SBarnes Designs, LLC

SBarnes Designs, LLC Digital accessibility consultant, educator, and author. Helping bridge the gap by introducing barrier-free design for print and web applications.

CPACC certified. I am a medically retired/disabled OIF Veteran turned artist. I battle and work through myasthenia gravis, cervical dystonia, a seizure disorder, PTSD, degenerative disc disease, fibromyalgia and peripheral neuropathy. My creative outlets have given me purpose after my medical retirement. Won't you join me in my journey?

Let's talk about Meta's new business terms. Starting October 30, Meta's updated Commercial Terms allow it to crawl websi...
10/18/2026

Let's talk about Meta's new business terms.

Starting October 30, Meta's updated Commercial Terms allow it to crawl websites connected to business Pages and use that content across its products. If you run a Page for your business, continuing to use it counts as agreeing.

I've seen a lot of "delete everything and leave" advice this week. Please don't make a fear-based decision about your business.

Your Meta presence still has real value, especially if it's where your community finds you, asks questions, and gets to know you. Walking away from that overnight can cost you more than the policy itself.

Here's what I'm doing:

I am building a practical solution that helps protect your website and your intellectual property while keeping the social reach you've worked hard for. That includes step-by-step guides for the most popular website platforms, written in plain language, no tech background required.

Want it as soon as it's ready? Join my email list, and you'll be the first to know:

https://sbarnesdesigns.com/newsletter/

Follow along here, too. I'll keep sharing what changes, what it means, and what you can actually do about it.

10/04/2026

Keyboard accessibility is foundational to an accessible digital experience, but understanding what WCAG actually requires matters.

This Tetralogical article explores common misconceptions around WCAG 2.1.1, including the distinction between making individual controls keyboard accessible and ensuring that the underlying functionality can be completed using a keyboard.

For accessibility teams and developers, understanding these nuances can help inform better design decisions while keeping keyboard access at the center of the experience.

Check out the article to learn more: https://f.mtr.cool/uak14h4yru

Hubby asked me a great question tonight as we were celebrating me passing the CPACC certification test. "Now what?"In th...
09/22/2026

Hubby asked me a great question tonight as we were celebrating me passing the CPACC certification test.

"Now what?"

In this household, that's a loaded question.

I began down the path of web and digital accessibility because of my own health issues and disabilities. I saw a need and chose to fill it. It has since become a passion.

Not digital accessibility per se, but shining the light on the barriers that folks don't even realize exist. I am a firm believer that most people will do better when they know better AND when they are given the tools to do better.

The last few years, I've been slowly building the tools in easier to understand methodologies for the every day person and business owner. I have been assembling courses, researching and publishing whitepapers and a book, and trying to find a way to balance everything in a way that works for me.

And I'm getting there.

So the answer to "now what?" is simple in its complexity. And that is that I am going to keep doing what I am doing.

Doing the work in the shadows.

Working with companies and organizations that understand I work at my pace and not on a deadline. That's the only way to ensure my best work.

Research and publish books and papers that help bridge the gap.

Educate.

Study for the WAS.

Keep making a difference one conversation, one post, one course at a time. Because people deserve to live in as barrier-free a world as we can make it.

I PASSED!!! Next up > studying for the WAS (web accessibility specialist).Talk about a weight being lifted off. I was co...
09/21/2026

I PASSED!!!

Next up > studying for the WAS (web accessibility specialist).

Talk about a weight being lifted off. I was concerned because the test was nothing like what I practiced, so that little devil called impostor syndrome was working overtime.

Thanks IAAP ❤️

The window of those "4-6 weeks before results are provided" is closing in 2 days on Sept 23. Does the International Asso...
09/21/2026

The window of those "4-6 weeks before results are provided" is closing in 2 days on Sept 23.

Does the International Association of Accessibility Professionals: IAAP always cut it this close for result dissemination? 🤔

09/16/2026

People are getting creative. And not in the good way.

