A Must Read Article: An Idiot’s Guide To Accessible Website Design

Sandy Butler’s article “An Idiot’s Guide To Accessible Website Design” in Web Design Ledger is a great overview of the benefits and necessity of accessible web design.

One important statistic she offers is how, “According to a report by the Danish Center for Accessibility, as many as 25% of the world’s Internet users have some sort of visual, auditory or mobility disability. Fail to take into the consideration the needs of these people and you are depriving your client the opportunity to connect with a huge audience.” So it’s not simply a concern about complying with Section 508 or Section 504 requirements, it’s simply a matter of reaching 1/4 of your possible audience and also improving your SEO!

Most importantly, she give detailed examples of some great tools and resources to help you analyze your websites to ensure you’re reaching the widest possible audience. These tools include:

• Wave, a site that shows the original web page with embedded icons and indicators that reveal the accessibility of that page,
• Color Oracle — a cross-platform color blindness simulator, and
• Document Readability to analyze the writing on your site.

A must-read article and, if you have the time, check out some of the related articles listed at the bottom such as “The Four Key Components of a Great Web Design” and “Most Used and Abused Web Design Trends of All Time”.

Uses and misuses of web design patterns

An interesting article on web design patterns is online at Webcredible.

Getting your website right – uses and misuses of web design patterns

A well designed website is absolutely crucial to future business, particularly when online is used as a channel for sales. This article looks at the pitfalls of website design patterns and how companies can use them successfully to aid website design, helping to ensure an online proposition that’s as effective as possible.

Stock imagery clichés

This article from Justcreativedesign.com is part of a series of “most overused” elements in web design. While its not heavy in actual written content, it does have examples of the overrated/overused shots typically used on corporate sites – the shaking hands, the “diverse” group shot, the growth chart…

Top 7 Most Cliché Stock Images Used in Web Design

…Sometimes clients ask us to implement ‘not-so-unique’ elements into our designs and sometimes it seems almost impossible to convince them otherwise, however, hopefully this post can suggest some reasons why not to use the old web design stock imagery clichés.

I will do this simply by showcasing the most generic and cliché stock images (still) used in web design today. Please also take note that there is nothing wrong with using any of these images if used appropriately.

Higher Education Web Symposium at U Penn

U Penn is hosting a conference focused on the unique challenges of web design and development in academia.

The first and only web design conference for IT Professionals working in Higher Education. Join us and meet world renowned experts in the fields of usability, user centered design, CSS, AJAX and many others. Designers, Developers, and Project Managers will all be able to benefit from the content presented over the course of two days.

July 15-16, 2008
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA

Color Contrast Analysis

We always check web designs for accessible components before launching them, and here’s a new tool that can help you do the same. Its called the Contrast Analyser, from the Paciello Group, and in their own words:

It is primarily a tool for checking foreground & background colour combinations to determine if they provide good colour visibility. It also contains functionality to create simulations of certain visual conditions such as colour blindness.

Thanks to Sean Brown (again!) for this great post idea!