Recommended Books for Getting Started with Web Accessibility｜吉川雅彦

Overview

What is this article?

I will introduce books for those who are thinking, “I want to start web accessibility from now on.”

*Just now (until October 9, 2026), Amazon is running a campaign for bulk purchases of physical books and Kindle books.

What is not covered

• Books for beginners in design and coding

• Books from outside Japan

• Books on self-improvement or work techniques

• Doujinshi and self-published books (excluding those available for purchase on Amazon)

• Books published before 2013

• Magazines and mooks

Although this is an introduction to books, there are many resources available on the web. I will try to write about what kind of materials to look at separately if I can.

Introduction to books other than web accessibility

If it’s just an “article introducing web accessibility books,” every article ends up feeling the same. Therefore, in the second half, for those who want to dig deeper, I will also introduce books that are adjacent to web accessibility.

Books for web accessibility beginners

If you are starting accessibility now, I would like to recommend the following two books first. They are suitable for both starting individually and starting at a company. Both books mention how to spread awareness within the company.

Web Accessibility Textbook

This is the first book I would recommend to anyone who wants to start learning about web accessibility. It is aimed at a wide range of people involved in website production and operation, not just designers and engineers, but also directors, product managers, and web managers.

WCAG (guidelines for international standards on web accessibility) are explained, but rather than explaining each one in detail, it provides detailed sets of actual difficulties and problems along with how to solve them. Therefore, it is a perfect book for those who are “just starting web accessibility,” from those who ask “Is it really necessary to do that much for accessibility?” to those who say “I want to improve accessibility, but I don’t know how.”

This is the expanded and revised edition of “Designing Web Accessibility” (mentioned later), which was published 11 years ago. If you are starting to learn from 2026 onwards, you should read this book instead of the previous one. The electronic version is reflowable.

The Easiest Web Accessibility Textbook

I feel that this book is aimed at people who will promote accessibility. There are chapters such as “Reasons and Effects for Companies to Address It” and “Practical Processes for Web Accessibility Compliance,” so I get that impression. Since technical terms are also included, the content allows you to acquire comprehensive knowledge.

This book also includes explanations based on WCAG. I felt it was written in a way that allows you to read through the original WCAG text yourself. Of course, it is also useful for designers and implementers to read.

Personally, I feel it is good to read this in conjunction with the aforementioned “Web Accessibility Textbook.”

Books related to accessibility practice

Below, I will introduce a few books that are more focused on practice for a slightly more specific target audience.

Color Certification Official Textbook UC Grade (2022 Revised Edition)

This is the official book for the Color Certification exam. Even if it is not for exam purposes, it is a very useful book for the purpose of knowing information.

Although the mechanism of the eye is written about in other books, I feel that this book is the most detailed, including color vision characteristics and how elderly people see. It is rich in examples and photos of how things look. It is more about knowledge than methodology.

I bought the version before the revised edition, so I haven’t seen the revised edition, but judging from the samples, my impression is that “the broad categories haven’t changed, but the content has been rewritten significantly” (where it was written as “color blindness,” it has been changed to “color vision characteristics”).

Design that Solves “Troubles” of Being Hard to See or Read

This book focuses on color, text, and language, and is not limited to the web. Therefore, it contains practical content for cases where the entire company is working on accessibility, rather than in the context of “web production.” It shows that paper (DTP) designers, and especially those who create documents, have many things they must know about color, text, and language.

Color Accessibility

This book specializes in accessibility regarding color. It is well-balanced with both knowledge and methodology.

Web Application Accessibility

While it includes sections based on practice, such as how to involve an organization, it is packed with essential information for practical and hands-on coding implementation. If you are a web developer, I think this is the third book you should buy.

Introduction to Mobile App Accessibility

This is the app version of the book mentioned above. While some content overlaps, it is a practical and hands-on book specialized for apps. If you are an app developer, this is a book you should buy as your third one.

HTML Anatomy

This is quite a unique book among HTML books. While typical books for beginners are just reference books or books that show how to implement actual code with HTML and CSS, this is not one of those. It is a book for knowing HTML more deeply. It is a comprehensive book written about HTML elements, attributes, and WAI-ARIA. Recommended for those who have grown tired of HTML books for beginners.

