A while ago (actually, quite a while ago,) Raj Krishnan of the Google “snippets” team posted a very interesting article on meta descriptions at the Google Webmaster Central blog. One of the key points was about “tagging” your meta description. The meta description doesn’t just have to be in sentence format; it’s also a great place to include structured data about the page. For example, news or blog postings can list the author, date of publication, or byline information. This […]
Continue reading “Tagging your meta descriptions” »Author: Joe Dolson
An Example of Automated Accessibility Testing
Every once in a while, somebody mentions to me how they’re concerned because their (or my) site didn’t “pass” some online accessibility evaluator or another. This always opens up the conversation for one big, complicated issue: why automated accessibility testing just doesn’t work. This isn’t to say that automated testing doesn’t have a place; but it should never be considered the deciding factor for accessibility. The Functional Accessibility Evaluator from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was pointed out to […]
Continue reading “An Example of Automated Accessibility Testing” »Know your why’s and how’s…
The Accessibility Cookbook: a Recipe for Disaster, by Aaron Cannon. This is a very well-written article which provides an “insider’s” viewpoint from both an accessibility and an interface designer’s perspective. The article remarks, in brief, on the importance of knowing the why’s and how’s of accessibility. If you don’t understand why or how you’re helping a disabled user, you are immediately opening up a gateway to create new barriers. It’s not about following a set of rules; it’s about sitting […]
Continue reading “Know your why’s and how’s…” »“Prettiness” is relative.
At least, in the final reckoning. Something which comes up over and over in my work is the tendency of clients to request design changes which I don’t particularly care for. This isn’t to say that they’re ugly, per se — after all, the fact that I don’t like them isn’t actually equal to “ugly.” Early on, I would argue with clients concerning these design changes — try and get them to see my perspective, etc. But the fact is […]
Continue reading ““Prettiness” is relative.” »Responsibilities of a Web Designer
Working as a web designer/developer comes with a significant burden of responsibility. When you sign a contract to develop or update somebody’s business-critical web presence, you’re confronted with a situation where you have enormous potential to abuse or, through irresponsibility, damage that person’s business. This is something I think about on an almost daily basis, thinking to myself “Have I taken the necessary precautions to make sure that THIS action doesn’t break anything?” It’s a responsibility that goes far deeper […]
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