Accessibility Training for Designers: 9 Top Programs (2024)

Imagine a digital world where websites aren’t designed for a select few, but carefully crafted to meet the diverse needs of all users. Where every website and mobile app is accessible, whether people navigate with a mouse, keyboard, or assistive technologies like screen readers.

That’s the primary driver behind inclusive design: creating digital experiences that are accessible and usable by as many users as possible. Let’s dive into the basics of inclusive design before discussing accessibility training programs for designers that can help make information and services more accessible to all.

Accessible Design: The Basics

Accessible design differs slightly from inclusive design. Inclusive design is all about creating digital products and services that work for a broad range of people. Accessible design is a little different — the approach focuses on creating digital content that is usable by all individuals, particularly those with disabilities. It aims to remove accessibility barriers and ensure everyone has equal access to information and digital services. 

A crucial part of accessible design is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)(opens in a new tab), which is referenced by numerous non-discrimination laws including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)(opens in a new tab) and the European Accessibility Act (EAA)(opens in a new tab). The guidelines provide digital creators with standards to make accessible content for people with disabilities. WCAG follows accessibility best practices and principles, including:

• Comprehensive accessibility: Ensure all design aspects are accessible to individuals with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive disabilities. 

• Perceptible information: Present information in multiple formats to ensure individuals with sensory needs can perceive and understand information.

• Intuitive design: Create user interfaces that are easy to understand and navigate through clear labels, logical organization, alt text, and familiar, consistent patterns.

• Low physical effort: Minimize the effort needed to interact with digital designs by incorporating large clickable areas, keyboard shortcuts, and optimizing form fields for easy input.

• Tolerance of error: Design with forgiveness in mind. Ensure users can easily correct mistakes by offering clear feedback, error prevention mechanisms, and support resources.

• Perceivable information: No information or functionality should be hidden from users, regardless of their sensory abilities. Ensure web elements have good color contrast and that color alone isn’t used to convey information.

It’s important to remember these principles are just a starting point for creating accessible designs. For a deeper look into accessible design best practices, check out these resources:

• A Comprehensive Guide on Accessible Web Design (PDF Download)

• 2023 Digital Accessibility Index 

• Building for Digital Accessibility at Scale

• Accessible Colors: A Complete Guide for Web Design

The 9 Best Accessibility Training Programs for Designers

Several online courses are available for designers looking to enhance their accessibility skills. Whether you’re just getting started with accessibility or have a few years of experience, the courses below can strengthen your knowledge of accessibility and help you create more accessible designs.

AudioEye’s Accessibility Training

AudioEye’s Accessibility Training delves deep into the accessibility industry, providing you with more knowledge on creating web designs accessible to individuals with disabilities. Our training course starts by defining accessibility and addressing common misconceptions before delving into accessibility best practices, principles, and laws. Our third module is incredibly beneficial for designers as it includes an in-depth discussion of universal design principles and how to use the WCAG effectively during design processes. Each module is taught by a CPACC-certified AudioEye employee who is an expert in their respective field. 

See how Misericordia University (opens in a new tab)enhanced accessibility for their respective users after participating in our course.

LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn Learning is a popular platform that offers various training courses, including Accessibility-First Design(opens in a new tab). The course is taught by David Luhr, an accessible design and development consultant. It teaches you how to incorporate accessibility into your digital experiences and shows how teams can work together to prioritize and test for accessibility throughout the design process.

Udemy’s How to Design for Accessibility

Taught by Liz Brown, Udemy’s ‘How to Design for Accessibility: For UX Designers(opens in a new tab)’ focuses on web accessibility fundamentals. The course includes a look into the accessibility industry before delving into accessible design practices.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign via Coursera

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign offers numerous accessibility courses(opens in a new tab) via Coursera. For example, the university provides an ‘Introduction to Accessibility and Universal Design(opens in a new tab)’ for newcomers to the industry. The course covers the importance of digital accessibility and provides a high-level look into how to create accessible digital content. You can also enroll in additional courses, including ‘Disability and Awareness Support(opens in a new tab).’

Interaction Design Foundation (IDF)

The IDF offers numerous courses for design-related topics, including their ‘How to Design Accessible Experiences(opens in a new tab).’ The course, which Reginé Gilbert teaches, discusses how to create an inclusion and accessibility strategy, how to create an accessible style guide, how to conduct co-design and participatory design, and more. Taking the class will help you understand the importance of and how to put together an accessible design strategy.

Google’s Web Accessibility Compliance Course

If you want to learn how to make web applications (including web pages and mobile apps) accessible, Google’s Web Accessibility Compliance Course(opens in a new tab) is a great starting point. More technical, the course provides an overview of why accessibility matters before delving into the specifics of making web content more accessible. For example, you’ll learn what “semantics” and “semantic markup” mean for web pages and how ARIA plays a role. You’ll also learn styling techniques that help users with visual impairments navigate digital content more easily.

Learn Accessibility by web.dev

Designed for both beginner and advanced web developers, web.dev’s Learn Accessibility course(opens in a new tab) shows how to design and build websites that individuals with disabilities can easily interact with. For those new to accessibility, the course includes an overview of digital accessibility and why it matters. It then progresses into more advanced topics, such as creating accessible JavaScript, typography, video, animation, forms, and more.

Web Accessibility Compliance Course by Treehouse

Treehouse’s Web Accessibility Compliance Course(opens in a new tab) teaches you how to design for accessibility from the beginning. After the ‘Accessibility at a Glance’ module, you’ll dive into more technical topics, including WCAG 2.0, semantic HTML, WAI-ARIA, and accessibility testing.

Gaming Accessibility Fundamentals Course

For designers working specifically in the gaming industry, Microsoft Learn’s Gaming Accessibility Fundamentals Course(opens in a new tab) provides accessibility best practices for game titles, gaming platforms, and gaming platforms. You’ll also learn which gaming industry elements influence accessibility and how to resolve them.

Stylized web browser with the accessibility icon inside a shield next to it.

The Importance of Accessibility Training and Inclusive Design

Accessibility is no longer a nice-to-have — it’s a moral imperative and a legal requirement. Accessibility training provides you as a designer with the knowledge and tools you need to create designs that can be used by all individuals — regardless of their abilities. With a more in-depth understanding of accessibility standards, guidelines, and best practices, you can address barriers preventing users from easily engaging with digital content more effectively. 

Here’s the bottom line: Accessibility training provides you with the knowledge you need to enhance the user experience for everyone. Including inclusive design best practices often leads to more intuitive interfaces, which leads to higher user satisfaction, engagement, and loyalty.

Prioritize Accessibility and Inclusivity with AudioEye

Accessibility training empowers you to create accessible, inclusive designs that impact users. With a deeper understanding of accessibility, you can break down barriers, foster diversity, and enhance the usability of digital content for users of all abilities.

The best place to get started? AudioEye. Our Accessibility Training course helps designers create more accessible digital content. From our in-depth look into the accessibility industry to our deep dives into accessibility best practices, our course gives you all the knowledge and tools you need to create a more accessible digital world.

To learn more about AudioEye’s Accessibility Training, book a demo with us.