116 items | 70 visits
Web Design Links specifically relating to accessibility and usability features
Updated on 2009-10-08
Created on 2008-07-02
Category: Computers & Internet
URL:
"As web professionals, we all know that the concept of the page fold being an impenetrable barrier for users is a myth. Over the last 6 years we’ve watched over 800 user testing sessions between us and on only 3 occasions have we seen the page fold as a barrier to users getting to the content they want.
In this article we’re going to break down the page fold myth and give some tips to ensure content below the fold gets seen."
I also have used this one: http://colorfilter.wickline.org/
Oh man I TOTALLY agree with #1 - I hate being forced to click for multiple page articles like that - what a waste of my time. I live in a rural area and don't have the fastest internet - waiting for each new page to load makes me more and more frustrated and less and less likely to finish the article. At the very least, offer a "view on one page" option like some sites do. On some sites, I've used the print version to view articles on one page and not interrupt my reading, but not all sites work that way, either. Please - just stop with the gratuitous multiple pages people!
For the most part, we never notice the “visual weight” of a site. That’s a good thing. Experienced front-end developers optimize their site to load quickly and display accurately across all modern browsers. In this post, I will detail how to analyze the bottlenecks preventing websites and blogs from loading quickly and how to resolve them.
“good web design is invisible—it feels simple and authentic because it’s about the character of the content, not the character of the designer." I think I have this talk bookmarked from another venue where it was more complete, but it's always good to hear again.
Good article but I disagree on autofocus on form fields! I HATE that. Sometimes you go to a page just to see what is there, not to fill out a form or do a search, and autofocus breaks my back keystroke. I have to click outside of the form field in order just to back out of the page and that is really annoying! Why does everyone think this is such a usability plus? ugh. (Their javascript example to fix this problem they created doesn't work, either. Sure, it works for delete, but not for the easier keystroke commands I use.) But the rest of the techniques are good.
Wow - I had no idea you could do this! this sounds much simpler than the way I learned to do multi-column layouts with floats. CSS Tables. IE8 now makes it cross-browser. interesting! Nice solid layouts yet accessible by screenreaders.
A good overview of Section 508 Accessibility Guidelines, using the government's own websites as examples (both good and bad)
Google reads your pages just like a blind person does - if accessibility being "the right thing to do" isn't enough for you, maybe you should consider Google and SEO.
Includes links to tools for simulating how your site looks to a search engine!
In danger of closing - sign the petition: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/SavetheInstitute
The idea that some people put forth that users don't scroll has always struck me as patently ridiculous! This is a good article - obviously, you need to put your most important content - the stuff that tells readers what the site is about or good for, above the fold. Personally, I would *much* rather scroll than go to another page! Hello - that's what cntrl+F is for! (or in my case, apple+F). Guess what - we've all learned to scroll! Duh!
Part two is here:
http://www.digital-web.com/articles/seven_accessibility_mistakes_part_2/
116 items | 70 visits
Web Design Links specifically relating to accessibility and usability features
Updated on 2009-10-08
Created on 2008-07-02
Category: Computers & Internet
URL: