In this week’s web design and development news roundup, you’ll discover an upcoming content strategy conference, find out how to center an element with side-aligned content, learn about client-side vs. server-side analytics, and more.
If you’re new to my blog, each Friday I publish a post highlighting my favorite user experience, accessibility, WordPress, CSS, and HTML posts I’ve read in the past week.
Hope you find the resources helpful in your work or projects!
Want more resources like these on a daily basis? Follow me @redcrew on Twitter.
Tweet of the Week
Psst – users don't care whether the space is 24px or 36px, they just want a readable, usable experience.
— Stephanie Eckles (@5t3ph) April 27, 2022
Pass it on.
User Experience
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When you’re conducting task-based usability research, your metrics need to include a mix of what people do and what people think, says Jeff Sauro and Jim Lewis in their guide to task-based UX metrics.
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Not surprised by the findings that there’s no single answer for the best font for online reading. What I found fascinating to learn is that different fonts perform differently for young and old readers. (Something to consider if designers are younger and your users are older. Or vice versa.)
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Less than two weeks away! Confab, the content strategy conference returns May 9-12, 2022, is happening online and in-person in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Do you plan to attend?
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In the latest post in his design patterns and technique series, Boosting UX with Design KPIs, Vitaly Friedman discusses the importance of defining design KPIs and their impact on the quality of work measured. The goal is to establish design KPIs alongside business KPIs.
Accessibility
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Did you know removing focus from interactive elements on a web page is harmful? It’s bad for accessibility and usability, since it removes the ability for a user to know where they are on a web page. As my colleague Todd Libby explains in stop removing focus.
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Following up on Todd’s post, it’s wonderful to learn Github has improved their focus indicators. If you’re on Github, you’ll now find a visible outline when focused with a keyboard and a higher contrast outline on focused form fields.
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Accessibility is everyone’s job, not only one person or team member.
#A11y wisdom Wednesday! It is not just the developers who are responsible for #Accessibility. ALL members of a team are responsible. Designers, project managers, product owners, etc. All of them have a part to play in the a11y journey! #Webdev #mobile #wednesdaythought
— Mark Steadman (@Steady5063) April 27, 2022 -
Microsoft launched a new resource hub for Game Developer Accessibility Resources. You’ll find training courses and workshops (free and paid), documentation, conferences, talks, testing, and tools.
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Join 3 Play Media on Thursday, May 5, 2022 as they host David Berman presenting What the Pandemic Has Taught Us About How to Make Every Meeting More Accessible. The webinar is free, but pre-registration is required.
WordPress
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The third beta of WordPress 6.0 is available for download and testing. Please remember: don’t test or install on production sites.
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Have to say I don’t like their approach. MemberPress plugin locks out users after support license expires. Without any admin screen access, users are left with no options for managing membership functions.
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Today is the last day, but you can still attend the free online Atarim Web Agency Summit 2002. Over 40 WordPress agency, owners, developers, and marketers will share their tips and resources for scaling your freelance and agency business.
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Congrats on the new champion! The Plus Addons for Elementor wins Plugin Madness 2022. I don’t use Elementor, do you?
CSS and HTML
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CSS has gone far, as Eric Meyer demonstrates in how to flexibly center an element with side-aligned content. With only two logical properties. No extra markup, calculations, or workarounds. Nice!
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Join LogRocket on May 17, 2022 for an online CSS meetup when they take a closer look at how to use CSS animations and stay performant (and accessible).
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When Stephanie Eckles asked folks what were the first 5 named CSS colors that pop in your head, I was quick to reply. Turns out, so did 300 other folks. Eckles took the data from the the replies and shared the stats for “popular” named CSS colors. (Out of 150 named CSS colors, 106 colors were shared. Only one of the five colors I shared was in the top 10: cornflowerblue.)
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Like Jeremy Keith, I’m curious about the same thing. Why would developers trust third-party code over native browser features like HTML elements, CSS features, and JavaScript APIs?
What I Found Interesting
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While many people make complaints about social media, there’s a good side. A man snorkeling in Mexico found a college class ring and was able to return it to its owner. Made me smile as I read the story!
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It’s that time: Independent Bookstore Day is Saturday, April 30, 2022. Support your favorite independent bookstore by checking out local bookstores and purchasing a book.
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Which do you think provides the correct info: server-side or client-side website analytics? The answer might surprise you.
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Finally! Google Search now allows you to request removal of personal info, including physical address, phone number, and email address. A step forward in preventing doxxing and fraud.
If you like what you’ve read today, share the post with your colleagues and friends.
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