Welcome to the 541st (!) and last edition of my hand-curated roundup post of web design and development resources.
Earlier this week I announced after 25 years in web design, I’m retiring at the end of 2022.
My roundup posts launched in 2011 when my friend Nick DeNardis asked me share my resources in a post so he could keep up with all the resources I shared in one place.
Thank you to all my followers who read the roundup posts on the blog, I hope you found the resources helpful.
I’m grateful to everyone who commented, offered resources, and shared my roundups with others, helping to spread the word about web design and development.
It’s a bittersweet ending. I’ve loved publishing the posts over the years!
In this week’s web design and development resources roundup, you’ll learn about storyboard sketching, find five myths about digital accessibility, discover how to code semantic and accessible tables, and more.
Hope you find the resources helpful in your work or projects!
User Experience
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In his continuing series, Jack Moffett discusses sketches in storyboarding. His recommendation: start with hand-drawn sketches; its the quickest way to record and iterate your thoughts.
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Why do user interviews often result in misinformation and lies? One reason: you can’t trust people’s memories, says Sonja Porter in Day 11 of the Bekk Christmas Advent calendar.
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Looking for last minute presents for the holidays? Caroline Jarrett offers four books for you to consider. (I like Presenting Design Work by Donna Maurer, it’s only 52 pages long.)
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My personal belief: time-zone selectors are one of the most frustrating experiences on the web. Which is why I’m grateful for Maria Rosala and Kelley Gordon’s article addressing time-zone selectors, based on their research findings. First recommendation: identify user’s time zone based on their location and allow users to change it if needed.
Accessibility
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Did you know an estimated 1.3 billion people (according to the World Health Organization) experience significant disabilities? Yet the first myth about digital accessibility is that disabled people don’t use the web. Learn about the five myths about digital accessibility in this eight-minute video from Crystal Preston-Watson.
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Join the World Wide Web Web Accessibility Initiative online on January 10-11, 2023 for their Artificial Intelligence and Accessibility Research Symposium. Registration is free, but you must preregister by January 5, 2023.
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As Craig Abbott points out, accessibility is often thought of as a technical problem to fix. But it goes beyond that, accessibility starts with an organization’s culture.
People also need to understand why accessibility is important and embrace it in each phase of a project.
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In the third volume of the Do No Harm Guide series, Centering Accessibility in Data Visualization from the Urban Institute, you’ll find resources and lessons on how to create accessible visualization products.
WordPress
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Whoa. WordPress turns 20 in 2023. Check out the 20th anniversary WordPress site (more content expected soon!)
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Need a laugh about WordPress, Twitter, and technology? My friend Eric Karkovack, takes a grumpy designer’s preview of 2023, with a focus on web design. Ironic comment that proved true last night:
While it may be a minor inconvenience for users, it does mean that the boss won’t have to read anything the least bit unpleasant.
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This is helpful! The new experimental WordPress Sandbox allows you to text-drive themes and plugins in the browser.
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Over 300 people participated in the WordPress Administration 2022 Survey, which was aimed at understanding how WordPress administrators and website owners managed their WordPress sites. A bit disappointed to learn only 54% of administrators reporting doing daily backups.
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PHP 8.2 is now available to all WordPress.com Business and Ecommerce sites with hosting features activated.
CSS and HTML
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Michele Barker takes a deep dive into coding border-radius. Did you know you can use logical properties in
border-radius? -
The new Lighthouse results in the WebPageTest performance analysis tool includes a number of new features: first-party test result page display and custom social preview for sharing results.
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For Day 1 of the 12 Days of Web Advent Calendar, Eric Meyer discusses new viewport units for large, small, and dynamic spaces.
Although these may seem very mobile- or at least handheld-centric, these units may become more handy for desktop and embedded contexts over time.
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It’s important to select the right tool, says Jim Nielsen as he discusses the issues involved with using
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My friend Amy Carney explains how you can code semantic accessible tables in Day 14 of the HTMHell Advent Calendar.
What I Found Interesting
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Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the World Wide Web, says it’s time for us to reclaim our personal data from tech giants.
In this new world of you looking after your own data, it doesn’t live in big silos that are lucrative targets for attackers.
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I never would imagine gold was a solution. Learn how Swiss scientists figured out how to stop your glasses from fogging up.
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Remarkable program! In trails, folk tales and the “Holy Grail” of birdwatching in Colombia, Chelsea Bengier describes how the Fly High Bird Club is educating children about the importance of conserving the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
If you like what you’ve read today, share the post with your colleagues and friends.
