Accessible UI Patterns in Practice

Hi and welcome to the Accessible UI Patterns in Practice section!

This section is aimed directly at everyone who develops or designs digital interfaces – whether as a developer, UX designer, or technical project manager. This is about the core subject: How do I build accessible components that truly work – for all user groups?

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Here you get not only the applied theory, but also practical code examples and concrete patterns for common UI elements – tested, clearly explained, and focused on genuine accessibility & BFSG-compliant implementation.

I created this section to give you all the tools you need to not just understand, but implement digital accessibility. Because accessibility doesn't end in the legal text – it manifests in the code.

Why This Section Exists

Accessibility is often difficult to grasp. Many guidelines, such as the WCAG 2.2, state what must be achieved – but not how. While there are WAI-ARIA Patterns [1] provided by the W3C, they often ignore semantic HTML in order to force the application of ARIA attributes.

This leads to interactive components like forms, dialogues, or carousels being constantly implemented incorrectly or incompletely [2].

The goal of this section is to change exactly that: Here you get best practices, warnings, typical sources of error – and above all: functional, adaptable examples.

• How do I design accessible forms – including labels, validation, and focus management?
• How do accessible modals work – with escape function, focus management, and ARIA?
• How do I create carousels without driving screen reader users crazy?

What Awaits You in This Section

Here you will find code, patterns, and checklists for the most common, but often problematic, UI components. Currently, you will find articles here about:

• Forms with semantic HTML, valid ARIA, and meaningful focus behavior
• Modals with correct dialog behavior and escape function
• Carousels that are both clickable and keyboard operable
• Further components will follow regularly – e.g., accordions, navigation bars, tooltips

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All examples are tested in real projects, based on standards like WCAG 2.2 and WAI-ARIA 1.2, and can be easily adapted to your own frameworks (React, Vue, Svelte, etc.).

For every pattern you get:

• an understandable explanation,
• the "Why" behind the technique,
• concrete Do’s & Don’ts from practice,
• and complete example code.
• Checklists for verifying accessibility.
• Example rules for our Semanticality™ Plugin for implementing HTML semantics and ARIA attributes in WordPress projects.

Who This Section Is Particularly Important For

This part of the Accessibility Hub is aimed at:

• Frontend developers and Tech Leads
• UX/UI designers with an accessibility focus
• Agencies and IT service providers
• Teams integrating accessible components into design systems

If you write code or perform technical quality assurance, this section is your direct link to well-founded, practically proven accessibility.

What You Should Do Next

Start with the pattern that concerns you the most right now – or read across the section to identify weak points in your own project.

By the end of this section, you will know what modern accessible components look like, what often goes wrong – and how to make your frontends usable for everyone.

1. W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, “WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices 1.2.” 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.w3.org/TR/wai-aria-practices/ ⤴
2. UK Government Digital Service, “Making services accessible: how-to guides.” 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/helping-people-to-use-your-service/making-your-service-accessible-an-introduction ⤴