Whiskey Web and Whatnot: Web Development, Neat

A11y Hour with Amber Hinds


Listen Later

WordPress powers over 43% of sites on the internet today, making it a powerhouse web technology. Its simplicity attracted bloggers and do-it-yourselfers who navigate the platform by Googling code snippets. That knowledge gap comes with a whole host of accessibility issues.

Amber Hinds, Founder and CEO at Equalize Digital, quit her part-time gig as a freelance developer when she found WordPress was an easier way to manage content. She's been doing accessibility work on the platform since 2016 and has seen a boom in the past two years of companies searching for accessibility experts. Amber built the Accessibility Checker plugin as a guardrail to help DIYers avoid common mistakes by auditing a site and flagging accessibility issues. The plugin is also an education tool for content managers, and developers to learn about accessibility.

In this episode, Amber talks to Chuck and Robbie about web accessibility on WordPress, making accessibility a priority in colleges and boot camps, and RVing around the country with her family.

Key Takeaways

  • [00:35] - An intro to Amber Hinds.
  • [00:54] - A whiskey review - Weller Special Reserve.
  • [07:49] - What it's like working with WordPress in 2022 compared to earlier years.
  • [10:47] - Amber gives an overview of WordPress.
  • [13:36] - Amber explains unique accessibility problems in WordPress.
  • [15:47] - How Equalize Digital's plug-in audits WordPress sites.
  • [21:55] - Amber's thoughts on how to make accessibility a priority.
  • [35:33] - Chuck and Amber talk about RV life and being on the show, "Going RV".
  • Quotes

    [08:43] - "I think the recent number that I saw was that 43% of websites are built in WordPress." ~ Amber Hinds [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amberhinds/]

    [23:53] - "I feel like having more general visibility about the broad range of disabilities and also putting people's faces to things is super helpful." ~ Amber Hinds [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amberhinds/]

    [28:33] - "Companies need to realize that accessibility is everyone's responsibility." ~ Amber Hinds [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amberhinds/]

    Links

    • Amber Hinds LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amberhinds/]
    • Amber Hinds Twitter [https://mobile.twitter.com/heyamberhinds]
    • Amber Hinds [https://amberhinds.com/]
    • Equalize Digital [https://equalizedigital.com/]
    • WordPress [https://wordpress.com/]
    • Accessibility Checker [https://www.accessibilitychecker.org/]
    • Weller Special Reserve [https://www.buffalotracedistillery.com/our-brands/w-l-weller/w-l-weller-special-reserve.html]
    • Pappy Van Winkle [https://www.buffalotracedistillery.com/our-brands/van-winkle.html]
    • Maker's Mark [https://www.makersmark.com/]
    • Buffalo Trace Distillery [https://www.buffalotracedistillery.com/]
    • React [https://reactjs.org/]
    • Absolut Vodka [https://www.absolut.com/]
    • Shopify [https://www.shopify.com/]
    • Square Space [https://www.squarespace.com/]
    • Drupal [https://www.drupal.org/]
    • Matt Mullenweg [https://ma.tt/]
    • Automattic [https://automattic.com/]
    • Magic Mouse [https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MK2E3AM/A/magic-mouse-white-multi-touch-surface]
    • Logitech Lift [https://www.logitech.com/en-us/products/mice/lift-vertical-ergonomic-mouse.html]
    • Mac [https://www.apple.com/lae/mac/]
    • Darci USB [https://www.specialneedscomputers.ca/index.php?l=product_detail&p=4948]
    • See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

      ...more
      View all episodesView all episodes
      Download on the App Store

      Whiskey Web and Whatnot: Web Development, NeatBy RobbieTheWagner and Charles William Carpenter III, The Radcast Network

      • 4.8
      • 4.8
      • 4.8
      • 4.8
      • 4.8

      4.8

      53 ratings


      More shows like Whiskey Web and Whatnot: Web Development, Neat

      View all
      The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source by Changelog Media

      The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source

      284 Listeners

      Software Engineering Daily by Software Engineering Daily

      Software Engineering Daily

      626 Listeners

      Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats by Wes Bos & Scott Tolinski - Full Stack JavaScript Web Developers

      Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats

      987 Listeners

      REWORK by 37signals

      REWORK

      210 Listeners

      The freeCodeCamp Podcast by freeCodeCamp.org

      The freeCodeCamp Podcast

      484 Listeners

      CoRecursive: Coding Stories by Adam Gordon Bell - Software Developer

      CoRecursive: Coding Stories

      190 Listeners

      Practical AI by Practical AI LLC

      Practical AI

      187 Listeners

      The Stack Overflow Podcast by The Stack Overflow Podcast

      The Stack Overflow Podcast

      63 Listeners

      Last Week in AI by Skynet Today

      Last Week in AI

      298 Listeners

      Dwarkesh Podcast by Dwarkesh Patel

      Dwarkesh Podcast

      426 Listeners

      Big Technology Podcast by Alex Kantrowitz

      Big Technology Podcast

      458 Listeners

      PodRocket - A web development podcast from LogRocket by LogRocket

      PodRocket - A web development podcast from LogRocket

      57 Listeners

      How About Tomorrow? by Adam Elmore & Dax Raad

      How About Tomorrow?

      20 Listeners

      Latent Space: The AI Engineer Podcast by swyx + Alessio

      Latent Space: The AI Engineer Podcast

      71 Listeners

      The Pragmatic Engineer by Gergely Orosz

      The Pragmatic Engineer

      62 Listeners