Sometimes we fail to consider how browser features can jack up our interfaces. This is neither good nor bad, but we do need to account for it. My argument here is simple. Avoid putting important actionable or informational text exclusively below form fields. This includes labels, hints, and error messages.…
Léonie Watson recently posted Accessible Emoji, a simple technique to make emoji characters accessible to those with screen readers. It requires a little bit of extra effort when inserting an emoji into a web page, but it is worth it to convey the meaning to screen reader users. Then there…
There has been some discussion lately around, of all things, text resizing widgets on web sites. It was kicked off by a post from Jeffrey Zeldman suggesting that perhaps it is time to bring them back. Even mighty responsive design benefits from offering a choice of font sizes—because there are…
The chocolate in that calendar was terrible. Terrible enough that I keep re-using this photo since I do not want to buy a new calendar. For a few years now web developers around the world have celebrated Saturnalia Christmas with advent calendars covering topics related to the web. Some come…
TL;DR: In general, I recommend underlining links in body content. In the absence of a better style appropriate for a specific site, this is the way to go. Overview It is amazing to me how this suggestion causes so much angst and fighting. Designers often argue that they look ugly,…
In 2012 I wrote about how to use chromatic type with pseudo-elements. My objective back then was to minimize the hassle of a content author using a WYSIWYG while also not overwhelming a screen reader user with triplicate content. Pseudo-elements achieved that, though support for pseduo-elements in screen readers is…
This May I will be speaking at the Guelph Accessibility Conference. It will be held Monday and Tuesday, May 30 and 31, 2016 on the University of Guelph campus. The theme of this year’s event is In Letter and Spirit: Realizing the Vision of the AODA. There is also a…
Screen shot of the Zurb Foundation advice for accessible buttons, where it shows anchors and a div each with role=”button”. In short, a perfect example of everything you could do wrong. NOTE: This was version 5.5.3. Most of this is fixed in the current version as of this writing (6.1.2).…
This is, to some extent, a response to the article at Usability Geek titled Making A Case For The Desktop Hamburger Menu (which I had the Wayback Machine capture because I have learned my lesson). I left a comment on the article, but it motivated me to write something on…
Ganesha may or may not be stealing chocolate from the advent calendar. For a few years now web developers around the world have celebrated Saturnalia Christmas with advent calendars covering topics related to the web. Some come and go, but you’ll probably recognize a few regulars on this list. I…