Start Reading: Practical Web Accessibility by Ashley Firth

It’s May 1st, and that means a fresh new read for the Accessibility Book Club!

We’re thrilled to kick off the month with a powerful, in-depth resource:
Practical Web Accessibility: A Comprehensive Guide to Digital Inclusion (2nd Edition) by Ashley Firth, published by Apress.

This book is a cornerstone for digital professionals who care about doing things right. If you design, develop, write, test, lead teams, or simply care about people being able to use the web—this is your guide. At 572 pages, it’s a commitment—but one we’re confident is worth it.

Why This Book Matters Right Now

More than 1.3 billion people worldwide experience significant disability—that’s about 16% of the global population. In some estimates, it’s as high as 1 in 6.

And yet, the latest WebAIM Million report shows that 96.3% of homepages on the top 1 million websites still have WCAG conformance failures.

Accessibility lawsuits continue to rise against companies like Beyoncé, Netflix, and Disney, proving that inaccessible websites are a legal liability and a digital injustice.

What You’ll Learn in This Edition

This new edition of Practical Web Accessibility takes the conversation far beyond compliance—it dives deep into what it really means to design and build for everyone.

You’ll gain insight into:

• A wide range of access needs: From visual impairments like color blindness and low vision, to auditory disabilities, mobility challenges, cognitive and learning disabilities, neurodivergence, mental health conditions, and temporary or situational limitations (like using a phone in bright sunlight or with a broken arm).
• How different users interact with the web: You'll understand how people navigate using screen readers, voice control, keyboard-only inputs, zoom magnification, and more—and how these tools affect how your website should be structured and designed.
• The real-world barriers users face: Beyond just missing alt text or contrast issues, you’ll explore how modal windows, poor focus handling, bad form validation, and inconsistent UI patterns create confusion, frustration, or even exclusion.
• Practical strategies and solutions: The book is loaded with tangible guidance—how to test for issues, how to build accessible components from scratch, and how to improve usability while boosting performance and SEO.

But this book goes beyond the technical checklist. Ashley Firth reminds us that accessibility is a people-first practice rooted in ethics and care. He understands that in a sea of tech books, you’ve chosen to spend your time here—and he doesn't take that lightly.

The goal isn't just to make a page accessible, but to ensure the entire user journey is accessible. As the WCAG 2.2 guidelines make clear, a single conformant page doesn't make an inaccessible process acceptable. If your checkout flow, sign-up experience, or multi-step interaction is broken or confusing to some users, then the entire process is inaccessible—even if one page technically meets the standard.

You’ll learn how to identify those breakpoints and fix them. You’ll also explore:

• Inclusive thinking – How to shift your team’s mindset from minimum effort to meaningful inclusion
• Ethical design – Why accessibility isn't charity or compliance—it's justice
• Long-term sustainability – How to integrate accessibility into your workflows, team culture, and design systems from day one

Ashley Firth’s approach makes this book a standout: it’s technical and human, detailed and inspiring. Whether you’re a developer, designer, product owner, or content creator, you’ll walk away with clarity, tools, and a renewed commitment to a more inclusive web.

Who This Book Is For

Practical Web Accessibility is written for anyone who has a hand in creating or maintaining websites—whether you’re writing the content, designing the interface, coding the experience, managing the team, or shaping the product roadmap.

This book is especially valuable for:

• Front-end developers and engineers who want to build accessible, standards-conformant code that holds up in real-world testing
• UX/UI designers looking to embed inclusive practices into every design system, component, and journey
• Content strategists and writers who want to ensure their language is clear, usable, and screen reader-friendly
• QA testers and accessibility auditors who need frameworks and techniques to systematically evaluate and report on accessibility
• Product managers and team leads who are building accessibility into team culture, project timelines, and customer journeys
• Educators and advocates who want a comprehensive, up-to-date guide to support others in learning accessibility principles
• Freelancers, consultants, and agency owners who want to stand out by offering high-quality, accessible deliverables

Whether you're brand new to accessibility or refining a mature process, this book meets you where you are—with practical guidance, tested tools, and thoughtful commentary that keeps inclusion at the center of your work.

If you care about reaching more users, building better products, and doing the right thing, this book is for you.

Beyond Compliance: The Bigger Picture

This book encourages you to go beyond just checking boxes.

Yes, it covers the latest guidelines like WCAG 2.2 and introduces early concepts from WCAG 3.0. But it’s also about how to meet those guidelines in a way that benefits real people.

By the end, you’ll see that an accessible approach improves the experience for everyone—not just those with permanent disabilities.

The Dangers of Bolt-On Accessibility

Ashley Firth doesn’t shy away from controversy—and that includes calling out accessibility overlays and third-party “fixes” that promise compliance but often fail in practice.

He explores the risks of:

• Relying on outsourced accessibility vendors who don't understand your codebase
• Building on do-it-yourself platforms like Wix that limit true accessibility control
• Adopting design systems that lack inclusive defaults

This section is especially helpful if you’re managing a team, choosing vendors, or building internal design systems. It gives you a clear lens to evaluate what actually works—and what doesn’t.

Hands-On Tools: The FAIR Framework and ACCESS Checklist

You’ll also get access to two powerful tools created by the author:

• The FAIR Framework – A way to build accessibility into your process: Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability
• The ACCESS Checklist – A structured approach for team-wide accountability in accessibility testing and remediation

These are not theoretical. They’re real tools developed and refined by Ashley Firth over years of in-house accessibility leadership and consulting.

About the Author: Ashley Firth

Ashley Firth is the Global Director of Engineering at Octopus Energy, an award-winning energy technology company serving millions of users. He joined the company as one of its first employees, and has grown alongside it to over 5,000 team members today.

Ashley has been a tireless advocate for accessibility since day one. His work is guided by both customer needs and team experience, ensuring digital inclusion is built into the culture—not just the code. He’s spoken internationally on accessibility and continues to influence the field through practical tools, public writing, and leadership.

Get Your Copy and Start Reading

Get the Book:
🛒 Purchase on Amazon (Kindle & Paperback available)

We recommend getting started early—this one’s a deep read, and it’s worth taking the time to absorb it.

Join the Conversation

We’ll be reading all month long as part of the Accessibility Book Club. Want to share your thoughts?

📢 Post your takeaways on LinkedIn using the hashtag #AccessibilityBookClub
💬 Let us know what you’re learning—what surprises you, challenges you, and inspires you

Together, we’re creating a space to explore what it means to build a web that’s truly inclusive, one page at a time.