Web Design Update: September 2, 2025

[Laura Carlson]

+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE.
- Volume 26, Issue 10, September 2, 2025.

An email newsletter to distribute news and information about web design and development.

++ISSUE 10 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: EVALUATION & TESTING.
05: EVENTS.
06: HTML.
09: JAVASCRIPT.
08: MISCELLANEOUS.
09: NAVIGATION.
10: USABILITY.
11: WEBWASTE & SUSTAINABILITY.

SECTION TWO:
12: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site?

[Contents ends.]


++ SECTION ONE: New references.

+01: ACCESSIBILITY.

Nested Scroll Bars Are the One of the Biggest Accessibility Evils, Ever
By Sheri Byrne-Haber.
"…Nested scroll bars don't just trip up users; they shove users face-first into accessibility barriers that scream, 'We really didn't think about your needs when designing this.'…"
https://buttondown.com/access-ability/archive/nested-scroll-bars-are-the-one-of-the-biggest/

Accessible Authentication
By Karl Groves.
"…This review synthesizes the best available literature, guidelines, and expert commentary into a single narrative: what we know, what we don't, and what to do next…"
https://afixt.com/accessible-authentication/

How to Create an Accessible Table with Clickable Rows
By Alexander Lehner.
"…creating an accessible table with clickable rows isn't that hard. Always keep in mind that not all of your users use a mouse or a touch device. Always test with keyboard and screen readers as well."
https://www.oidaisdes.org/table-with-clickable-rows.en/

Why Digital Accessibility Starts Within: Lessons From Crystal Preston-Watson
By Antonio Vieira Santos.
"…Crystal's story is a reminder that accessibility isn't just a feature-it's a mindset. It's not limited to customer-facing tools or legal requirements. It's about building a culture where inclusion is the default, not the exception…"
https://hackernoon.com/why-digital-accessibility-starts-within-lessons-from-crystal-preston-watson

Web Development Without Limits Part 3: Practical Guide for Accessible Design
By Marie-Christin Lueg.
"…In order to develop accessible websites, it is helpful to take user needs into account. This final part of the series looks at how this can be achieved…"
https://www.heise.de/en/background/Web-development-without-limits-part-3-Practical-guide-for-accessible-design-10624231.html

Normally When I Share Accessibility Bugs I Do It for Two Reasons
By Anna E. Cook.
1. Good faith that the company will fix the issue
2. The company won't fix the issue and the public should pay attention. This time, I will look at America by Design for a new reason: rage. Automated test: 288 accessibility bugs…"
https://bsky.app/profile/annaecook.bsky.social/post/3lxbkwo7k622e

Jesse Gardner's Post
By Jesse Gardner.
"I ran a brief accessibility review of the new America by Design website…"
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/plasticmind_i-ran-a-brief-accessibility-review-of-the-activity-7365854559686041600-Ypbb/

Focus on the People That Make Things Happen
By Martin Underhill.
"…Buy-in from the top makes things easier, but isn't a prerequisite for building accessible digital products. The people who do are the ones that make the difference."
https://www.tempertemper.net/blog/focus-on-the-people-that-make-things-happen

Accessibility Statements Are Not Legal Contracts. They're Value Signals
By Simon Miner.
"…dismissing accessibility statements as corporate lies may feel cathartic, but it subverts one of the best proactive tools we have to promote digital inclusion. The better path is not to abandon accessibility statements, it's to demand that websites accurately live up to what they assert…"
https://pedalpoint.com/2025/08/accessibility-statements-are-not-legal-contracts-theyre-value-signals/

European Accessibility Act 2025: 5 Areas to Focus on for a More Accessible Site
By Irani Sangham.
"…This article discusses 5 ways sites can start the process of compliance…"
https://baymard.com/blog/european-accessibility-act-2025

ADA Title II: What Public Entities Need to Know About Digital Accessibility (Video)
By David Sloan and Erik Ducker.
"…an information-packed session on what entities are affected by ADA Title II compliance and what it takes to meet these requirements. We'll cut through the legal jargon to give you a clear roadmap for compliance, plus the tools and strategies to make your digital content truly inclusive…"
https://www.3playmedia.com/events/wbnr-08-26-2025-digital-accessibility-compliance/


+02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS.

