As digital experiences become central to how we live, work, and communicate, accessibility is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s a necessity. Inaccessible websites and applications can exclude millions of users who rely on assistive technologies, and companies that fail to meet accessibility standards increasingly face reputational and legal risks.
For development teams, this shift means that accessibility isn’t just a QA or design concern—it’s a core engineering responsibility. Whether you’re building a new feature or maintaining legacy code, having an accessibility-aware development team is essential to creating inclusive, compliant digital products.
In this post, we’ll break down seven core skills every front-end engineer, UI developer, and full-stack dev should know to ensure your team is not just accessibility-aware—but accessibility-ready. From semantic HTML to assistive technology testing, these skills will help your team deliver experiences that work for everyone, including people with disabilities.
1. Semantic HTML & CSS Foundations
Good accessibility starts with good structure. Writing semantic HTML means using the right elements for their intended purpose: <header>, <main>, <nav>, <button>, and so on. These elements provide meaningful information to assistive technologies like screen readers, allowing users to navigate by landmarks and structure.
CSS should be used for presentation only—not for faking semantics (e.g., making a <div> look like a button). This is a foundational skill every developer must master.
Learn more from MDN’s accessibility HTML guide.
2. ARIA & JavaScript Accessibility
Modern web apps rely heavily on JavaScript frameworks like React, Vue, and Angular. When custom UI components are introduced, ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) becomes essential.
ARIA allows developers to define roles, states, and properties to make dynamic elements like modals, dropdowns, and tab lists accessible. But ARIA should be used carefully—“no ARIA is better than bad ARIA.”
See MDN’s ARIA documentation for guidance.
3. Assistive Technology Testing
Automated tools (like Lighthouse or Axe) are great for catching surface-level issues, but they can’t replicate how a real user experiences your app.
Your developers should be familiar with:
- NVDA (Windows)
- VoiceOver (macOS and iOS)
- TalkBack (Android)
Testing with screen readers, keyboard-only navigation, and high-contrast modes reveals issues that automation can’t detect—like confusing focus states, announcement problems, or non-intuitive interaction flows.
Download NVDA for free and test your next feature manually.
4. WCAG Mastery & Guidelines Literacy
Your team should understand the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 and 2.2, particularly Level AA compliance. These standards form the legal and functional baseline for accessibility compliance around the world.
Key principles of WCAG—Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust (POUR)—should be familiar terms to every developer. Knowing the difference between a Level A and Level AA violation can shape smarter dev decisions.
Explore W3C’s official WCAG guidelines.
5. Responsive & Mobile Accessibility
More than 60% of global web traffic comes from mobile devices. Accessibility doesn’t stop at screen size—touch targets, gesture reliance, zoom support, and reflow behavior are all major concerns addressed in WCAG 2.1 and 2.2.
Developers must ensure that:
- Pages don’t require horizontal scrolling at 320px width
- Orientation isn’t locked without a good reason
- Touch gestures aren’t the only way to interact with key functionality
Read up on mobile accessibility guidelines.
6. Manual Testing Techniques
Even with tools like Axe, Lighthouse, and WAVE in your workflow, manual testing is essential. It catches layout traps, keyboard navigation failures, focus issues, and announcement bugs that scanners miss.
Developers should learn how to:
- Navigate the site using only a keyboard
- Follow logical tab order
- Trigger modals and dropdowns without a mouse
- Inspect the accessibility tree using browser DevTools
Try the HTML accessibility test on MDN.
7. Documentation & Team Communication
Accessibility work is cross-functional. Developers need to know how to log accessibility issues in a clear, actionable way—often in tools like Jira, Asana, or GitHub Issues.
Good documentation includes:
- The violated WCAG criterion
- Clear reproduction steps
- Expected behavior
- Severity and impact rating
- Optional screenshots or screen reader output
The better your team communicates, the faster accessibility issues get fixed.
Why These Skills Matter
A recent study from WebAIM found that 96.3% of the top one million websites still have WCAG violations, and lawsuits related to ADA and digital accessibility continue to rise. Companies that prioritize accessibility not only reduce legal risk but also improve SEO, usability, and overall user satisfaction.
Moreover, hiring managers at companies like Microsoft, Google, and Salesforce increasingly expect developers to have accessibility awareness baked into their skills.
What Can Your Team Do Today?
- Audit your codebase for low-hanging accessibility fixes
- Add accessibility checks to your code review and QA process
- Start training developers using free tools like Deque University, MDN tutorials, and W3C WAI
- Partner with experts (like us!) to conduct audits, VPATs, or training sessions
Ready to take Accessibility seriously?
At a11ypros.com, we specialize in WCAG audits, remediation, training, and VPATs. Whether you’re looking to upskill your dev team or fix existing accessibility issues, we can help you deliver a more inclusive experience—without slowing down your roadmap.
Contact us today to get started.