Form Design Patterns

• Published: 2019 (The original book before translation was 2018)

• Format: Digital (Kindle, etc.), Print

A book specialized for web forms that is rich in code examples.

Other Accessibility Books

Here, I will introduce books that offer a slightly different perspective from those previously mentioned, books that delve into specific themes, or books that were published some time ago. Since each book targets a different audience and covers different content, please choose one that aligns with your interests or goals.

Web Inclusive Design

• Published: 2023 (Original book before translation was 2019)

• Format: Kindle/e-book, print

My impression is that this book devotes more pages to the topic of “disability” rather than just the “accessibility” angle. Since the author is American, the case studies and legal examples are also skewed toward the United States.

Coding Web Accessibility

• Published: 2015 (Original book before translation was 2014)

• Format: Kindle/e-book, print

A book written about WAI-ARIA when coding. As it is a book from over 10 years ago, there are many parts that can now be implemented using native HTML.

Designing Web Accessibility

The expanded and revised edition of this book is “The Textbook of Web Accessibility.” If you are buying one now, I recommend that one instead.

Inclusive HTML + CSS & JavaScript

• Published: 2017 (Original book before translation was 2016)

• Format: Kindle/e-book, print

This is the sequel to “Coding Web Accessibility.” It is written in a more practical way, and I have referred to it quite a lot. While there are parts of this book that can now be replaced by plain HTML, there are still parts that remain useful today. It focuses on specific components with actual code examples and detailed explanations.

Web Universal Design

The target audience and content are similar to “The Textbook of Web Accessibility.” It dedicates an entire chapter to color design, providing detailed information.

An easy-to-understand guide to the “WAI-ARIA 1.0” specification

• Published: 2015

• Format: Kindle

This is positioned as a reference book for WAI-ARIA. Since the version is old, I think it is generally fine to just look at what is available online for free, but this is a useful book for those who find online resources difficult to understand or who prefer to read it as a book.

Books on disabilities and disability studies

Since accessibility is often linked to disabilities, I will also introduce books on those topics.

Reasonable Accommodation

In 2016, “reasonable accommodation” became a “mandatory requirement” for government agencies and an “obligation of effort” for private businesses. This book was released in that same year. In 2024, it became a “mandatory requirement” for private businesses as well.

Rather than being an “easy-to-understand guide for office workers,” it is written from a multifaceted perspective, covering history, background, and the dilemmas surrounding reasonable accommodation.

Mismatch

• Published: 2019 (original book before translation was 2018)

• Format: Kindle and other e-books, print

A book that argues, based on data and case studies, that “there is no such thing as a standard user.” Designers often exclude people at the edges of a normal distribution by labeling them as “outside the target,” and this book questions whether that is truly acceptable.

Accessibility for Whom?

It is subtitled “Thinking from the Experiences and Culture of People with Disabilities.” It is positioned closer to an essay collection, featuring many personal accounts from people with disabilities.

The Basics of the Disability Notation Issue

This is also a unique book. It addresses the question of how the character “gai” should be written when writing the word “shogai” (disability) in kanji.

It takes the form of refuting, based on documentation, the “reasons” given by those who advocate for using the hiragana “gai” or the stone-radical “gai”.

A New Mode for Dealing with “Society”: How to Use the “Social Model of Disability”

In the accessibility community, we have started to hear about the social model of disability quite often. This book discusses the problems of misunderstanding and misuse of the social model based on specific topics.

It is easier to read than the next book introduced, “The Development of Disability Studies.”

The Development of Disability Studies

Each chapter covers a different topic. The “social model” appears as a matter of course in this book, and there are also chapters that include considerations of its limitations and what lies beyond it.

Digital Accessibility Advisor Certification Exam Official Textbook: Basic Level Edition

• Published: 2025

• Format: Kindle

This is the official book for the “Digital Accessibility Advisor” exam. It is a useful book even if you do not take the exam. There are Basic and Standard levels.

I think the quickest way to understand what kind of book it is is to look at the chapter titles.

