+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE. - Volume 22, Issue 50, June 5, 2024. An email newsletter to distribute news and information about web design and development. ++ISSUE 50 CONTENTS. SECTION ONE: New references. What's new at the Web Design Reference site? https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/ New links in these categories: 01: ACCESSIBILITY. 02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS. 03: EVALUATION & TESTING. 04: EVENTS. 05: JAVASCRIPT. 06: MISCELLANEOUS. 07: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES & PATTERNS. 08: TOOLS. 09: USABILITY. 10: WEBWASTE & SUSTAINABILITY. SECTION TWO: 11: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site? [Contents ends.] ++ SECTION ONE: New references. +01: ACCESSIBILITY. My Approach to Alt Text By Adrian Roselli. "…Writing alternative text is not a technical exercise (at least, not beyond basic WCAG conformance); it is copywriting tailored to your audience and constraints. There should be as much care and consideration as all the other plain text content on the page (or social media post or whatever)." https://adrianroselli.com/2024/05/my-approach-to-alt-text.html Understanding the 'Why' Around Neurodivergent Inclusive Web Design (Video) By Owen Niblock. "Owen is autistic and hugely interested in how we can make the web a more accessible and inclusive place. Join us as we talk about some common considerations when designing websites to be neurodivergent friendly. We'll look at why it's important to think about these problems and how to approach web design with an open mind. A personal and thought provoking introduction to this deep and interesting topic…" https://yougotthis.io/library/understanding-the-why-around-neurodivergent-inclusive-web-design/ Ask Us Anything - Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2024 With Naomi Saines, Neil Jarvis, Tess Hutley, Digital Accessibility Consultant and Adem Cifcioglu (Video) By Intopia. "The Intopia team hosted an 'Ask Us Anything' webinar as part of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, where attendees had the opportunity to ask our panellists who have a lived experience of disability questions about digital accessibility and inclusion…" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDorJJnW3f4 Accessible QR Codes - The Ultimate Guide By Daniel Göransson. "You may think that QR codes are great for securing your login, or letting users read more online about a product marketed in a news paper ad. But there is a high risk you are creating barriers for people with disabilities, unless you use QR codes correctly. This article is your ultimate guide to accessible QR codes…" https://axesslab.com/qr-codes/ Mobile Tabs Part 1 - Native APIs By John Lilly. "…This article is the first in a series of three articles detailing how to build accessible tabs, each using different mobile frameworks…" https://www.tpgi.com/mobile-tabs-part-1-native-apis/ Mobile Tabs Part 2 - React Native By John Lilly. "…Now that we have the baseline established in Part 1 of this series, we can start talking about how tabs work in React Native…" https://www.tpgi.com/mobile-tabs-part-2-react-native/ Mobile Tabs Part 3 - Flutter By John Lilly. "…it is important to highlight that Full Keyboard Access (FKA) on Flutter does not exist. If you are planning on building an app using Flutter, FKA users will not be able to use your app…" https://www.tpgi.com/mobile-tabs-part-3-flutter/ What are the Autocomplete Attributes Defined in 1.3.5 Input Purpose? By Raghavendra Satish Peri. "…It aims to ease the auto-fill capability of browsers and other assistive technologies when web sites and apps ask the users to fill out personal information…" https://www.digitala11y.com/what-are-the-autocomplete-attributes-defined-in-1-3-5-input-purpose/ Applying the Four Principles of Accessibility By Jeremy Keith. "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines-or WCAG-looks very daunting. It's a lot to take in. It's kind of overwhelming. It's hard to know where to start. I recommend taking a deep breath and focusing on the four principles of accessibility…" https://adactio.com/journal/21172 Web Accessibility: Removing Barriers, Designing a Web for Everyone By Seth Dobbs. "…In this blog post I want to focus on accessibility, which is essential to creating a single platform for all humanity. Did you know that it was the horizontal area with which the Web Consortium started, by launching the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) in 1997?