Visualizing Responsive Typography
By Miriam Suzanne.
"What do all the numbers in our clamp() do?…"
https://www.oddbird.net/2025/08/26/type-visual/

Another Article About Centering in CSS
By Andy Bell.
"The tired old meme that centering in CSS is 'impossible' has never been so irrelevant. In fact, I'd argue there's almost too many options now. Let's have a look at some common contexts, what approaches we have available to us and what I would choose per context.…"
https://piccalil.li/blog/another-article-about-centering-in-css/

CSS-Questions
By Sunkanmi Fafowora.
"Test your CSS knowledge with 150+ questions on CSS from basic selectors to advanced topics like pseudo-classes, cascade layers, and container queries. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced developer, there's something here for everyone. You can also brush up your skills with practice questions on various CSS topics. Ready to challenge yourself…"
https://css-questions.com/


+03: COLOR.

How To Check That Your Colour Meaning Is Accessible
By Josh Crawford.
"Many people use colour to communicate information without realising the some users cannot see or distinguish between the colours, making their content and designs inaccessible. This guide reveals three practical testing methods to test colour meaning for accessibility before publication."
https://www.digitalaccesstraining.com/pages/articles?p=how-to-check-your-colour-meaning-is-accessible

Yellow, Purple, and the Myth of "Accessibility Limits Color Palettes"
By Stéphanie Walter.
"…Accessibility does not limit your color palette choices. What feels limiting is often a lack of knowledge about WCAG color contrast criteria, how to build accessible color palettes in tools like Figma. And sometimes, a lack of creativity…"
https://stephaniewalter.design/blog/yellow-purple-and-the-myth-of-accessibility-limits-color-palettes/

Testing Methods: Contrast (Enhanced)
By Dennis Deacon.
"…Essentially, 1.4.6 builds on 1.4.3 by demanding stronger contrast to enhance accessibility for those who need it most…"
https://www.dennisdeacon.com/web/accessibility/testing-methods-contrast-enhanced/


+04: EVALUATION & TESTING.

Verifying the Stability of the Five-Item SUPR-Qm V2
By Jim Lewis and Jeff Sauro.
"…In this article, we describe research conducted to verify the stability of the SUPR-Qm V2 and to reassess the stability of the original SUPR-Qm. How stable are those five items compared to the original 16?…"
https://measuringu.com/verifying-the-stability-of-the-suprq-m/


+05: EVENTS.

A Journey Through Global Accessibility Laws
September 16, 2025.
Online
https://www.accessibilityonline.org/cioc-508/session?id=111180

Climate Conundrums: Bridging the Gap Between Cancel Culture and Sustainable Communications
September 16, 2025.
Online
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5Z7qJ45ATcyk8alzsRw7aw#/registration

The Design + Accessibility Summit 2025
September 16-19, 2025.
Online
https://creativepro.com/event/design-accessibility-summit-2025/

UX Virtual Training
November 17-20, 2025.
Online
https://www.nngroup.com/training/november-asia-au/


+06: HTML.

When HTML Speaks Clearly
By Alan Heikkila
"As a developer, I love solving problems. But when I leaned into accessibility, I discovered a new appreciation for the elegance of HTML…"
https://a11yblog.com/2025/08/06/when-html-speaks-clearly/


+07: JAVASCRIPT.

Learning Web Development: Web Servers
By Axel Rauschmayer.
"…In this chapter, we run a web server on our own computer and use it to serve a web app…"
https://2ality.com/2025/08/web-servers.html

Learning Web Development: Modules and Testing in JavaScript
By Axel Rauschmayer.
"So far, all of our JavaScript code resided in a single file - be it an .html file or a .js file. In this chapter, we learn how to split it up into multiple files. And how to automatically test if the code we write is correct."
https://2ality.com/2025/08/javascript-modules-testing.html

Learning Web Development: Plain Objects in JavaScript
By Axel Rauschmayer.
"In this chapter, we learn how to create plain objects with properties. We use them to create a simple flash card app."
https://2ality.com/2025/08/javascript-plain-objects.html

JavaScript's Trademark Problem
By Axel Rauschmayer.
"In this blog post, we discuss Oracle's trademark of the word 'JavaScript'…"
https://2ality.com/2025/08/javascript-trademark.html

Learning Web Development: JavaScript Exceptions
By Axel Rauschmayer.
"In this chapter, we look at exceptions in JavaScript. They are a way of handling errors. We'll need them for the next chapter."
https://2ality.com/2025/08/javascript-exceptions.html

Learning Web Development: JavaScript Maps
By Axel Rauschmayer.
"In this chapter, we'll explore the data structure Map (a class) which lets us translate ('map') from an input value to an output value. We'll use a Map to display text upside-down in a terminal!"
https://2ality.com/2025/08/javascript-maps.html

