+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE. - Volume 26, Issue 08, August 19, 2025. An email newsletter to distribute news and information about web design and development. ++ISSUE 08 CONTENTS. SECTION ONE: New references. What's new at the Web Design Reference site? https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/ New links in these categories: 01: ACCESSIBILITY. 02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS. 03: COLOR. 04: EVENTS. 05: JAVASCRIPT. 06: MISCELLANEOUS. 07: NAVIGATION. 08: TOOLS. 09: TYPOGRAPHY. 10: USABILITY. 11: WEBWASTE & SUSTAINABILITY. 12: XML. SECTION TWO: 13: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site? [Contents ends.] ++ SECTION ONE: New references. +01: ACCESSIBILITY. Conformance vs Compliance, Accessibility Standards Edition By Hidde de Vries. "Two words that are often confused: conformance and compliance. What do they mean?…" https://hidde.blog/compliance-conformance/ Can Components Conform to WCAG? By Hidde de Vries. "…We can build UI components with accessibility in mind. We can also document accessibility specifics alongside them. Both are helpful and recommended. What about claiming conformance? In this post, I'll talk about how WCAG doesn't allow for that, and why I believe WCAG is right…" https://hidde.blog/component-conformance/ 5 Heading Accessibility Issues to Avoid (Video) By Whitney Lewis. "In this video, we cover five heading accessibility issues. Avoiding these helps you create a logical heading structure with the proper HTML so users with disabilities can actually use the headings to understand how your content is organized and navigate it…" https://blog.pope.tech/2025/08/11/5-heading-accessibility-issues-to-avoid/ How to Create Better (And More Accessible) Heading Structures By Whitney Lewis. "In this video, learn what a heading hierarchy is, tips for when to create a new subheading, and accessibility mistakes to avoid when creating heading structures…" https://blog.pope.tech/2025/08/11/how-to-create-better-and-more-accessible-heading-structures/ Testing Methods: Resize Text By Dennis Deacon. "WCAG 1.4.4 Resize Text is a Level AA conformance level Success Criterion. Users must be able to resize text up to 200% of its original size without loss of content or functionality…" https://www.dennisdeacon.com/web/accessibility/testing-methods-resize-text/ On Dashes, A.I., and Screen Readers By Ricky Onsman. "This post was prompted by some discussion at TPGi about the use of em dash punctuation, on two fronts: * Is the use of the em dash making our posts look like they were generated by A.I.? * How do screen readers convey em dashes?…" https://ozewai.org/blog/technical-articles/on-dashes-a-i-and-screen-readers/ 4 Stages of Accessibility Maturity By Chris Yoong. "The W3C defined 4 levels of Accessibility Maturity Model that describes an organisation's journey toward full accessibility. This is a commentary of these formal stages mixing the W3C definition with more general observations and personal opinions to paint a picture using more general language." https://chrisyoong.com/blog/accessibiltiy-maturity-model Accessibility Issues of CAPTCHA By Gian Wild. "CAPTCHA stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart…" https://ozewai.org/blog/technical-articles/accessibility-issues-of-captcha/ That Doesn't Need to Be a PDF By US Access Board Webinar with Katherine Eng, Larry Gillick, and Michael Horton. "Hear how agencies can design an HTML-first approach for electronic content using '@media print' for a superior printing experience (because yes, some people do use paper) during a panel discussion with experts from FDIC, USAB, and GSA when a PDF document is the proper solution…" https://www.accessibilityonline.org/cioc-508/archives/111171 AI Effluential By Steve Faulkner. "As part of my cycle of going through useless tasks I rechecked the web UI of our old friend ChatGPT…" https://html5accessibility.com/stuff/2025/08/15/ai-effluential/ Bridging the Digital Divide for People With Aphasia: A Study Protocol for Codesigning Web Accessibility Tools and Guidelines By Jennifer Lee et al., 2025. "…his protocol paper describes the first two stages of the Bridging the Digital Divide project, which aims to codesign and develop (a) a web-browser extension to re-render webpages to an 'aphasia-friendly' (accessible) format, (b) training tools to help users and health professionals customise the web-browser extension and (c) guidelines for developing communication-accessible websites…" https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40784777/ The Web Is About to Get Better for Everyone, Everywhere By Den Odell. "…On paper, the EAA is about protecting the rights of disabled users in the EU. In practice, it will quietly upgrade the user experience for everyone, everywhere…" https://denodell.com/blog/a-better-web-for-everyone-everywhere