In this week’s web design and development news roundup, you’ll learn about the relationship between user experience and customer experience, find out what accessibility improvements are in the latest Windows update, discover how to improve your client WordPress services, 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
My Grandson has explained that people write letters nowadays using Microwave Word. He has shown me how to use it, but It’s very confusing. I think I might teach him how to use a pen and paper, it will blow his mind.
— Bryony Burrell (@lifeofbryony) May 21, 2020
User Experience
- On ecommerce sites, it’s crucial for users to know where they are and where they can go. Findings from Baymard’s large-scale UX research reveal why you want to highlight the user’s current scope in the main navigation. And why breadcrumbs aren’t sufficient.
- Surprised? Despite my 20+ years designing websites, I’m not surprised with Nielsen Norman Group’s need for speed article explaining that website speeds haven’t improved over time.
Today’s websites aren’t that much faster than they were 10 years ago.
- The importance of user research:
PSA: Unfortunately, the acronym MVPs now stands for “Ship Crap Quickly.”
If your team isn’t establishing (based on extensive user research) what the acceptable criteria are for “minimal” and “viable”, you’re likely not shipping a “product” that will ever make customers happy.
— Jared Spool (@jmspool) May 21, 2020
- A panel of experts discusses the relationship between user experience and branding. One key point stood out for me,
The user experience actually involves many touchpoints…. The customer experience is only part of the user experience…
Accessibility
- Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) on May 21, 2020 had so many events, tips, and announcements, it was hard to keep up! I’ve selected some of the ones that caught my attention in this week’s roundup. First up, Google Maps app now highlights accessible locations.
- With improvements to the text cursor, Magnifier, and Narrator screen readers, it’s great to see all the changes in Windows 10 accessibility.
- Reconsider adding those four emojis to your next post.
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/f2u4gxEnWy
— RNIB (@RNIB) May 21, 2020
- The Adobe Inclusive Design team is releasing their full set of inclusive design workshop training materials in June 2020. The materials include slides, readings, and a teacher’s guide with practical exercises to help demonstrate the benefits of inclusive design. Sign up to be notified when the free training is released
- The International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) celebrated GAAD 2020 with short videos of their members. Meet James Wilhelm in this two-minute video.
WordPress
- Want to improve your client services for WordPress? WordCamp Kent 2020 features business and marketing tracks on May 30 to 31, 2020.
- You have multiple options if you need to deactivate all WordPress plugins when you can’t access the WordPress admin. My preference: use the web host file manager.
- Did you know WooCommerce Payments allows shop owners to manage payments without leaving the WordPress admin?
By not having to toggle between the store and third-party payment processors, administrators should be able to enjoy a more seamless experience.
- For anyone with a WordPress.com site, note that on June 1, 2020, WordPress.com will retire the older editor and transition to the block editor.
CSS and HTML
- If you’re a front-end developer interested in improving web performance, and frankly every front-end developer should be, check out Scott Jehl’s Lightning Fast Web Performance online video course. What I like about his course: clear description of the curriculum and captioned videos.
- Speaking of web performance, version 6 of Lighthouse, the website auditing tool, has been released with three new metrics, additional accessibility audits, and a slew of other improvements.
- It doesn’t matter whether it’s a tweet or a blog post, it always starts a conversation.
I code in HTML and CSS and I’m a programmer. 👩💻
— Kelly Mahoney 💖 Commissions OPEN 💚 (@SoSplush) May 19, 2020
- Woohoo! You can download a copy of HTTP Archive’s 2019 Web Almanac (17.8MB PDF), the annual state of the web report. Each of the 20 chapters in the almanac focuses on specific aspect of the web. For example, CSS, markup, accessibility, and more.
What I Found Interesting
- Government Digital Services explains how they changed their Twitter community management techniques during COVID-19 to cope with the huge increase of user queries. First step: standardized responses.
- If you’re an Android user, this post on improving privacy on your Android phone provides a slew of settings to help you make better privacy choices.
- They visit my yard every day! I love seeing the diminutive Downy Woodpecker at our feeders. I’ve never seen their butterfly flight, hopefully soon!
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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.
I had noticed one of those little woodpeckers in my yard a couple weeks ago, thanks for enlightening me about the species!
Aren’t they pretty with that red spot on their head? Do you have feeders in your backyard, Cleo?
No, with all the dogs, I don’t think it’s a great idea to encourage any more wildlife than we get naturally. We do have a lot of trees which attract woodpeckers.