May 19, 2026 Smashing Newsletter: Issue #559
This newsletter issue was sent out to 176,656 subscribers on Tuesday, May 19, 2026.
Editorial
Accessibility works best when it blends into an everyday design workflow. The goal shouldn’t be a big transformation, but instead simple work processes that fit naturally into a team’s routine. As Ruben Ferreira Duarte explains, it’s possible to work on accessibility without turning entire team operations upside down.
There are countless assistive technologies and strategies — almost as many as the different contexts of use for each person. In today’s newsletter, we shed light on online workshops, WCAG 2.2 guidelines, practical guides on accessibility testing, and even accessibility myths and misconceptions. We hope you’ll find them useful!
On the Smashing side of things, we’re adding more and more insightful online workshops on frontend and UX day by day:
- Cascading Style Systems: Resilient & Maintainable CSS Dev
with Miriam Suzanne. June 2–10 - Design Patterns For AI Interfaces UX
with Vitaly Friedman. Jun 16–30 - The Modern UX Practitioner UX
with Paul Boag. June 24 – July 2 - Design Patterns For Complex UIs and Enterprise UX UX
with Vitaly Friedman. Sep 2–3 - Naming Design Systems DS
with Samantha Gordashko. Sep 8–22 - Live UX Training UX
with Vitaly Friedman. Sep 11 – Oct 12 - Accessibility For Designers UX
with Stéphanie Walter. Sep 21–29 - Jump to all workshops →
Happy learning and wishing you a fantastic rest of the week!
1. Accessibility Myths And Pushbacks
“Disabled people don’t use our website.” “Accessibility is too expensive.” There are a lot of misconceptions about accessibility, and designers who advocate for accessibility often face pushback. If you’ve been there before, Stéphanie Walter shares practical strategies to help you debunk existing myths and convince your team to invest in accessibility.
Another wonderful resource on the topic comes from Sergei Kriger: Accessibility Myths lists 22 common myths and gives reasons why the assumptions aren’t correct or why it’s worth reconsidering that point of view.
2. Inclusive Design Patterns
If you’re up for a deep dive into inclusive design patterns, Vitaly has got you covered. In his 3.5h-long online workshop, he explores everything from the European Accessibility Act and WCAG 2.2 to designing for colorblindness and motion, children and older adults, and deafness and blindness. You can watch the full recording for free, or check out the summary of key takeaways and UX guidelines if you’re short on time.
3. Accessibility And Design Systems
Even a mature design system can’t guarantee perfect accessibility. Eric Bailey examines the areas design systems can’t fully accommodate when it comes to accessibility, from the overall end-user experience to using ARIA and setting correct focus. A helpful overview of potential pitfalls to watch out for when relying on a design system.
4. WCAG In Plain English
Do you struggle with the official WCAG documentation? You’re not alone! WCAG in Plain English makes the WCAG accessibility standards approachable for everyone, not just experts. It is, of course, not a replacement for the official guidelines but a great way to finally make sense of them.
Another helpful resource is the WCAG 2.2 Card Deck. Available as a Figma file and GitHub repo, it summarizes WCAG 2.2 guidelines, with a print-ready PDF version with print margins, Braille version, and translations for several languages.
5. Playwright Accessibility Testing
Automated accessibility checks have structural limits. axe and Lighthouse, for example, miss 60–70% of WCAG violations. To catch the accessibility bugs that automated tools don’t surface, manual testing and context awareness are essential. So, how to tackle the task? David Mello wrote a practical guide to get you started, with tips for writing smarter Playwright tests and a checklist you can use in your accessibility audit.
6. Accessible Emojis And Icons
Emojis and icons can improve the experience for some people, but for people with visual or cognitive disabilities, they can easily lead to misunderstandings and unclear communication. To prevent that from happening, Elle Smith summarized everything you need to know to make your emojis and icons screen-reader accessible — in your HTML, but also in emails and social media posts.
7. Accessible UX Research, Now Shipping 📚
We’ve got exciting news! Our newest Smashing book, Accessible UX Research by Michele A. Williams, is finally shipping worldwide! Get the book right away or order the eBook for instant download.
Accessible UX Research is your practical guide to making UX research more inclusive of participants with different needs — from planning and recruiting to facilitation, asking better questions, avoiding bias, and building trust. Download a free sample (PDF, 2.3MB) or get the book right away.
8. Upcoming Workshops and Conferences
That’s right! We run online workshops on frontend and design, be it accessibility, performance, or design patterns. In fact, we have a couple of workshops coming up soon, and we thought that, you know, you might want to join in as well.
As always, here’s a quick overview:
- Cascading Style Systems: Resilient & Maintainable CSS Dev
with Miriam Suzanne. June 2–10 - Design Patterns For AI Interfaces UX
with Vitaly Friedman. Jun 16–30 - The Modern UX Practitioner UX
with Paul Boag. June 24 – July 2 - Design Patterns For Complex UIs and Enterprise UX UX
with Vitaly Friedman. Sep 2–3 - Naming Design Systems DS
with Samantha Gordashko. Sep 8–22 - Live UX Training UX
with Vitaly Friedman. Sep 11 – Oct 12 - Accessibility For Designers UX
with Stéphanie Walter. Sep 21–29 - Jump to all workshops →
That’s All, Folks!
Thank you so much for reading and for your support in helping us keep the web dev and design community strong with our newsletter. See you next time!
This newsletter issue was written and edited by Geoff Graham (gg), Cosima Mielke (cm), Vitaly Friedman (vf), and Iris Lješnjanin (il).
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