Learning Web Development: JSON and Processing Files in Node.js
By Axel Rauschmayer.
"In this chapter, we explore the popular data format JSON. And we implement shell commands via Node.js that read and write files."
https://2ality.com/2025/08/javascript-json-processing-files.html

Going JavaScript-Free With the New Invoker Command API!
By Chris Ferdinandi.
"…Today, I wanted to show you how I was able to use the brand-spanking-new Invoker Command API to toggle modals and drawers open from <button> elements without any JavaScript…"
https://gomakethings.com/going-javascript-free-with-the-new-invoker-command-api/

ARIA-Live Cheatsheet: Announcing Stuff Without Annoying Your Users
By James Sheasby Thomas.
"This post originated from an ARIA-live question in the Accessibility Slack. I was encouraged to write it up as a blog post, so here it is…"
https://rightsaidjames.com/2025/08/aria-live-regions-when-to-use-polite-assertive/


+08: MISCELLANEOUS.

A Notional Design Studio
By Ethan Marcotte.
"…we're left with a web page announcing a new era of design for the United States government, but it's tremendously costly to download, and inaccessible to many. What I want to suggest is that neither of these things are accidents: they read to me as signals of intent; of how this administration intends to practice design…"
https://ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/a-notional-design-studio/

I'm an AI Hater
By Anthony Moser.
"…I am here to be rude, because this is a rude technology, and it deserves a rude response…"
https://anthonymoser.github.io/writing/ai/haterdom/2025/08/26/i-am-an-ai-hater.html

Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task (PDF)
By Nataliya Kosmyna, et al.
'…over the course of 4 months, the LLM group's participants performed worse than their counterparts in the Brain-only group at all levels: neural, linguistic, scoring…'
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2506.08872

AI's Security Crisis: Why Your Assistant Might Betray You (Podcast)
By Corey Quinn.
"On this episode of Screaming in the Cloud, Corey Quinn talks with Simon Willison, founder of Datasette and creator of LLM CLI about AI's realities versus the hype. They dive into Simon's 'lethal trifecta' of AI security risks, his prediction of a major breach within six months, and real-world use cases of his open source tools, from investigative journalism to OSINT sleuthing. Simon shares grounded insights on coding with AI, the real environmental impact, AGI skepticism, and why human expertise still matters. A candid, hype-free take from someone who truly knows the space…"
https://www.lastweekinaws.com/podcast/screaming-in-the-cloud/ai-s-security-crisis-why-your-assistant-might-betray-you/


+09: NAVIGATION.

Style Your Underlines
By Jeremy Keith.
"We shouldn't rely on colour alone to indicate that something is interactive."
https://adactio.com/journal/22084

Is Google About to Destroy the Web?
By Thomas Germain.
"Google says a new AI tool on its search engine will rejuvenate the internet. Others predict an apocalypse for websites. One thing is clear: the current chapter of online history is careening towards its end. Welcome to the "machine web".…"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20250611-ai-mode-is-google-about-to-change-the-internet-forever


+10: USABILITY.

Chat Is: The Future or a Terrible UI
By Luke Wroblewski.
"As the proliferation of AI-powered chat interfaces in software continues, people increasingly take one of two sides. Chat is the future of all UI or chat is a terrible UI. Turns out there's reason to believe both, here's a bunch of them…"
https://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?2118

How to Use NNGroup's UX-Maturity Model Without a Formal Assessment
By Kate Kaplan.
"Use our model as a reflective tool to identify signals, guide conversations, and build momentum, especially when time, budget, or support are limited."
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/informal-ux-maturity/

User-Ecosystem Thinking: An Anthropologic Approach to Design
By Therese Fessenden.
"The NN/g UX Podcast featured coauthors Mike Youngblood and Ben Chesluk, who are challenging the traditional, outdated model of 'users' in UX."
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/user-ecosystem-thinking-anthropologic/


+11: WEBWASTE & SUSTAINABILITY.

The Climate Dictionary
By Nick Lewis.
"…The following dictionary is a collection of definitions for frequently used climate terms, written simply…"
https://theclimatedictionary.com/

[Section one ends.]


++ SECTION TWO:

+12: 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.


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+ 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:lcar...@d.umn.edu


[Issue ends.]

Laura L. Carlson
Information Technology Systems and Services
University of Minnesota Duluth
Duluth, MN U.S.A. 55812-3009
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/

W3C Invited Expert
Accessibility Guidelines Working Group
https://www.w3.org/groups/wg/ag/participants

Pronouns: she/her/hers