Shift Left: a11y in Design and Tickets
Catch issues before a line of code is written.
Shift Left: a11y in Design and Tickets is a free Web Accessibility Academy lesson on CoddyKit — lesson 1 of 4. You can read the complete lesson below for free — then practise it hands-on in the browser with a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor. It is part of the Web Accessibility Academy learning path, one of 4 lessons in the course, and your progress syncs across the web and the CoddyKit app.
What Shift Left Means
Shift left means moving accessibility work earlier, toward design and planning, instead of bolting it on at the very end. 🌱
Why Late Fixes Hurt
Fixing accessibility after a feature ships is the most expensive moment to do it. You retrofit code, retest, and rush, all under pressure.
Start in the Design File
Most accessibility decisions are made in design, long before code. Color contrast, focus order, and labels all begin in the mockup.
Annotate Your Mockups
Add annotations to designs: heading levels, reading order, alt text intent, and which controls are buttons versus links.
Contrast Is a Design Choice
Designers should check contrast while picking colors, not after. A failing palette caught early saves a painful rework later.
Bake a11y Into Tickets
Write acceptance criteria for accessibility right in the ticket, so it is part of the work, not an optional extra someone might skip.
Acceptance criteria:
- All controls reachable by keyboard
- Focus is visible at every step
- Inputs have associated labelsMake a11y a Default
When every ticket lists accessibility criteria, the team treats it as normal work rather than a special favor for a few users.
Reusable Components Scale
Fix accessibility once in a shared component, like an accessible button or modal, and every page that uses it inherits the win.
Designers and Devs Together
Shift left works best when design and engineering collaborate early, sharing one shared understanding of who the page must serve.
Cheaper, Calmer, Better
Caught early, accessibility is cheap and calm. Caught late, it is a fire drill. The earlier you act, the less it costs.
It Is a Mindset
Shift left is less a tool and more a habit: asking who might struggle with this, every single time you plan something new.
Quick Check
When is the cheapest time to address accessibility?
Recap
Shift left moves accessibility into design and tickets, so it is cheap, normal, and shared, not a costly fix bolted on at the end. 🌱
Frequently asked questions
Is the “Shift Left: a11y in Design and Tickets” lesson free?
Yes — the full text of “Shift Left: a11y in Design and Tickets” is free to read here on the web, and the Web Accessibility Academy course includes 4 lessons in total. To practise it interactively (a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor) and unlock the rest of the Web Accessibility Academy course, upgrade to CoddyKit PRO.
What will I learn in “Shift Left: a11y in Design and Tickets”?
Catch issues before a line of code is written. You practise Web Accessibility Academy with hands-on code you run directly in the browser, and a 24/7 AI tutor answers your questions as you work through the lesson.
Do I need any experience to start Web Accessibility Academy?
No prior experience is required. Web Accessibility Academy on CoddyKit is structured for beginners through advanced learners; this is — lesson 1 of 4, so you can start here or from the beginning and move at your own pace.
How long does the “Shift Left: a11y in Design and Tickets” lesson take?
Most CoddyKit lessons take about 5–10 minutes. Each one is bite-sized and interactive, so you make steady progress and pick up exactly where you left off across the web and the app.
Can I write and run code in this Web Accessibility Academy lesson?
Yes. Every Web Accessibility Academy lesson includes a built-in code editor, so you write and run real code right in your browser and get instant AI feedback — no local setup required.
All lessons in this course
- Shift Left: a11y in Design and Tickets
- A Definition of Done That Includes a11y
- A Practical Per-Feature Accessibility Checklist
- Champions, Training, and Lasting Change