Making Sense of Accessibility and the Law By Martin Underhill. "The reason to make things accessible to as many people as possible is because it's the right thing to do, but the sad fact is that that's rarely how it works…" https://www.tempertemper.net/blog/making-sense-of-accessibility-and-the-law How Much Should You Spend on Accessibility? By Karl Groves. "…Accessibility is compliance. But it's also opportunity. Make sure your budget reflects both." https://karlgroves.com/how-much-should-you-spend-on-accessibility/ +02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS. CSS-Only Scrollspy Effect Using Scroll-Marker-Group and :Target-Current By Sara Soueidan. "…In this post, we're going to look into how to use this property, as well as discuss accessibility expectations to ensure the feature is accessible and inclusive…" https://www.sarasoueidan.com/blog/css-scrollspy/ CSS-Only Solutions Are Not Accessible By Chris Ferdinandi. "I wanted to talk about why CSS-only solutions like that are often worse for accessibility than other options. Let's dig in…" https://gomakethings.com/css-only-solutions-are-not-accessible/ 5 Useful CSS Functions Using the New @Function Rule By Una Kravets. "CSS custom functions are a gamechanger. Here are 5 really useful examples…" https://una.im/5-css-functions/ Dynamic Media/Container Queries Using If() By Temani Afif. "Similar to the :nth-child() trick, we can use the if() condition and some calculation to implement the logic of media queries…" https://css-tip.com/dynamic-queries/ There's No Such Thing as a CSS Reset By Adam Stoddard. "…You cannot 'reset' browser styles by addition. Resets are inherently subjective, which means in practice, you are not so much resetting as you are defining default element styles for a website…" https://aaadaaam.com/notes/useful-defaults/ +03: COLOR. Research on the Accessibility of Different Colour Schemes for Web Resources for People with Colour Blindness By Daiva Sajek et. la. "This study is devoted to the analysis of the perception of colour schemes of web resources by users with different types of colour blindness (colour vision deficiency)…" https://www.researchgate.net/publication/394465184_Academic_Editors_Research_on_the_Accessibility_of_Different_Colour_Schemes_for_Web_Resources_for_People_with_Colour_Blindness +04: EVENTS. Web vs Mobile Accessibility: Challenges, Gaps and Best Practices August 28, 2025. Online https://a11ytalks.com/posts/2025-aug Translating Digital Accessibility: Creating Inclusive Experiences for Global Brands with Mitchell Evan September 10, 2025. Online https://www.tpgi.com/translating-digital-accessibility-creating-inclusive-experiences-for-global-brands/ Audio Description Institute September 22-26, 2025. Online https://adp.acb.org/audio-description-institute UX Virtual Training November 3-14, 2025. Online https://www.nngroup.com/training/november/ +05: JAVASCRIPT. Learning Web Development: Strings and Methods in JavaScript By Axel Rauschmayer. "In the last chapter, we worked with numbers. In this chapter, we'll work with text and write our first applications…" https://2ality.com/2025/08/javascript-strings-methods.html Learning Web Development: Arrays in JavaScript By Axel Rauschmayer. "In this chapter we look at one way of storing more than one value in a variable: arrayss…" https://2ality.com/2025/08/javascript-arrays.html The First Rule of ARIA By Nat Tarnoff. "…HTML gives you a lot for free. Shift your thinking to use HTML first instead of using a generic container. Using basic HTML, then selectively add ARIA when you need to enhance functionality." https://tarnoff.info/2025/08/18/the-first-rule-of-aria/ +06: MISCELLANEOUS. My Thoughts on the State of Surveys By Adrian Roselli. "Every few months there's another State of Something survey…" https://adrianroselli.com/2025/08/my-thoughts-on-the-state-of-surveys.html The Web Isn't URL-Shaped Anymore By Jono Alderson. "…the web isn't human-first anymore. Machines now sit between you and your audience, mediating discovery, filtering information, and making decisions on users' behalf…Stop thinking about how to rank a page. Start thinking about how to exist in the models that are replacing the page. Because those models are already shaping what the web is, and whether your brand matters in it…" https://www.jonoalderson.com/conjecture/url-shaped-web/ +07: NAVIGATION. How AI Is Changing Search Behaviors By Kate Moran, Maria Rosala and Josh Brown. "Our study shows that generative AI is reshaping search, but long-standing habits persist. Many users still default to Google, giving Gemini a fighting chance." https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ai-changing-search-behaviors/ +08: TOOLS. Able Player: Version 4.7.0 Beta 1 Looking for Testing! By Joe Dolson. "Able Player version 4.7.0 beta 