In this week’s web design and development news roundup, you’ll learn about identifying and fixing pain points in customer experience, find out why digital accessibility is crucial, discover a free online course on CSS from Google, 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
“Great leaders make effective and efficient use of their tools to ensure everyone can be successful.” – Sam Proulx, Fable#GAAD #GAAD2021 #a11y
— Fable (@makeitfable) May 20, 2021
User Experience
- Dan Saffer takes a deep dive into design with his 100 things I know about design. My favorite?
There are three great design themes: making something beautiful, making something easier, and making something possible.
- If there’s one pattern I’ve always been frustrated with it’s mega-dropdown hover menus. I remember when we considered using it on the college website. The discussion didn’t go far. Vitaly Friedman discusses alternatives, options if you must use them, and how you can improve the UX.
- The documentary film “Rams” by Gary Hustwit is streaming free worldwide to celebrate Dieter Rams’ 89th birthday. The film is available for free streaming through 3:00pm Eastern Time today. Subtitles are available in 12 languages.
- In three levels of pain points in customer experience, Sarah Gibbons explains the importance of identifying, fixing, and preventing pain points and how they can be a driver for change.
Accessibility
- With the 10th anniversary of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) on May 20th, there’s a plethora of accessibility-related content this week. So many, it’s hard to choose which to highlight. First up: my post on how you can participate online in Global Accessibility Awareness Day.
- In honor of the 10th anniversary of GAAD comes the launch of the GAAD Foundation, by GAAD founders Jennison Asuncion and Joe Devon. According to the press release, the foundation is:
…a nonprofit organization whose mission is to disrupt the culture of technology and digital product development to include accessibility as a core requirement.
- Good reminder. I would add: don’t include too many emojis in your Twitter biography.
Don’t include too many emojis in your tweets!
Text-to-speech software used by blind and partially sighted people reads out a description for every single one. Listen below 👇#GAAD pic.twitter.com/6BKzrq3h0j
— RNIB (@RNIB) May 20, 2021
- Conduct a quick accessibility test for resizing content on your website with this one-minute video from TetraLogical. Make sure your content resizes, remains visible, and reflows. Check out their nine other quick accessibility test videos, all a minute or less in length.
- As more people around the world are getting vaccinated and businesses plan to reopen their offices, disability advocates and the disability community hope you don’t forget: COVID-19 showed everyone that digital accessibility is critical.
WordPress
- In Crafted with Code, WP Engine collaborated with the Webby Awards (the annual recognition of the best of the Internet) to highlight Webby-recognized websites built with WordPress, along with the stories and the people behind the sites.
- Have you registered? The WordSesh virtual conference returns May 24 to May 28, 2021 with sessions on delivering better web experiences. Personally I’m looking forward to Monique Dubbleman’s session, Make your product or website more usable in 10 easy steps.
- When you purchase a plugin and decide to rename and repurpose it, be prepared for the wrath from existing users. That’s what happened when Profile Press chose to rename and repurpose WP User Avatar, a plugin with over 400,000 installations. Users quickly voted and provided over 120 one-star reviews.
- While the WordPress website maintenance checklist from WPEka is a good explanation of the WordPress maintenance tasks you should do regularly on your website, their recommendation to do these tasks every three to six months is wrong. You need to conduct WordPress website maintenance tasks daily or weekly.
CSS and HTML
- Have you checked out the Learn CSS! course from Google Developers? It’s free, online, includes 23 chapters of excellent teaching from well-respected CSS folks like Rachel Andrew, Rob Dodson, Una Kravets, Andy Bell, and more. And has 200 demos in it, all powered by two CodePens.
- This week’s announcement on the Chromium blog took me by surprise. Chrome is experimenting with a native “Follow” feature for sites with an RSS feed. For folks who’ve worked with HTML for more than 10 years, this brings back memories of the closed down, but much loved Google Reader.
- Good news for web designers and developers who deal with Internet Explorer security issues. Microsoft announced they’re ending support for Internet Explorer in June 2022. Do you remember its release in 1995? (I do!)
- The easiest way to make a button is to use a
button, says Ian Lloyd in enough with the role-play—let’s get back to the basics.
What I Found Interesting
- Finally! You can now create a custom Google Meet background. Currently only available on ChromeOS and in the Chrome browser on Windows and Mac desktops.
- Oh my! I remember when I first started using Visual Basic. Happy 30th birthday!
Happy 30th Birthday, Visual Basic!
On May 20, 1991 Microsoft announced Visual BASIC for Windows at Windows World 1991 in Atlanta Georgia!
Did you have this stylish box on your shelf?#VisualBasicIs30#ThrowbackThursday#VB pic.twitter.com/NgeKlJAoVo
— Windows Dev Docs (@WindowsDocs) May 20, 2021
- John Kromhoff, is turning 100 years old next month. But with the COVID pandemic, his wish to have a big celebration won’t happen. His family wants to bring
cheer and joy and happiness
and is asking the public to send cards to celebrate their grandfather’s 100th birthday. Will you join me in sending a card?
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Did I miss some resources you found this week? I’d love to see them! Post them in the comments below.
