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Dave Davies

@davedavies.dev

Digital Accessibility stuff 🦾 Helping you build better websites and apps for everyone https://davedavies.dev/

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28.11.2024
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Latest posts by Dave Davies @davedavies.dev

And a brief summary of what’s happened in the ebook up to that page I last read 6 months ago, and why it’s not the other book I thought I was reading. Or the other one.

23.02.2026 18:25 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Looking forward to this!

23.02.2026 18:21 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Podbean dashboard partially covered by an Equalweb overlay showing a β€˜Domain Error’ message stating the site key does not match the domain, with Equalweb branding and support contact visible.

Podbean dashboard partially covered by an Equalweb overlay showing a β€˜Domain Error’ message stating the site key does not match the domain, with Equalweb branding and support contact visible.

Oops. Someone at Podbean cancelled the equalweb subscription without telling anyone.

21.01.2026 14:27 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

β€œYou may also like: Wheels on the bus techno kidz mix 2005”

No….. well maybe actually go on then. We’ll give it a try.

21.01.2026 14:08 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I like the sound of cupcake Dave....

21.01.2026 12:09 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
The Cricklewood Saga The Access for All programme is delayed.

And while we're on the topic of newsletters... this one from @christiane.link is always such a good read and worth subscribing to. accessiblelink.substack.com/p/the-crickl...

21.01.2026 10:32 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
🌻 Designing For People With Dementia

That article is from @smashingmagazine.com's newsletter - Designing for people with dementia. And as usual - Smashing Mag have smashed it out the park. Great read for a Wednesday morning.

mailchi.mp/smashingmaga...

21.01.2026 10:25 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Accessible but never boring (Part 1) Rebranding the Wise design system for everyone.

Accessible doesn’t have to mean boring. At Wise 1 in 3 Android customers use an accessibility setting. The part about using the APCA colour contrast algorithm is interesting! medium.com/transferwise...

21.01.2026 10:23 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Side-by-side screenshots of a "Delete chat" confirmation dialog. On the left, the in-app dialog shows grey Cancel and Delete buttons with Delete on the left. On the right, the in-browser dialog shows a red Delete button on the right and Cancel on the left. The reversed button order and stronger visual emphasis on Delete highlight a muscle memory risk that can lead to accidental deletion.

Side-by-side screenshots of a "Delete chat" confirmation dialog. On the left, the in-app dialog shows grey Cancel and Delete buttons with Delete on the left. On the right, the in-browser dialog shows a red Delete button on the right and Cancel on the left. The reversed button order and stronger visual emphasis on Delete highlight a muscle memory risk that can lead to accidental deletion.

Let’s play spot the bad UI. Left is in-app, right is in-browser. Same company, different interfaces.

Muscle memory has almost caught me out too many times 🫠

20.01.2026 14:05 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
AI as a sales channel: how accessibility affects your product visibility AI is starting to influence how people discover and buy products. This article explores what that shift means for your store, why accessibility matters beyond compliance, and how to keep your products...

As the AI companies start pushing people to buy things through their apps, improving accessibility on your product pages makes your store easier to understand for any agent, on any surface, using any protocol.

davedavies.dev/blog/ai-as-a...

20.01.2026 13:53 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I think we call that early finish Thursday.

15.01.2026 18:57 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

A friend of mine kayaked over that 18 years ago and then got arrested, because it's apparently quite dangerous. Voted!

15.01.2026 18:55 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Are accessibility widgets useful? Watch an accessibility widget in action and see how overlays often make the experience more difficult instead of fixing actual accessibility issues. A short video review for anyone considering an acce...

Ever been tempted to use an accessibility overlay? They're not good for a number of reasons - but here's a example of overlays often make the experience more difficult instead of fixing actual accessibility issues.

davedavies.dev/reviews/pass...

15.01.2026 18:50 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

How do you consistently make beautiful designs for your pages? As a non-designer I am both envious and in awe.

14.01.2026 11:38 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Is the browser any good? I use AI a lot, but I can't think of any good reason why I would want it baked in my browser...

14.01.2026 11:32 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I read a very good article a number of years ago about how physical buttons were beneficial in a wide range of situations - including hospital equipment and car radios - where a lack of ambiguity was hugely important. I think about that everytime I have to use digital buttons now.

14.01.2026 11:15 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
AI as a sales channel: how accessibility affects your product visibility AI is starting to influence how people discover and buy products. This article explores what that shift means for your store, why accessibility matters beyond compliance, and how to keep your products...

So here we are with another good reason to make sure your product pages are accessible (and your site in general, actually), well-structured, and clear. I wrote some thoughts: davedavies.dev/blog/ai-as-a...

14.01.2026 10:52 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I've been reading a lot recently about how AI platforms are starting to experiment with keeping the entire shopping experience within their apps (with varying results). Interestingly - the bots often seem to struggle with poorly marked up, inaccessible product pages.

14.01.2026 10:52 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

All I want for Christmas is a fast browser, which blocks trackers & cookies (just the bad kind), no AI, doesn't show me 'trending searches', and asks me before quitting.

Is that too much to ask?

17.12.2025 11:37 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

oh no! Try this: davedavies.kit.com/posts/does-i...

That's the last time I share the url before the scheduled email actually sends... somehow it changes the url 😱 Thanks for letting me know.

17.12.2025 11:34 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Does it even matter if some people can’t buy from your online store? It's a fair question someone on my email list asked - and one I explore in my latest newsletter: davedavies.kit.com/posts/does-i...

17.12.2025 09:52 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

The stupidest modern day inconvenience is having to charge my doorbell.

I always forget, so I end up without a doorbell for days until I remember to charge it again.

16.12.2025 21:45 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

It's a very British way to sign off an email. I certainly get emails regularly signed Yours sincerely, Yours truly, Yours faithfully, etc.

You could slowly esculate it until you get to "With my very best regards", "I remain, yours sincerely" or "Your humble and obedient servant".

16.12.2025 20:11 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

When I had to fill in tax returns a few years ago - it kept taking me around in circles from the new design, to the old design, and back again. It was very disorientating. Hopefully it's a bit better than that now....

16.12.2025 19:58 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

AI art is soulless mush. But every now and again I see something so incredible it briefly breaks my resolve.

Not for long though πŸ˜…

16.12.2025 19:54 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Ditch the mouse and save loads of money, because you won't be able to buy from most online shops anymore πŸ˜…

I agree it's a great leveller - and something I'll always try to get people to do on their own websites. It's pretty incredible what they find.

16.12.2025 19:45 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Do they ever do anything about it after you’ve told them?

08.12.2025 20:58 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Screenshot of a product image element in browser devtools. The alt attribute reads β€œProduct Image”, showing an example of meaningless alt text used on an online store.

Screenshot of a product image element in browser devtools. The alt attribute reads β€œProduct Image”, showing an example of meaningless alt text used on an online store.

Alt text being like "Product Image" πŸ˜‚ Passed the automated test. Tick the box. Move on.

This is a real product, on a real shop. I won't say where - but I did tell them... quite a while ago now.

08.12.2025 20:42 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I think we call this: early finish Friday.

05.12.2025 09:15 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Is your custom dropdown costing you customers? Broken dropdowns stop customers choosing a size. Here's how to spot and fix the issue so more people can complete their purchase.

Great write-up. I found this exact problem on a site using a custom dropdown recently. The button to open the dropdown was valid, so it passed the automated checks, but then the options weren't keyboard accessible. davedavies.dev/reviews/acce...

05.12.2025 08:32 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0