Spoofing is a way to get into your inbox because the email looks like it is coming from someone you trust, but it's not. As soon as you click on the PDF or the link you have infected your device with whatever code, virus, or malware that was attached.

Two easy ways to counter this are to never open a link or attachment that you weren't expecting and to always verify the actual email address the email was sent from.

Part of embracing being barrier free is knowing that the barriers exist, like the security breach that occurs because of crap like this.

Knowledge is power. Ypu can't protect yourself from something you weren't even aware was happening.

I'm going quiet for a while. Not gone. Quiet.For the last few years I've been doing what everyone says you're supposed t...
09/04/2026

I'm going quiet for a while. Not gone. Quiet.

For the last few years I've been doing what everyone says you're supposed to do — post consistently, stay visible, feed the algorithm. And somewhere in there, the actual work started competing with the performance of the work.

So I'm choosing the work.

The research. The methodologies. The white papers. The frameworks that take months to get right and don't compress into a 30-second reel.

S. Barnes Designs is still here. Learn With SBD is still here.

I'm still building. You just won't watch it happen in real time on a feed.

If you want to know what's happening as it happens, the newsletter is where it lives now. That's the front row.

Head on over to my website sbarnesdesigns . com to sign-up for the newsletter (and for the link to get my book, Barrier-Free Web Design.)

Tech people are usually the last to update their own stuff or follow their own advice. Like using the tools and tech ava...
08/31/2026

Tech people are usually the last to update their own stuff or follow their own advice.

Like using the tools and tech available to work smarter, not harder.

Case in point - my email problem.

I have been missing important emails because my health has been up and down and I don't have my work emails synced to my phone. So I am taking the time today to do what I need to do to streamline operations.

And yes, I can now use Gemini to let me know if there's anything important that needs my attention.

Part of pivoting a business to work within one's disabilities is learning what systems work...and which ones don't. What I was doing wasn't working. And maybe this won't either. But I won't know until I give it a go.

Do you use the AI inbox with Gemini to help you stay on top of emails? What do you like/dislike about it?

A recent BFAI™ pilot test: a 6-step course registration journey.WAVE score: 9.8 out of 10 on several pages.Zero automate...
08/28/2026

A recent BFAI™ pilot test: a 6-step course registration journey.

WAVE score: 9.8 out of 10 on several pages.
Zero automated errors flagged from axe.
BFAI™ score for the same journey: 74.4/100.

Same pages. Same steps. Two completely different stories — because one measures code, and the other measures whether a real person can actually get through the task.

Automated, crawl-based findings are reconnaissance — never a substitute for persona walkthroughs.

A clean scan tells you what a machine can check. It doesn't tell you where a real user gets stuck, confused, or gives up.

That gap is exactly what the Barrier-Free Accessibility Index™ was built to find.

Follow along or subscribe for more information on the BFAI and how it can help you identify the barriers that keep folks from accessing your desired customer journey.

Want to be part of the pilot testing phase? Comment below or send me a message.

08/16/2026

Sneak peak at recording material for Learn With S. Barnes Designs.

I am working on the module/course BFD-1, which is an introduction to barrier-free design.

I record it in sections. Each module/course gets a folder. Each lesson gets its own recording that is broken down into 30-60 second takes based on the corresponding slide.

This process helps me quickly fix mistakes and gives me ample opportunities for when I need to rest my voice.

I use a teleprompter app ( BigVu ) so I can stay on task. It helps reduce my own cognitive load so I can do more in a "work day".

Now it's time to give my voice a rest and start assembling video clips with the corresponding slides. I could record the screen while I speak, but this process works better for me and my disabilities.

I may have to do things differently because of myasthenia gravis, but I'll never let it take away the things that are important to me.

Makeup : Mary Kay
Glasses : Pair Eyewear

Video Description: Shawna Barnes looking to the side of the camera and talking. Instrumental music plays, no audio requiring captions is present.

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