At SmashingConf Toronto, attendees got to participate in live performance and accessibility audits with our speakers Marcy Sutton and Tim Kadlec. Marcy took two example components, built using React, and walked us through how these components could be made more accessible with some straightforward changes, and Tim demonstrates how to test the performance of a site, and find bottlenecks leading to poor experiences for visitors. Watching an expert assess these critical areas can help you to perform your own audits.
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Automated accessibility testing is a process where you use a series of scripts to test for the presence, or lack of certain conditions in code. These conditions are dictated by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), a standard by the W3C that outlines how to make digital experiences accessible. Automated accessibility tests are a great resource to have, but they can’t automatically make your site accessible. Use them as one step of a larger testing process. Today, Eric Bailey will take a deep look into accessibility testing.
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Learn about the basics of animation in After Effects by animating one of the most famous type characters and the state of the iMessage App Store in 2018 when it comes to stickers. In this article, Simon Schmid brings you a step-by-step guide of setting up a canvas in After Effects and then he will go through with the animation. You’ll also read about how well the app containing more than 30 animated stickers worked and what some of the specific issues are you might be having on the App Store for iMessage.
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As designers, we have a real opportunity to provide valuable meaning to these assistants but we’re still trying to work out where the technology can add real benefits to the user. There are folks all over the globe who are unable to easily complete everyday tasks for themselves. Luckily, developers and designers can help by experimenting with voice technology that empowers them to complete tasks that others may take for granted.
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Developers conduct AB tests, accessibility audits, unit tests and cross-browser checks. Once you’ve solved a problem, you don’t want to repeat that effort. By building a reusable component library, we can continuously utilize past efforts and avoid revisiting already solved design and development challenges. In this article, Oliver Williams looks at augmenting HTML with components that have built-in functionality and styles. He’ll also show you how to make these custom elements reusable across projects using NPM.
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Many of us are taught to make sure our sites can be used via keyboard. Why is that, and what is it like in practice? Chris Ashton did an experiment to find out. He hopes to raise the profile of difficulties faced by real people, which are avoidable if we design and develop in a way that is sympathetic to their needs. Chris used the web for a day without JavaScript. Today, he forces himself to navigate the web using just his keyboard.
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The placeholder attribute contains a surprising amount of issues that prevent it from delivering on what it promises. The presence of a placeholder attribute won’t be flagged by automated accessibility checking software. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s usable. Ultimately, accessibility is about people, not standards, so it is important to think about your interface in terms beyond running through a checklist. In this article, Eric Bailey will clarify why you need to stop using it.
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Have you ever wondered whether it’s possible to do anything on the web without JavaScript? How many sites use progressive enhancement in practice? In this article Chris Ashton will try to use the web under various constraints, representing a given demographic of user. A good core experience is indicative of a well-structured web page, which, in turn, is usually a good sign for SEO and for accessibility. It’s usually a well designed web page, as the designer and developer have spent time and effort thinking about what’s truly core to the experience.
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Macular degeneration is the leading cause of legal blindness in the United States. Bud Kraus shares his story of lessons learned from his disability as a tool to help him communicate and teach WordPress to others. Everyone works with WordPress differently, and Bud has discovered that for most people technology makes things easier. And for him, it makes things possible.
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How do we go about understanding the myriad of users and their needs? One of the most common problems when designing for accessibility is knowing what needs you should design for. The more inclusive you are to the needs of your users, the more accessible your design is. In this article, Steven Lambert will take a closer look at the different lenses of accessibility through which you can refine your designs.
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