I just fixed an error in the code for my PHP based poll script - please download the new version! No change to the version number; this wasn’t that major of a fix, but if you are producing a poll which will have fewer than 5 result choices you will need to use the new version.
Thanks!
Recently made some minor revisions to my MySQL/PHP Poll. The previous version was very limited in that it was only capable of handling polls with exactly 5 options. The new version is still fairly limited, but can now handle polls with anywhere from 2 to 5 voter choices.
On occasion, I’ve needed to add various pieces of software to sites I’ve designed or modified. Particularly with database-driven projects I’ve found myself needing to heavily modify scripts I’ve found or simply write my own in order to massage the produced markup into some vestiges of accessibility.
Although I make no claims of perfection, I’ve recently posted three new articles in the articles section of this site:
None of these articles is going to provide you with rich, production-grade software or techniques for a large, heavily trafficked site. However, they should be easily sufficient to make it easy for you to add some small additional features to your
website which produces clean, valid markup.
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Microsoft has long been cursed in my mind as the creator of the worst website creation software in existence - Frontpage. Littered with custom extensions, complex custom scripting, and an interface which makes it extremely easy to make a horrible website, their software has been responsible for some of the worst code I’ve ever had to clean up.
This month, Microsoft has at least unveiled their next generation web editor - Expression Web Designer. Although I never recommend a web editor as a replacement for learning the complexities of code, and no web editing tool available is capable of creating an accessible web site unless the person using the software is knowledgeable, Microsoft’s new product takes some valuable steps forward.
The very first statement on the Expression web site says a lot - it tells us exactly what goals Microsoft is espousing with this new product, and what they now consider to be important when it comes to selling web design products.
Microsoft® Expression® Web Designer gives you all the tools you’ll need to produce high-quality, standards-based Web sites the way you want them. Take advantage of the best of dynamic Web site design, enabling you to design, develop, and maintain exceptional standards-based Web sites.
I should make it clear that I don’t also believe that Microsoft is 100% dedicated to web standards. Internet Explorer 7 is a huge step forward, and I think that’s wonderful. However, when it comes to new web projects and services, Microsoft has not spent any significant effort on accessibility. They are beginning to recognize that accessibility and standards are the way of the future. It may take decades for that knowledge to filter through the entire company, however!
An interview from February of 2006 is posted on the Microsoft site which discusses a number of the commitments that Microsoft has made with this new project. This is, unsurprisingly, a basically glowing interview, but it does emphasize the fact that Expression will completely replace Frontpage, which will be discontinued.
The most exciting features, in my mind, are the built in HTML validation, browser compatibility reporting, and automated accessibility testing against Section 508 guidelines and the WCAG. As imperfect as automated accessibility testing is, it is a vast improvement to have it built in to a web editor. This greatly increases the likelihood that a designer will become aware of this important issue and at LEAST experiment with it.
The free trial should give a lot of web standards people their first chance to test it out and see what’s going to be happening. The trial is good through February of 2007, so there should be plenty of time in there to find any faults.
Cheryl D. Wise has written what is probably the first serious review of Expression Web Designer. She doesn’t go in depth, but will be posting additional reviews, articles, and tutorials to go with the software over the next few weeks.
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For the last two weeks I’ve been living an unusually isolated life. Specifically, one without a home internet connection.
Now that you’ve all finished gasping with shock, I’ll continue.
During this time, I’ve learned a lot about how much my normal life style (not just my work, which is naturally web based) is set around internet access. I retrieve almost all the information I normally need during the day through the internet. Restaurant menus, opening and closing times, phone numbers - all retrieved through internet search. If I have curiousity which I simply must satisfy, I’ll query Wikipedia.
But recently I’ve had to survive without that kind of access. I can still go off to cafes and restaurants and access free wireless service with some regularity, thankfully. This makes it at least possible for me to continue with my work. But it’s a lot more awkward.
At any rate, enough whining. Back to the topic at hand.
During this last few days, I’ve worked my through the code I use for a search engine with most of my PHP/MySQL web sites. I’ve documented it moderately thoroughly and written it up. However, lacking internet access, I haven’t really tested this version of it. Hopefully, there are no major mistakes!
If anybody happens to give it their time to look at, I hope you’ll drop me a line and let me know your thoughts. I’m particularly interested in hearing about anybody’s views about improving the security of the script, but will gladly accept comments on usability, functionality, etc.
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Other Websites: Search Marketing
For quite a while now I’ve been using Blogger as my tool of choice for this blog and for other’s sites. I’ve never been very happy with this choice, as the tool has limited options (no organization by categories, for example) and also restricts the designer’s control over the database. Furthermore, tweaking Blogger to provide more-or-less standards-based code is a fair amount of work.
Yet, none of this has been quite sufficient for me to decide to switch. The one thing I do like about Blogger is the single-page template format. I don’t need to edit a bottom section, navigation include, top matter, and content template to put together a design - I can simply compose the design within my own usual text editor and then stick that into Blogger.
I’m not sure why I’ve been so resistant to multiple-page templates - perhaps I’m just too accustomed to developing in my own way, and identifying what some new CMS has decided to call their various includes is too frustrating! Regardless, this is one of my goals for the next few weeks - learn somebody else’s CMS. It’s about time that I delved into something like WordPress or b2evolution.
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One of the challenges in accessible web design is getting feedback from actual users. I know relatively few individuals with low-vision who regularly use screen readers. I know only a few people with handheld web devices - and certainly not enough to cover the entire range of possibilities in that area. This challenge is one of the reasons that web accessibility is so closely tied to web standards. Since most of us can’t test our work "in the field," we have to rely on our intuition, logic, and the fact that a careful adherence to standards will keep us from straying too far from the path.
There are a few places to go for valuable perspectives on these issues. First, and the most commonly used, for me, is the web design community. Interacting with other designers who are struggling with the same issues can provide valuable insights into potential problems which you yourself may not have considered. I belong to one major web forum, Cre8asite Forums, where discussions of standards and device compatibility have provided a lot of help. I’m also a member of the Guild of Accessible Web Designers, an organization committed to accessible web design. This highly focused group regularly considers the complexities of accessibility.
A second option is web accessibility testing. Disregarding the standard testing services for accessibility, Cynthia, WebXACT, and others, there are organizations such as Usability Exchange, a company which provides testing by actual disabled end users, giving you some of the best information you can get. The downside? It’s not free. And it never will be, I imagine. Still, for larger-budget projects it can be a hugely benefical step.
The third choice, is to read about the experiences of disabled users. It can be difficult to find this kind of information outside of lawsuits and news articles. These resources, though valuable, tend not to contain anything more than can be found in any number of online accessibility sources. Recently I’ve become aware of two blogs which can provide good insight: the American Foundation for the Blind and Blind Confidential, the personal blog of Chris Hofstater - a blind programmer heavily involved with the JAWS screen reader. The AFB blog is very general, but sometimes can provide an interesting link or story. Chris Hofstater’s blog, on the other hand, can sometimes provide fantastic insight into the experiences of the blind.
There’s nothing more valuable in accessible web design than getting a good sense for the experiences and frustrations of an actual user. If you can gain insight into the practical difficulties of a website, you’ve made the strongest step towards resolving the accessibility problem.
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Filed under News, Software, Web Development by Joe Dolson