I’ve long felt that accessibility is conceptually simple, and technically difficult. I’ve believed that if you can convey the fundamental concept of digital accessibility to somebody, everything else can be extrapolated from principles. That doesn’t mean that somebody would conform to accessibility guidelines at any level based on this. Reaching for accessibility by application of principles doesn’t necessarily yield the same result as what you’ll find in accessibility guidelines, but – in principle – should still encourage a sound interpretation […]
Continue reading “Accessibility is Equality” »Everybody should write a CMS
I’m not joking, although I’m sure that’s the first impression from this post’s title. But there’s a crucial caveat: everybody should write their own JavaScript framework or content management system; but very few should ever let their tool get used. There’s an enormous learning value in programming a large, complex system. You get a strong sense of accomplishment, while learning just how complicated it is to create a flexible theming system, menu structuring tool, and content editor – let alone […]
Continue reading “Everybody should write a CMS” »I’m an accessibility consultant. Stop hiring me.
I call myself an accessibility consultant when I’m not building WordPress plug-ins. But in all reality, you should stop hiring accessibility consultants. The work is awful, and nobody wants to do it. Seriously – the work is awful. I mean that. Building accessible web sites and applications? That’s awesome. Training you and your team on what’s involved in creating an accessible resource? Also awesome. Creating tools that help you identify or fix accessibility issues? Really, seriously awesome. Diving into that […]
Continue reading “I’m an accessibility consultant. Stop hiring me.” »Extending WordPress Plug-ins
Awesome WordPress plug-ins are built making extensive use of awesome core WordPress tools: filters and actions. My own plug-ins are no exceptions. But the fact that I’ve used the awesome power of filters and actions in my plug-ins doesn’t automatically mean that you know how to use and implement them. There are some great tutorials available on how to use WordPress actions and filters (or hooks, as they’re known collectively): Learning to use WordPress hooks from Elegant Themes The Complete […]
Continue reading “Extending WordPress Plug-ins” »What I hate about themes
Just to disclose the truth: I don’t really hate themes. But as a plug-in developer with tens of thousands of users, what I hate is undisclosed conflicts – and themes are a big part of that problem. We’re talking about tech support. The other day, Pippin Williamson posted this Tweet: If you're a #WordPress theme developer, please do not modify file upload locations. There is zero reasons a theme should be doing that. — Pippin Williamson (@pippinsplugins) January 5, 2015 […]
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