A Decade of Accessibility Weekly
A decade ago, I started a newsletter called Accessibility Weekly to help people learn about web accessibility. It continues, and I sent out the 478th issue on December 15, 2025. I’d call that a success. It may be one of the most impactful things I’ve made during my career.
Ten years on the web is ancient. After starting Accessibility Weekly, I struggled to keep it weekly. I couldn’t pivot because the name was set. Once people started recommending it, I decided to try again and it stuck. I’ve kept it going because I made it a ritual. Every Sunday, I sit down with a beverage, sift through the links I’ve collected and put together the week’s issue.
Confession time: I started the newsletter as a way to begin writing a book about accessibility. The weekly writing proved more demanding than I expected. I’ve outlined the book, but it remains unwritten. One day though. I got more hooked on curating the good writing others did.
I’ve wanted to stop sending the newsletter more than once over the years. It takes a few hours each week to make something of value for people. It means less time with my family or on other hobbies that take me away from a screen. Doing the work keeps me learning, constantly exposed to new ideas and voices. The occasional email or message that says “I read this every week!” Or “I share links with my coworkers all the time” keep me going.
A decade of weekly curation has taught me a few lessons worth sharing:
- In a decade, accessibility on the web hasn’t improved in a large groundbreaking way, but the curiosity around it has changed dramatically. More people talk about it in more places. We should keep leaning into that.
- The best post or resource about accessibility is the one you publish, sharing what you learned and/or what you don’t know.
- We need more voices writing about accessibility. As blogging has declined and audiences have scattered across siloed platforms, it’s harder than ever to have a serendipitous discovery of someone you’ve never read before. Publish, and do it on a site you control.
- I need to include the perspectives of people with disabilities more. I try to do this often in the most prominent spots: the featured article and the “New to A11y” section. However, the more, the better.
I’ll keep showing up in people’s inboxes as long as they keep telling me I’m making something useful. Here’s a secret. That’s easier now than it has been before because of the increased use of artificial intelligence to take shortcuts. There’s something unique about a curated list of links. I hope they provide a point of view and help people take action.
See you in the next issue.
Image by Edge2Edge Media.