish Line
- Use WCAG as your baseline but go beyond it because conformance alone doesn't guarantee usability.
- Prioritize usability and think about real users so conformance leads to a useful product, not just a checklist.
A Personal Turning Point
- Sara first discovered accessibility around 2015–2016 and felt guilty realizing past work was partially inaccessible.
- That guilt and a high quality bar drove her to learn accessibility deeply and change her practices.