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The UX Designer’s Guide to Speaking a Small Business Owner’s Language
If you’ve ever tried to explain “heuristics,” “cognitive load,” or “Fitts’ Law” to a small business owner and watched their eyes glaze over… you’re not alone. Early-career UX designers often make one critical mistake when trying to land real-world projects: They speak design. Small business owners? They speak survival. When a business owner is juggling…
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What Is WCAG (and Why Should You Care If You’re Not a Developer)?
If you’ve ever heard someone mention “making a website accessible” and thought, “That’s a developer thing, right?”—you’re not alone. Accessibility often gets shoved into the tech bucket: coding problems, screen reader fixes, lawsuits, overlays. But at the heart of it is something much simpler (and much more human): Can people actually use your website? That’s…
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Why Accessibility Skills Are the UX Career Advantage No One’s Talking About
This is me shuffling over in front of you and firmly planting my soapbox before stepping into it with my megaphone. The UX Industry Is Shifting—and Accessibility Is the Secret Weapon If you’re a UX designer wondering how to futureproof your career, you’re asking the right question. And if no one’s told you this yet,…
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How to Audit Your Website for Accessibility (Even If You’re Not a Developer)
Accessibility Is Everyone’s Job—Not Just Developers You don’t need a comp-sci degree or fancy tools to start evaluating your website for accessibility. What you do need is a willingness to learn, a curious eye, and a keyboard. You’ve already got that! This post will show you how to perform your own accessibility audit—without writing a…
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Links vs. Buttons vs. Submit Inputs: The Accessibility Breakdown
One of the most common questions I hear in website evaluations is: “Is there a clear benefit to using a link over a button, or is it just personal preference from a front-end developer’s perspective?” And let me tell you—this isn’t just a stylistic choice. There’s a real accessibility and usability reason why you should…
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6 Steps to Make Your Website Actually Accessible (According to the DOJ)
Y’all, the Department of Justice just dropped some SUPER practical guidance about digital accessibility programs, and I am absolutely geeking out about it! While it was technically written for state and local governments, this is pure gold for any business wanting to make their website accessible (which should be all of you, just saying). Let…
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Building Level 11: My Vision for Inclusive Tech Training
“Maigen, you have the awesome turned up to 11.” When my friend Thomas said those words to me years ago, he wasn’t just giving me a compliment – he was unknowingly naming a vision that would become my life’s work. Because here’s what I believe: Everyone has the potential to turn their awesome up to…
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Forrester report on digital accessibility: “The Billion-Customer Opportunity”
Let’s talk about something that gets me absolutely fired up: the massive business opportunity that most companies are completely missing. I’m talking about digital accessibility, and the numbers I’m about to share will blow your mind. The Market You’re Not Seeing (But Should Be) Here’s a reality check: 1.3 billion people worldwide live with disabilities.…
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Why We Need to Fix How We Talk About Accessibility Audits (And What to Do Instead)
Clients are tired of getting massive accessibility audit reports that leave them feeling overwhelmed and unsure where to start. I read this blog post by Karl Groves (the Web Accessibility Viking) and, rather than depressing me, it thrilled me. Let’s talk about why I agree that this approach isn’t working and, more importantly, what we…
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Why Your Website Needs to Be Keyboard-Accessible: A Guide for Business Owners
When was the last time you tried using your website without a mouse? For millions of potential customers, keyboard navigation isn’t a choice – it’s their only option. Here’s why this matters for your business. Your Current Customers Need It Your website visitors are more diverse than you might think: Every customer who can’t use…