…" https://www.w3.org/blog/2024/web-accessibility-removing-barriers-designing-a-web-for-everyone/ Health and Human Services Issues Rule to Prevent Disability Discrimination By Thomas Logan. "The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is issuing a new update to Section 504 regulation to require that web content and mobile applications adhere to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. To do that, its Civil Rights (OCR), finalized a rule that prohibits discrimination based on disability…" https://equalentry.com/disability-discrimination-hhs/ The Impact of Recent U.S. Federal Rulemaking on Web and Digital Accessibility By Rob Carr. "…The new rules clarify what covered entities must do and provide a reasonable deadline to conform with WCAG 2.1 AA. We are also cautiously optimistic that the rules will help increase demand for accessible products from third parties to a point where accessibility is the norm in third-party products…" https://webaim.org/blog/impact-of-rulemaking/ What's Wrong With VPATs? By Brian DeConinck. "A discussion of some problems with VPATs and ACRs and their role in the procurement process for government and large organizations. From that discussion, I’ll also put forward the kind of accessibility documentation that I think would be more valuable when purchasing a product…" https://www.briandeconinck.com/vpats/ +02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS. In Praise Of The Basics By Geoff Graham. "What does it mean to learn the 'basics', or fundamentals, of front-end web development? Is starting with HTML and CSS still the best entry point to learn how to make websites and apps when we have a seemingly endless supply of frameworks that abstract those building blocks with their own opinions and syntax flavors? Geoff Graham thinks so and discusses why you might consider going 'back to basics' to start or move forward in your career…" https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2024/05/in-praise-of-the-basics/ +03: EVALUATION & TESTING. How to Scope Your Accessibility Research Study By Elana Chapman. "How much research is enough? How can you scope your accessibility research? In a recent webinar, Elana Chapman, Accessibility Research Manager at Fable, presented some findings from Fable's investigation into what saturation might look like in the context of accessibility research…" https://makeitfable.com/article/fable-webinar-recap-scoping-your-accessibility-research-study/ The Diverge-and-Converge Technique for UX Workshops By Therese Fessenden. "By first working independently on a problem and then converging to share insights, teams can leverage the benefits of both work styles, leading to rapid data analysis, diverse ideas, and high-quality designs. " https://www.nngroup.com/articles/diverge-converge/ Are Click Scales More Sensitive than Radio Button Scales? By Jim Lewis and Jeff Sauro. "…We collected data from 200 participants who used the click version of the SEQ to rate the difficulty of completing five online tasks that varied significantly in how hard they were. We compared the measurement sensitivity (standard deviation) of two metrics derived from click SEQ responses (horizontal position and hotspot) with data from previous studies that used the standard (radio button) version of the SEQ…" https://measuringu.com/click-seq-sensitivity/ Using a CSD Matrix in Discovery (Video) By Anna Kaley. "CSD matrices organize project information by Certainties, Suppositions, and Doubts. Use the framework to make decisions, form hypotheses, and address unknowns in discovery." https://www.nngroup.com/videos/csd-matrix/ Has AI Killed User Testing? By Simon Sterne. "…User testing remains an essential aspect of web design, evolving significantly from its early days of basic usability checks to today's sophisticated, AI-enhanced methodologies. Despite the transformative impact of AI, the core objective of user testing - uncovering issues and improving user experience - has not changed…" https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/ai-user-testing/ +04: EVENTS. From Community of Practice to Accessibility Culture: Growing a Culture of Accessibility Within Your Organization June 12, 2024. Online https://www.accessibilityassociation.org/s/webinar-details?id=a0ATn000000QmU1MAK The Roadmap to Accessibility Maturity: TIAA's Journey June 13, 2024. Online https://www.deque.com/accessibility-maturity-roadmap-tiaa-forrester/ UX Virtual Training August 10-16, 2024. Online https://www.nngroup.com/training/august/ Beyond Tellerrand Berlin November 6-7, 2024. Berlin, Germany https://beyondtellerrand.com/events/berlin-2024 Web Directions Developer Summit November 27-28, 2024. Sydney, Australia https://webdirections.org/dev-summit/ +05: JAVASCRIPT. Your Site or App Should Work as Much as Possible Without JavaScript By Chris Ferdinandi. "I'm amazed at how often this is a controversial opinion, but… your site or app should work as much as possible without JavaScript…" https://gomakethings.com/your-site-or-app-should-work-as-much-as-possible-without-javascript/ +06: MISCELLANEOUS. Building Tech That Respects Our Rights (Video) By Laura Kalbag. "The technology we use tracks and captures our every move, habit, and facial expression. We've been taught surveillance is the only way we can create modern technology, and that our personal information is merely used to improve our experiences. Instead, we see data about us being used to perpetuate systems of oppression and discrimination. Being creators who are also users, we also have to reckon with how we both contribute to this surveillance system and are exploited by it. We can do better. In this talk, we'll explore a few practical ways to design technology that prioritises human welfare. And how we can use whatever power we have to build towards a better future…" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kogc5d_mDBo Witnessing the Death of the Web as a News Medium By Chris Heilmann. "…Let's take a peek at the slow decline of the web as a news medium…" https://christianheilmann.com/2024/06/03/witnessing-the-death-of-the-web-as-a-news-medium/ +07: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES & PATTERNS. Consensus in Internet Standards By Mark Nottingham.