Accessibility Specialist — Learning Path
An engineer who ensures interfaces are inclusive, standards-compliant, and usable by everyone.
Level: Advanced · Required: 71 articles (~13.3 h) · Optional: 10 articles (~1.9 h)
Difficulty of required articles: Foundational 22 · Intermediate 49.
Follow the sections in order. Articles link into docs/; each shows its difficulty and estimated reading time. Full prerequisites for any article are in its domain's graph.json (see GRAPH.md).
Milestones
- Apply WCAG and the ARIA model correctly
- Engineer keyboard, focus, and screen-reader experiences
- Build accessible widgets, forms, and live regions
- Respect motion, contrast, and perceivable-UI requirements
- Audit accessibility with automated and AT-based testing
Expected skills
By completing the required articles you should be able to:
- WCAG/ARIA conformance in real components
- Keyboard, focus, and assistive-tech engineering
- Accessible widget and form patterns
- Automated and manual accessibility auditing
Required articles
Accessibility
- WCAG Principles (POUR) · Intermediate · 12 min
- Conformance Levels · Intermediate · 12 min
- The ARIA Model · Intermediate · 12 min
- Accessible Name Computation · Intermediate · 15 min
- Role, Name, State · Intermediate · 12 min
- The Tree & Assistive Tech · Intermediate · 12 min
- Screen Reader Behavior · Intermediate · 12 min
- Keyboard Navigation · Intermediate · 12 min
- Focus Management · Intermediate · 12 min
- Focus Order & Tab Trapping · Intermediate · 12 min
- Skip Links & Landmarks · Intermediate · 12 min
- Color Contrast Conformance · Intermediate · 12 min
- Text Alternatives · Intermediate · 12 min
- Reduced Motion & Vestibular Safety · Intermediate · 15 min
- WAI-ARIA Widget Patterns · Intermediate · 12 min
- Accessible Forms · Intermediate · 12 min
- Live Regions & Announcements · Intermediate · 15 min
- Automated Auditing · Intermediate · 12 min
- Manual & AT Testing · Intermediate · 12 min
HTML & Document Semantics
- The Document Outline · Foundational · 8 min
- Sectioning & Landmarks · Foundational · 8 min
- Headings Hierarchy · Foundational · 8 min
- Tables & Data Semantics · Foundational · 8 min
- Native Form Controls · Foundational · 8 min
- Buttons, Links & Actions · Foundational · 8 min
- Dialog, Details & Popover · Foundational · 8 min
- The Contenteditable Model · Foundational · 8 min
- Responsive Images (srcset) · Foundational · 8 min
- Audio & Video · Foundational · 8 min
- Iframes & Embedding · Foundational · 8 min
- Inline SVG · Foundational · 8 min
- Head Metadata · Foundational · 8 min
- SEO Semantics · Foundational · 8 min
- Open Graph & Social Cards · Foundational · 8 min
- Structured Data (JSON-LD) · Foundational · 8 min
Component & Interaction Design
- Headless Components · Intermediate · 12 min
- Controlled vs Uncontrolled Pattern · Intermediate · 15 min
- Compound Components · Intermediate · 12 min
- Render Props · Intermediate · 12 min
- Pointer & Mouse Interaction · Intermediate · 15 min
- Drag & Drop · Intermediate · 12 min
- Hover, Press & Long-Press States · Intermediate · 15 min
- Gesture Handling · Intermediate · 12 min
- Loading & Skeleton States · Intermediate · 12 min
- Empty States · Intermediate · 12 min
- Error & Retry States · Intermediate · 12 min
- Disabled & Busy States · Intermediate · 12 min
Forms & Validation
- Error Messaging · Intermediate · 12 min
- Inline vs Submit Validation · Intermediate · 15 min
- Dirty, Touched & Submit State · Intermediate · 15 min
- Composite & Custom Inputs · Intermediate · 12 min
- Multi-Step Wizards · Intermediate · 12 min
- Autosave & Draft Persistence · Intermediate · 15 min
Animation & Motion
- Easing & Timing · Intermediate · 12 min
- Choreography & Sequencing · Intermediate · 12 min
- Purposeful Motion · Intermediate · 12 min
- Gesture-Driven Animation · Intermediate · 12 min
- Scroll-Linked Animation · Intermediate · 12 min
- Shared-Element Transitions · Intermediate · 12 min
CSS & Visual Systems
- Font Loading & FOUT/FOIT · Foundational · 8 min
- Type Scale & Rhythm · Foundational · 8 min
- Text Overflow & Truncation · Foundational · 8 min
- Color Spaces & Gamut · Foundational · 8 min
- Color Functions & Mixing · Foundational · 8 min
- Perceptual Contrast & Readability · Foundational · 11 min
Testing & Quality
- Rendering & Querying · Intermediate · 12 min
- User-Event Simulation · Intermediate · 12 min
- Accessibility-Tree Assertions · Intermediate · 15 min
Design Systems
- Design Primitives · Intermediate · 12 min
- Spacing & Layout Scales · Intermediate · 12 min
- Elevation & Surfaces · Intermediate · 12 min
Optional articles
Internationalization & Localization
- Bidirectional Text (RTL) · Advanced · 16 min
- Logical Properties · Advanced · 16 min
- Complex Scripts & Shaping · Advanced · 16 min
Browser APIs
- Intersection Observer · Foundational · 8 min
- Resize Observer · Foundational · 8 min
- Mutation Observer · Foundational · 8 min
- Performance Observer · Foundational · 8 min
React
- Elements vs Components · Intermediate · 12 min
- JSX Semantics · Intermediate · 12 min
- Composition & Children · Intermediate · 12 min