Registration is still open for WordPress Accessibility Day 2022. The 24-hour global event begins on Nov. 2 at 14:45 UTC and is completely free to attend.

The event was originally started by the Website Core Accessibility Team back in 2020 and this year volunteers took over organizing.

According to the website, “Our mission is to demystify website accessibility for WordPress developers, designers, content creators, and users so that they can more easily build websites that work for everyone, regardless of ability.”

There will be 24 hours of content from 20 speakers. 40 percent of presentations include a speaker with a disability.

Why Web Accessibility Matters

Web accessibility has been a huge topic of conversation in the WordPress space. Why is it important to make your site accessible?

Not only will it keep you out of a law suit, it will make the web a better place for everyone. If a portion of the population can’t read your content, you are missing out on a potential fan, reader, or customer. Simple improvements can greatly benefit a wide number of people. Not only those who report a disability, but people who speak a different language or want to read your site on a phone in the park.

At the end of the day, making your site as accessible as possible is just the right thing to do. The event site lists the people who will benefit from a more accessible web:

  • blindness or visual impairments,
  • deafness or hearing loss,
  • motor challenges ranging from loss of a limb to quadriplegia to the tremors and arthritis that are common as people age,
  • cognitive disabilities related to conditions people are born with or traumatic brain injuries that happen later in life,
  • epilepsy,
  • motion sickness,
  • reading difficulties such as dyslexia,
  • and more…

Why Attend Accessibility Day

Though it is true every site owner needs to make accessibly a priority, it can be hard to know where to start, especially if your site is already complete. The 32 experts the organizers have gathered are there to help you take your site from start to finish.

Rob Howard, CEO of HDC, is hosting a talk titled, Selling Accessibility to Skeptical Clients. It can be hard to convince a client to spend more money, but Howard will provide the tools to approach those conversations.

Technical Instructional Designer at Pantheon, Bela Gaytan, is presenting a talk called Beyond Colors and Captions: How to Provide More Inclusive Accessibility. This will look beyond the go-to accessibility fixes and include people who are neurodivergent, have mobility impairments, and more.

If you’re just getting started in your accessibility journey, it is important to have good accessibility testing. Co-founder and CEO of SenseIT, Tamar Schapira, will present a talk on Digital Accessibility Testing. Make sure you’re getting it right from the very start.

These are just three of the incredible speakers who can be found at Accessibility Day 2022. Make sure to get your tickets today!