= "It's common for voluntary technical standards developing organisations (SDOs such as the IETF and W3C) to make decisions by consensus, rather than (for example) voting. This post explores why we use consensus, what it is, how it works in Internet standards and when its use can become problematic…" https://www.mnot.net/blog/2024/05/24/consensus World Wide Accessibility - Benefits of Standardization By Bogdan Cerovac. "Short reflection on positive and negative situations related to accessibility standards. Unification, or to say standardization of accessibility standards, should be our common goal…" https://cerovac.com/a11y/2024/06/world-wide-accessibility-benefits-of-standardization/ +08: TOOLS. Collaboration Tools Accessibility User Requirements Jason White, Janina Sajka, and Scott Hollier, Editors. "This document outlines various accessibility-related user needs, requirements and scenarios for both synchronous and asynchronous web-based collaboration tools…" https://raw.githack.com/w3c/ctaur/update-note-2024-06/index.html Experimenting With Local Alt Text Generation in Firefox Nightly By Tarek Ziadé. "…Firefox 130 will introduce an experimental new capability to automatically generate alt-text for images using a fully private on-device AI model. The feature will be available as part of Firefox's built-in PDF editor, and our end goal is to make it available in general browsing for users with screen readers…" https://hacks.mozilla.org/2024/05/experimenting-with-local-alt-text-generation-in-firefox-nightly/ +09: USABILITY. Decision Trees For UI Components By Vitaly Friedman. "Imagine finally resolving never-ending discussions about UI decisions for good. Here are some practical examples of decision trees for UI components and how to use them effectively. An upcoming part of Smart Interface Design Patterns…" https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2024/05/decision-trees-ui-components/ [Section one ends.] ++ SECTION TWO: +10: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site? Accessibility Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/accessibility.html Association Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/associations.html Book Listings. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/books.html Cascading Style Sheets Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/css.html Color Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/color.html Drupal Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/drupal.html Evaluation & Testing Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/testing.html Event Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/events.html HTML Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/html.html Information Architecture Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/architecture.html JavaScript Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/javascript.html Miscellaneous Web Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/misc.html Navigation Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/navigation.html PHP Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/php.html Sites & Blogs Listing. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/sites.html Standards, Guidelines & Pattern Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/standards.html Tool Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/tools.html Typography Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/type.html Usability Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/usability.html WebWaste & Sustainability Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/webwaste.html XML Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/xml.html [Section two ends.] ++END NOTES. + SUBSCRIPTION INFO. WEB DESIGN UPDATE is available by subscription. For information on how to subscribe and unsubscribe please visit: https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/webdev_listserv.html The Web Design Reference Site also has a RSS 2.0 feed for site updates. + TEXT EMAIL NEWSLETTER (TEN). As a navigation aid for screen readers we do our best to conform to the accessible Text Email Newsletter (TEN) guidelines. Please let me know if there is anything else we can do to make navigation easier. For TEN guideline information please visit: http://www.headstar.com/ten + SIGN OFF. Until next time, Laura L. Carlson Information Technology Systems and Services University of Minnesota Duluth Duluth, MN U.S.A. 55812-3009 mailto:lcarlson@d.umn.edu [Issue ends.]