6 Web Accessibility Courses I Recommend for Web Designers and Marketers

Download Now: Free Web Accessibility Checklist

I have been creating website content for quite a few years now. During this time, I have worked closely with designers and developers to ensure the content is easy for everyone to engage with. It was during this process that I learned the important role that web accessibility plays here.

My own learning about web accessibility was haphazard, but if you want to learn about the topic in a more systematic and straightforward way, taking a web accessibility course is the way to go.

In writing this post, I deep-dived into some web accessibility courses that everyone can benefit from. While compiling the list of best courses for this article, I evaluated each for its content and practical insights. Read on for the list, and pick the one that fits you best.

What Are Web Accessibility Courses?

I'll start with an overview. According to the W3C Accessibility Guidelines, websites that follow the web accessibility guidelines address the need of "users with blindness, low vision and other vision impairments; deafness and hearing loss; limited movement and dexterity; speech disabilities; sensory disorders; cognitive and learning disabilities; and combinations of these."

Web accessibility courses are designed to teach individuals and organizations how to make websites and digital content that follow these guidelines. They cover essential topics such as inclusive design principles, compliance with accessibility standards, and practical techniques for creating content that is usable by everyone - regardless of their abilities or limitations.

Simply put, the idea is to make websites accessible to people with disabilities. Since more than 40.6 million people in the U.S. have a disability that affects their use of the Internet, it's not advisable to ignore the needs of such a sizable group of people - especially if you're in web design or marketing.

Web Accessibility Courses That Will Help You Grow

In this section, I'll review a selection of courses that I have evaluated based on the following:

• What you'll learn
• Why each course matters
• The associated cost
• My Takeaways about each course

If you're new to web accessibility, I would suggest going through this website accessibility checklist first. This checklist is especially handy if you're planning to start one of the courses below as you'll have a benchmark to measure your progress against.

Pro tip: You can use this checklist to guide you as you progress through the course, checking off each item from the list, or identifying any gaps in the course content so you can learn them on your own.

1. W3: Digital Accessibility Foundations

What You'll Learn

• Basics of Web Accessibility. Discusses the challenges in the way you approach accessibility.
• People and Digital Technology. Gives the basics of what you need to do for accessibility and why you need to do it.
• Business Case and Benefits. Explores how accessibility can help drive innovation, demonstrate social responsibility, expand market reach, and minimize legal risk.
• Principles, Standards, and Checks. Offers non-technical and technical guidance to explain accessibility requirements and ways of checking for accessibility barriers (evaluating or testing for errors or bugs).
• Getting Started with Accessibility. Offers tips for getting started and an explanation of how to approach accessibility in your design and development processes.

My Takeaways

This course also offers optional material, so I recommend it for anyone who wants to dive deep into the topics that interest them. For instance, if you're in content marketing, you can focus on writing a potential business case that could be presented to management.

A testimonial from Damian Sian on the W3 website says: "I would recommend anyone who creates #a11y training to join the course and/or integrate the lessons therein. Very well constructed!"

I agree that the content is well-constructed as the course is presented in a way that makes you think about differently-abled people. I found myself thinking about accessibility not just as a box to tick off for compliance, but as something I genuinely cared about.

Price

Free of cost. If you plan to get the verified certificate, then you will have to pay $99 USD.

Why it Matters

The course explains "the international standards for web accessibility from the W3C - including Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and WAI-ARIA for Accessible Rich Internet Applications" and guides you in applying them.

This course is designed for:

• Developers
• Designers
• Content authors
• Project managers
• People with disabilities

The course will take about 16-20 hours to complete. The course is self-paced, so the time frame really depends on the rate of your learning.

2. Scrimba: Learn Accessible Web Design

What You'll Learn

• What is Web Accessibility. Challenges the way you may approach accessibility.
• People and Digital Technology. Explains what you need to do for accessibility and why you need to do it.
• Business Case and Benefits. Explains how accessibility can expand market reach, demonstrate social responsibility, drive innovation, and minimize legal risk.
• Principles, Standards, and Checks. Teaches how to understand accessibility requirements and check for accessibility barriers by giving both technical and non-technical guidance.
• Getting Started with Accessibility. Discusses the approaches for integrating accessibility into your processes (for both design and development).

My Takeaways

What I really appreciate about Scrimba's approach is that they break down complex accessibility concepts into bite-sized chunks. While watching the videos, I was able to grasp the key principles quite easily. It's a practical course, especially for those of us balancing work and learning.