• Chapter 1: Understanding Disabilities (Basic Level)

• Chapter 2: Understanding Technology (Basic Level)

• Chapter 3: Understanding OS-Standard Accessibility (Basic Level)

• Chapter 4: Assistive Technology by Difficulty (Standard Level)

• Chapter 5: Creating a Safe, Secure, and Comfortable Environment (Standard Level)

• Chapter 6: Practical Examples of Assistive Technology (Standard Level)

User Interface Design for the Elderly

• Published: 2019 (Original book before translation was 2017)

• Format: Print (A Kindle version existed previously, but for some reason it is gone now)

This is a book on interface design specialized for the elderly.

Human Rights

When we say “let’s remove barriers (disabilities),” the concept of human rights lies in the background. I will also introduce books for those interested in these topics.

Introduction to the Constitution: Connecting Law, History, and Society

A book written in detail about the Constitution. It helped clear up misunderstandings, such as the fact that the Constitution was originally a set of rules created by the people to bind the state (power). It is written in an easy-to-understand, broad, and accessible way.

Business and Human Rights

While constitutions and human rights were originally meant to bind the state, over the last few decades, it has become clear that we must also value “human rights” in business settings. This is a book written about “human rights” from the perspective of “business,” covering such topics.

While it may feel a bit removed from accessibility, I think it helps one understand the importance of human rights in business.

The Human History of Equality

• Published: 2026 (Original book before translation was 2023)

• Format: Kindle and other e-books, print

When we say “we are equal,” what does that refer to? There is a discourse that the concept of equality was invented recently (around the 17th to 18th centuries), but this book explains that it has existed for much, much longer and traces its history. It requires some knowledge of world history, religion, and philosophy, and because it has a unique writing style and is quite thick, it is a tough read, but it is a good book.

Books on Ethics

I have introduced books on disability and human rights. These are topics that also connect to ethics. Or rather, I believe that accessibility is almost entirely about ethics. Therefore, I think ethics is unavoidable, but there are countless books from all times and places, and the scope is far too broad. Because of this, I can only introduce books within the range of what I have read, and it is difficult because you won’t necessarily have an “Aha!” moment just by reading these, but I would like to at least introduce some books for beginners.

At the very least, ethics is recommended because you can understand “what is wrong” and the logic necessary in the process of developing ideas.

Introduction to Ethics

When it comes to ethics, I think you generally start with “utilitarianism” and “deontology.” This is an easy-to-understand book that covers ethics comprehensively, including those topics.

Everyday Ethics

I have introduced this in various places, but it is a perfect book as an introduction to ethics. It is easy to read with almost no difficult terminology.

Lectures on Political Philosophy

A book that examines matters related to ethics by breaking down “how to choose the lesser of two evils.”

Books on Philosophy

Kant said that “philosophy cannot be taught.” Ultimately, philosophy is about thinking for yourself. However, there are certainly fragmented ways of thinking that can be gained from books, and knowledge is surely necessary when reading them. In particular, there are times when you might think, “Philosophers were already thinking about that question over 2,000 years ago.”

The social model of disability is a philosophical topic called epistemology, and the question of what “should” means is a philosophical topic called meta-ethics. Isn’t philosophy, or the ways of thinking and knowledge of philosophy, absolutely necessary to elevate your own way of thinking?

First Philosophical Thinking

This is an easy-to-read new book. It is not an introduction to the history of philosophy, but a book for learning philosophical ways of thinking.

Introduction to Philosophy for 14-Year-Olds

I think this is a good book for gaining a rough, easy-to-understand overview of knowledge from all times and places.

Analyzing “Correctness”

• Published: 2016

• Format: Print

A book that attempts to classify “correctness.” It is a book that makes you realize that “correctness” consists of several evaluation axes that should not be confused.

Introduction to Meta-Ethics

If ethics is the study of “what is the right action,” then meta-ethics is the field that asks questions like “what is ‘correct’?” and “what does ‘should’ mean?” Several books on meta-ethics have been published, but I think this is the one to choose if you want an academic, comprehensive, and easy-to-understand book.

Summary

So, I have introduced books on accessibility and related disciplines.

Although I called these recommended books, I think I have been able to introduce books on accessibility quite comprehensively. It is perfectly fine to buy only the books that suit you.

I think 2026 is a great year to start learning about accessibility. It looks like about two more books will be released in the autumn as well.