What's Web Standards all about?
Web Standards are mainly about accessibility; making sure that websites (and web-based content) are carefully designed to be available to the maximum of users. The World Wide Web Consortium
(W3C), and other groups, have established
and developed techniques and technologies for creating and delivering web-based content.
Web Standard technologies include HTML, XHTML, XML and CSS. CSS has become the web designers choice for control of page appearance (fonts, colors, layout, margins, etc.) because of it's ease of use, stability and the very fine control it offers. CSS can also help make pages more adaptable to more users, including users with mobile devices and some users with disabilities.
What is web site usability?
Web site usability is the measure of the quality of a user's experience
when interacting with a web site. It's a combination of factors,
including:
- How fast can a new user use the site to accomplish basic tasks?
- How efficiency is the site for experienced users?
- Can the user remember enough to use it effectively on subsequent visits?
- If
the user makes an error is it easy to recover?
- Does the user like using the site?
Why is usability important?
Because there are so many options available for web users and people
don't like waiting or having to learn how to use a home page - they'll
soon leave a slow-loading or complicated site to find one which is
simple and provides what thy're looking for in a couple of seconds.
You can read more than five years' worth of very clearly written articles about the intricacies of site usability and design by Jakob Nielsen, who has made it his personal mission in life to make web sites easier to use. » http://www.useit.com
What is web site accessibility all about?
Web accessibility refers to the practice of making web pages
accessible to all users, especially those with disabilities; primarily
those users who are:
- blind or
sight impaired (e.g. various common types of poor eyesight, various types of colour blindness)
- motor impaired (e.g. Parkinson's Disease, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, stroke)
- cognitively impaired (i.e. poor short-term memory [as commonly caused by senile dementia], dyslexia)
- hearing impaired or deaf
Examples of common frustrations for disabled users are;
- hyperlinks that can only be followed if you can click on
them using a mouse can make websites impossible to use for those who
can only use a keyboard or speech recognition software to interact with
their computer, and
- information provided only in audio
format can't be accessed by people who are deaf, and if provided only
in graphic format information is invisible to people who are blind.
There are simple methods to ensure web site accessibility compies with
the latest legislation (Disability Discrimination Act) and it's now
expected that accessibility features are built into all new sites.
Bringing an existing web site up to date with accessibility features is
also a regular and valuable practice and I'm familiar with doing so
without compromising the look and feel of your existing design. »
please contact me for more information on Web Site Accessibility.
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Recommended Links:
These sites may of interest:
Visit these sites if you're looking for some inspiration or some samples of good web design:
- css Zen Garden at http://www.csszengarden.com/
A demonstration of what can be accomplished visually through CSS-based design.
- CoolHomepages at http://www.coolhomepages.com/
Perhaps the sites featured on CoolHomepages are not all good samples of
sites built to Web Standards, but it's still a great resource for
browsing the full range of styles on the web today
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