I always like a hands-on approach to learning as it makes the experience more tangible. This course does exactly that by walking through the process of fixing accessibility issues on a real-world website.

For many online courses, it feels as if one is sitting right in front of a screen with little to zero interaction. This course, however, has an interactive coding challenge which breaks up the monotony.

Price

Signing up for a Scrimba account is free and so is the course. I was able to access all the lecture videos without having to pay or enter my credit card details.

Why it Matters

This course has short, digestible videos and you can learn on the go. For instance, watching a couple of videos while commuting to work is a great way to fit learning into a busy schedule.

One unique aspect of this course is a section dedicated to how you can use your certificate once you've earned it. In a video by Scrimba's CEO, Per Borgen, he personally invites learners to connect with him on LinkedIn and offers to track their career progress. It adds a personalized and thoughtful touch - something that I haven't come across in any online course.

As this course is mainly centered around coding, I wouldn't recommend it to someone from a marketing background (unless of course you want to expand your skill set).

3. Udemy - Web Accessibility: Learn Best Practices, Tools & Techniques

What You'll Learn

• Introduction. How to make websites accessible to everyone.
• Accessible Design. Best practices for designing accessible content, such as effective use of color, forms, text, and multimedia.
• Practicality. Practical examples and quizzes to help apply the learnings.

My Takeaways

I really liked how the course covers all the main topics and also gave html snippets for common scenarios that were discussed. It gives a great overview of WCAG guidelines that professionals in the field of product and design encounter.

Web accessibility can be a complex subject, but this course breaks it down in a way that's easy to follow. There are some valuable lessons to learn for anyone who's interested in user-centered product design.

I also like how the course content is structured in a way that makes it useful for web designers and UX professionals. It does not require any prior coding expertise.

Price

The original price of the course is $49.99. I've mostly seen a discount offer on the Udemy website which brings down the price of this course to $18.99.

Why it Matters

The course gives a clear summary of what to check for to make your sites accessible (it's similar to the web accessibility checklist that I mentioned above).

The information in the course is coming from Australians, so the examples of the accessibility-related laws are also from Australia. If you're taking the course from the U.S., I would recommend reading the local accessibility laws to supplement your learning.

As the course is a bit old, I feel that some of the course content should be updated and should include some more practical examples to explain the rules.

4. LinkedIn Learning: Designing Accessible Components in Figma

What You'll Learn

• Introduction. Explains accessible components and why accessibility matters in Figma.
• Accessible Components. Explains the process of creating accessible buttons, accessible icons, accessible radio buttons and checkboxes, accessible image cards and input fields etc.
• Advanced Components. Explains the design process of accessible header menus, accessible footers, discusses the Figma plugins for accessibility, and gives a walk through of designing a simple web page using Figma components.
• Conclusion. Gives the challenge of designing a contact page and also a solution of their own version of contact page design.

My Takeaways

I like how the course is structured. There's a lot of new things to learn. However, this course starts by assuming you have basic knowledge of Figma. It doesn't deep-dive into Figma tools, but I recommend having basic Figma know-how before taking the course.

When I was going through the course, I found that the training file doesn't include styles. I would say take the course, but practice creating styles on your own.

My favorite aspect is how the course focuses on UX design, specifically creating buttons, image cards and navigation menu bars.

I would recommend the course for anyone looking to get a quick overview on accessible web design for Figma. But, if you are looking to get in-depth knowledge of accessibility concepts, this one might not be the best choice.

Price

As this course is part of LinkedIn Learning, the first month is free. After the free trial ends, the subscription begins at $29.99/month. If you plan to pay annually, it comes down to $19.99/month.

Why it Matters

UX design is important for marketers in the sense that it directly impacts how users perceive and interact with a brand. Getting the maximum marketing reach won't be possible until you learn about accessible design. This course teaches you just that.

Even though the course content is short, you will receive a certificate of completion that will come in handy. I recommend this course for marketers and UX designers.

5. Coursera: An Introduction to Accessibility and Inclusive Design

What You'll Learn

• Understanding Disability and Assistive Technology. - Reviews major disability types (visual, hearing, motor, and cognitive), their main functional challenges, and related assistive technologies. This section also includes firsthand perspectives on disabilities and a panel discussion on disability etiquette from a team of disability experts.
• The Legal Landscape and the Workplace. Explores firsthand occupation-specific perspectives from a web developer, a media specialist, an instructional designer, and a computer science instructor. It also includes insights from accommodation specialists who handle captioning, document conversion, accessible document design, audio description, and testing accommodations.
• Universal Design. Teaches the seven principles of universal design and the roots of universal design in architecture and how universal design can be applied in a learning context.
• Accessible Digital Materials. Teaches the key accessibility considerations for multimedia, including areas like captioning and complex images. This module also contains hands-on activities and helpful demos.

