added resources and explanation for accessibility issues

Author: mlama007

_articles/accessibility-best-practices-for-your-project.md

@@ -8,20 +8,21 @@ order: -1
 image: /assets/images/cards/accessibility-best-practices.png
 ---
 
-Accessibility (often shortened to *a11y*) means people can use your project regardless of disability, assistive technology, environment, or device. It includes (but isn’t limited to) support for screen readers, keyboard-only navigation, captions/transcripts, color contrast, and clear content structure.
+Accessibility (often shortened to *a11y*) means people can use your project regardless of disability, assistive technology, environment, or device. It includes - but isn’t limited to - support for screen readers, keyboard-only navigation, captions/transcripts, color contrast, and clear content structure.
 
 ## Partner with people with disabilities
 
 **"Nothing about us without us"** - The most important thing you can do for accessibility is to center the people it serves. Users, contributors, and testers with disabilities understand barriers in ways that guidelines and automated tools cannot. Seek out their lived experience early and often.
 
 ### Put it into practice
+Decisions made without the people affected by them tend to miss the mark. Building with people with disabilities, rather than for them, leads to better software for everyone.
+
 Here are a few ways to center lived experience:
 - Invite contributors with disabilities into design discussions, not just bug triage.
 - Involve people with disabilities for usability testing and feedback when you can.
 - Listen when someone describes how they use your project, even when it challenges your assumptions.
 - Treat accessibility reports as expertise, not complaints - they may represent more people than you think.
 
-Decisions made without the people affected by them tend to miss the mark. Building with people with disabilities, rather than for them, leads to better software for everyone.
 
 ### Accessibility benefits everyone
 - **It impacts a lot of people.** An estimated 1.3 billion people (1 in 6) experience significant disability, according to the [World Health Organization](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/disability-and-health).
@@ -56,6 +57,16 @@ Add a short accessibility statement to your project. You can either add an acces
 - Ask reporters to open issues using the accessibility issue template.
 - **Tip:** Set expectations honestly (like “We’re working on this — tracking in ISSUE-123”); acknowledge reports and provide follow-up or workaround when possible.
 
+##### Why separate accessibility from your general issue process?
+
+Users have come to expect a dedicated accessibility statement and reporting path - it's a well-established convention in the private sector and across government sites, and many users look for it first when they hit a barrier. Keeping accessibility distinct from your general issue flow matters because:
+
+- **Impact is time-sensitive.** An accessibility bug can block a user from using your project at all, not just inconvenience them. A dedicated path helps these reported issues get triaged faster.
+- **Context is different.** Accessibility reported issues need specific information (assistive tech, OS, browser, severity) that a generic bug template doesn't prompt for.
+- **It signals commitment.** A visible, separate statement tells users and contributors that accessibility is a first-class concern, not something folded into "other bugs."
+- **Reporters may use assistive technology to file the report itself.** A clear, predictable process (a known file, a known label, a known template) reduces friction for the people most affected.
+
+
 ## Make docs accessible by default
 
 Documentation is often the first "UI" users touch, make sure everyone can read it.
@@ -209,12 +220,12 @@ Automated tools catch regressions, but manual testing builds real confidence.
 ### Manual testing (required for real confidence)
 - **Keyboard-only** pass: can you do the main flows without a mouse?
 - **Screen reader** spot check:
-  - macOS: VoiceOver
-  - Windows: NVDA (common in open source), JAWS (enterprise)
+  - macOS: [VoiceOver](https://support.apple.com/guide/voiceover/welcome/mac)
+  - Windows: [NVDA](https://www.nvaccess.org/about-nvda/) (common in open source), [JAWS](https://vispero.com/jaws-screen-reader-software/) (enterprise)
 - **Zoom and reflow**: test at 200% and with narrow widths.
 - **High contrast / forced colors** modes where applicable.
 
-**Tip:** Add a lightweight “Accessibility smoke test” section to your release checklist.
+**Tip:** Add a lightweight “Accessibility [smoke test](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_testing_(software))” section to your release checklist.
 
 ## Start with small wins this week
 
@@ -241,7 +252,11 @@ Refer to this [ACCESSIBILITY.md example](https://github.com/mgifford/ACCESSIBILI
 
 ## Conclusion: A few steps for you, a huge improvement for your users
 
-These steps might seem basic, but they go a long way to make your project more accessible. Every fix you make, whether it's a missing label, a keyboard trap, or a caption on a video, opens the door for someone who couldn't use your project before. Accessibility isn't a one-time fix, it's an ongoing practice, and you don't have to do it all at once. Start with keyboard navigation and semantics, keep changes small, and ask for review early. The work you put in today means more people can learn from, contribute to, and rely on what you build. That's a win worth celebrating.
+These steps might seem basic, but they go a long way to make your project more accessible. Every fix you make, whether it's a missing label, a keyboard trap, or a caption on a video, opens the door for someone who couldn't use your project before. 
+
+Accessibility isn't a one-time fix, it's an ongoing practice, and you don't have to do it all at once. Start with keyboard navigation and semantics, keep changes small, and ask for review early. 
+
+The work you put in today means more people can learn from, contribute to, and rely on what you build. That's a win worth celebrating.
 
 ## Contributors