When it Comes to Web Standards and Accessibility, Being Blue is a Great Thing

If you’ve noticed your social feeds are turning blue, it’s got nothing to do with the November blahs and everything about supporting blue beanie day!

So what is blue beanie day? It’s an annual celebration of web standards and web accessibility. It’s been a thing since 2006 and it was inspired by Jeffrey Zeldman, a web designer who wrote a book about web standards. On its cover, Zeldman wears a blue beanie. 

And, with that fashion choice, a movement was born.

Every year, designers and supporters don the blue beanie as a symbol of their commitment to web accessibility. Groups and individuals take photos of themselves wearing the beanie and use it as a way to spread the word about the importance of web accessibility and adhering to design standards.

Accessibility -- and the standards that help define the expectations of accessibility -- are important to us at Digital Echidna. And the Province of Ontario has really taken the lead in promoting and mandating accessibile development through its AODA mandate and WCAG 2.0 compliance.

We believe that accessible web design is just good business. From the obvious start of including those requiring assistive technologies, accessible design and web standards help you meet the needs of an aging population, they help you design for mobile devices, and they adhere to best practices in search engine optimization.

Embracing web standards and web accessibility just makes sense. And that’s why we’re proud to don the blue beanie!

For more photos (many of which are clearly not staged!), please visit Echidna's Facebook page.