My Takeaways

I like how the course is centered around design, using the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The course has a peer-review assignment, which I found incredibly valuable, as such an option is usually not available for online courses. It's an opportunity to apply what you've learned and get feedback from others. (For this assignment, the files of other students that have to be downloaded are usually in read-only mode, so it gets challenging to run the Accessibility Checker.)

The content for the peer engagement design is valuable for marketers. I loved how the course had discussion prompts, so I had the chance to gain insights about how different design choices impacted user experience.

Price

If you're learning to earn a certificate, the cost to purchase the course is $49 USD. There's also the option to choose "Audit Only," which allows you to access the course materials but not the graded items. Coursera also has the option to apply for financial aid. Once granted, you get free enrollment for the course.

Why it Matters

The course is offered by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which adds a level of credibility to the content. The course has seven quizzes in total, and provides a certificate that can be added to your personal LinkedIn profile.

This one is a self-paced course. It takes around 14 hours to complete if you're watching the lectures at normal speed and without repeating any of the videos.

I'd like to mention that if you're trying to finish the course ahead of schedule, you won't receive the certificate until a certain date, since that's one of the course rules. It also takes time to submit the assignments to complete the reviewing process.

6. GTx: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Accessibility

What You'll Learn

• ICT Accessibility. Introduces ICT accessibility.
• ICT Accessibility Design. Discusses ICT accessibility in designing and procuring workplace applications.
• Assistive Technology. Covers the impact of assistive technology and mainstream technology on individuals with disabilities.
• Accessible Documents and Multimedia. Explains accessibility standards, elements of an accessible document, tools to check accessibility, audio description standards and guidelines, and multimedia captioning.
• Web Accessibility Evaluation and Design. Gives guidance on remediation tools using HTML5 and ARIA and also has an online evaluation.
• ICT Accessibility Operations. Outlines how an ICT Accessibility Operation Model can help organizations address their challenges, and includes a discussion on organizational challenges associated with ICT accessibility.

My Takeaways

The course does a great job in providing a foundation to address practical daily concerns centered around assistive technology, accessible documents and multimedia. I particularly liked how this course had a quiz at the end of each section with ten multiple-choice questions. This counteracts a common issue with long courses where you start to forget the earlier material as you move through the sections.

Another thing I found different is that simply watching the lecture videos doesn't suffice for this course. Participation in discussion forums and completion of weekly activity assignments and quizzes is also compulsory.

Price

$49 USD is the price of the course that will allow you to earn a certificate upon completion. You can also opt for the free version of the course, but access to course materials will be limited and you won't be able to participate in graded assignments and exams.

Why it Matters

The course content is for students and professionals. It includes personal interviews and insights from guest subject matter experts and is targeted towards people from the following backgrounds:

• Content creators
• Designers
• Developers
• Testers
• Product owners/Managers in development environments
• Managers (at an organizational level)
• Trainers/Teachers/Academics

The course spans six weeks, giving it enough depth to feel like a meaningful learning experience rather than just a quick watch-and-go. It doesn't feel like I've simply skimmed through a few videos - it truly feels like I've studied and absorbed the material.

What Do You Really Need to Know About Web Accessibility?

I'm of the view that everyone should know the basics about web accessibility. If you enroll in any one of the aforementioned courses, you'll be equipped with the foundations (and some practical skills) of creating an inclusive web experience.

Every marketer and developer should be aware of the following key web accessibility principles:

1. Making sure your website is navigable by keyboard.
2. Using proper contrast ratios for readability.
3. Writing alt text for images.
4. Designing for screen reader compatibility.
5. Providing sufficient color contrast.
6. Ensuring multimedia content includes captions and transcripts.

If you're a marketer or web designer, having a general familiarity with the WCAG will suffice. For developers, I would suggest also going through WAI-ARIA to learn how to enhance the accessibility of dynamic content and web applications.

I learned a lot while evaluating the content for web accessibility courses and I was pleasantly surprised by the wealth of detailed guidelines and resources already available. Choose the course that best fits your needs and role, and get ready to make your website accessible for everyone.

Topics:Web Accessibility

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