1 is now ready for testing - and your feedback is welcome! There are quite a few bug fixes in this release, a fair amount of code polish, and a new base design…" https://www.joedolson.com/2025/08/ableplayer-version-4-7-0-beta-1-looking-for-testing/ +09: TYPOGRAPHY. Apple's Liquid Glass Shatters Typography By Oliver Schöndorfer. "…in this article and opinionated video I don't only want to share with you the biggest three typographic problems with iOS 26, but mostly what we can learn from it for your own UI design with some practical examples…" https://pimpmytype.com/liquid-glass/ +10: USABILITY. Skeleton Screens Are Just Gray Lies We Tell Ourselves By Noah Davis. "Skeleton screens aren't clever UX anymore-they're just visual duct tape over slow, bloated apps. In 2025, users see through the shimmering gray lies, and it's time we stop pretending they work. If your site needs skeletons, maybe what it really needs is a faster brain, not a prettier mas…" https://webdesignerdepot.com/skeleton-screens-are-just-gray-lies-we-tell-ourselves/ Icon Interpretation vs. Recognizability (Video) By Kate Kaplan. "Icons aren't universal. Learn why recognizability and interpretation matter and why testing is essential for clarity." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_EVgNHBalY Somewhat Accessible, Still Unusable (Bachelor's Thesis) (PDF) By Johanna Berntsson. "Exploring accessibility and usability barriers in digital government information for neurodivergent users…" https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1983805/FULLTEXT01.pdf 7 Signs of a Bad User Experience and Best Practices to Avoid It By Toby Biddle. "…Keep things aligned with the users' needs and make it easier for them to access information…" https://www.loop11.com/7-signs-of-a-bad-user-experience-and-best-practices-to-avoid-it/ +11: WEBWASTE & SUSTAINABILITY. UK Government Suggests Deleting Files to Save Water By Justine Calma. "Officials are asking people to take action during a 'nationally significant' water shortage…" https://www.theverge.com/science/758275/drought-delete-files-email-data-center-water-uk +12: XML. An Interactive Guide to SVG Paths By Josh W. Comeau. "The SVG element is notoriously tricky…" https://www.joshwcomeau.com/svg/interactive-guide-to-paths/ [Section one ends.] ++ SECTION TWO: +13: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site? Accessibility Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/accessibility.html Association Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/associations.html Book Listings. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/books.html Cascading Style Sheets Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/css.html Color Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/color.html Drupal Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/drupal.html Evaluation & Testing Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/testing.html Event Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/events.html HTML Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/html.html Information Architecture Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/architecture.html JavaScript Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/javascript.html Miscellaneous Web Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/misc.html Navigation Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/navigation.html PHP Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/php.html Sites & Blogs Listing. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/sites.html Standards, Guidelines & Pattern Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/standards.html Tool Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/tools.html Typography Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/type.html Usability Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/usability.html WebWaste & Sustainability Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/webwaste.html XML Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/xml.html [Section two ends.] ++END NOTES. + SUBSCRIPTION INFO. WEB DESIGN UPDATE is available by subscription. For information on how to subscribe and unsubscribe please visit: https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/webdev_listserv.html The Web Design Reference Site also has a RSS 2.0 feed for site updates. + TEXT EMAIL NEWSLETTER (TEN). As a navigation aid for screen readers we do our best to conform to the accessible Text Email Newsletter (TEN) guidelines. Please let me know if there is anything else we can do to make navigation easier. For TEN guideline information please visit: http://www.headstar.com/ten + SIGN OFF. Until next time, Laura L. Carlson Information Technology Systems and Services University of Minnesota Duluth Duluth, MN U.S.A. 55812-3009 mailto:lcarlson@d.umn.edu [Issue ends.]