Validating code
A short guide to how and why you should validate your code.
All posts by Matt Lawson
Checking colour contrast
This is a quick guide on how to check the colour contrast on your website. A simple way to check colour combinations meet the requirements set by version two of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
Opening links in a new window
Links that opened in a new window have always been a sticky point when it comes to accessibility; ever since the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 1.0 were released way back in 1999. These guidelines made it clear that pop-up windows should be avoided whenever possible. However, there are occasions when opening a new window or tab cannot be avoided. If this is the case, we can avoid confusing or disorientating the users by providing a textual indicator.
Using the lang attribute
The third in a series of How To guides from Nomensa. Matt Lawson, Web Developer at Nomensa discusses how to use the lang attribute to specify the language of your website and individual elements on a page.
Detecting font smoothing with JavaScript
A look into how we can detect font smoothing using JavaScript to improve visual styling for different users.
Accessible forms using jQuery’s Validation plug-in
This post looks at how we can begin to deliver a better experience for our users when it comes to displaying form errors. As jQuery is my preferred library of choice and the Validation plug-in provides an excellent starting point, we will use them both to form the basis of this article.
Using CSS focus pseudo class
Focus is one of the lesser used Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) pseudo-classes. People familiar with CSS should be aware of the more commonly used pair, link and visited, but will often find that the focus and active pseudo-classes have been missed out. This article aims to explain why they are important and how they can [...]
Tables, more than just rows and cells
Structuring tables correctly is an important step in developing an accessible website but sadly it is rarely achieved. Many website developers do not realise the importance of creating accessible tables in their designs and, time after time, I find myself auditing pages with tables that fail due to lack of basic table structure.
With this in mind, I am hoping to pass on some quick, simple tips for creating tables. This is by no means an extensive list of table attributes, but those which are required to make a simple table accessible for all users.
