Web Design Update: August 18, 2026

[Laura Carlson]

+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE.
- Volume 27, Issue 08, August 18, 2026.

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

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: EVALUATION & TESTING.
04: EVENTS.
05: HTML.
06: JAVASCRIPT.
07: MISCELLANEOUS.
08: USABILITY.
09: WEBWASTE & SUSTAINABILITY.

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

[Contents ends.]


++ SECTION ONE: New references.

+01: ACCESSIBILITY.

Should a Dialog Close When Clicked Outside?
By Adrian Roselli.
"Context means there is rarely a universal answer. Think about intent,
expectations, and hassle (to the user, not the fragile ego of an
author) when making your decision."
https://adrianroselli.com/2026/08/should-a-dialog-close-when-clicked-outside.html

Understanding aria-roledescription
By Russ Weakley.
"This article explains aria-roledescription in plain language,
starting with how native and ARIA roles work, then showing how it can
override how a role is announced, without creating a new role…"
https://www.maxdesign.com.au/articles/aria-roledescription-explained.html

Understanding aria-details
By Russ Weakley.
"The aria-details attribute is used when an element on a page has
additional detailed information available elsewhere…"
https://www.maxdesign.com.au/articles/aria-details-explained.html

Accessibility Deep Dive for Developers (Video)
By Bri Norton, Australian Web Accessibility Initiative.
"…Ricky Onsman leads a deep-dive discussion with accessibility
experts: Julie Grundy, Eric Bailey, Laurence Lewis…"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUlwpaKM940

How to Write Readable Content
By Kessler West.
"This guide aims to show how different readability formulas work,
which tools calculate them for free, and why the score matters for
both SEO and accessibility…"
https://silktide.com/blog/how-to-write-readable-content/

Practical Guidelines for Making Destructive Actions Accessible
By Sheri Byrne-Haber.
"…These are the moments where an accessibility defect stops being an
inconvenience and becomes a loss the user cannot recover from…"
https://www.sheribyrnehaber.com/practical-guidelines-for-making-destructive-actions-accessible/

How One University Reduced Web Accessibility Errors by 90%
By Whitney Lewis.
"…Most importantly, accessibility progress becomes far more achievable
when institutions stop viewing it as a one-time cleanup project and
start treating it as an ongoing operational practice…"
https://blog.pope.tech/2026/08/12/how-one-university-reduced-web-accessibility-errors-by-90/

Accessible is Conformant
By Karl Groves.
"…A percentage of technical conformance does not necessarily tell us
whether people with disabilities have equal access…"
https://afixt.com/accessible-is-conformant/

Creating a Digital Accessibility Program in Higher Education
By Jesse Loesberg.
"…Accessibility is communicated as a value rather than an extra task…"
https://equalizedigital.com/creating-a-digital-accessibility-program-in-higher-education-jesse-loesberg/

Accessibility, Ethics, and AI Panel (Video)
By Teach Access.
"…The panel featured Ariana Aboulafia, Disability Rights in Technology
Policy Project at the Center for Democracy & Technology; Jutta
Treviranus, Director of the Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC)
and professor in the Faculty of Design at OCAD University in Toronto;
and Rolando J. Mendez, Director of Education at Teach Access…"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3ydSNNZYlw


+02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS.

Can't Touch the DOM? Reach for :Has() to Style Any Element
By Andrew Spencer.
"…This tiny but mighty tool allows us to traverse up the DOM to style
parent or sibling elements…"
https://thoughtbot.com/blog/can-t-touch-the-dom-reach-for-has

Contextualism (Video)
By Adam Argyle.
Adam Argyle at CSS Day 2026
https://conffab.com/presentation/contextualism/?gl=IKgpmf0z8RLu


+03: EVALUATION & TESTING.

Using AI To Find Usability Problems: A Replication
By Jim Lewis and Jeff Sauro.
"…AI adds potential value as an overly enthusiastic junior researcher,
not a trusted expert…"
https://measuringu.com/does-ai-find-real-usability-problems-a-replication/


+04: EVENTS.

Durham-Raleigh A11y - August Hybrid Event
August 18, 2026.
Online and Morrisville, North Carolina, U.S.A.
https://www.meetup.com/durham-raleigh-a11y/events/315133225/

The Standards and the Users: What Is Needed for a PDF to Be Accessible?
August 21, 2026.
Online
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WvByQLHFTXuFji_169A7UA#/registration

Make it Accessible: Course Accessibility Resources
September 9, 2026.
Online
https://sph.umich.edu/events/event.php?ID=11490

IAAP EU 6th Anniversary Web Accessibility Directive
September 23, 2026.
Online
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DzOy7gM8TV6_S80RLKsbzw#/registration


+05: HTML.

My HTML Boilerplate in 2026
By Manuel Matuzović.
"…Every element I use for the basic structure of a HTML document, with
explanations why…The lang attribute is one of the most important
attributes in HTML, because it's powerful and responsible for many
things…"
https://www.matuzo.at/blog/2026/html-boilerplate


+06: JAVASCRIPT.

Understanding aria-valuenow
By Russ Weakley.
"A quick explanation of aria-valuenow - looking at native and
non-native controls…"
https://www.maxdesign.com.au/articles/aria-valuenow-explained.html

Understanding aria-valuetext
By Russ Weakley.
"This article explains aria-valuetext in plain language, building on
aria-valuenow to show how a numeric value can be given a more useful
text description for assistive technology…"
https://www.maxdesign.com.au/articles/aria-valuetext-explained.html

Understanding aria-pressed
By Russ Weakley.
"A quick explanation of aria-pressed - including an example, when it
can be used, and when it should not be used…"
https://www.maxdesign.com.au/articles/aria-pressed-explained.html

Understanding aria-valuemin and aria-valuemax
By Russ Weakley.
"This article explains aria-valuemin and aria-valuemax in plain
language. It shows how assistive technology can understand the
boundaries of a range control…"
https://www.maxdesign.com.au/articles/aria-valuemin-valuemax-explained.html


+07: MISCELLANEOUS.

If You Build It, They Probably Won't Come
By Andy Budd.
"…The customer is making a different calculation: is this better
enough to justify all the hassle and risk of changing?…"
https://andybudd.com/archives/2026/08/if-you-build-it-they-probably-won-t-come

I Didn't Set a Cookie
By Kuber Mehta.
"Everything this page knows about you, it learned in under two
seconds. Without a cookie, a permission prompt, or a click…"
https://kuber.studio/cookie/


+08: USABILITY.

A Framework for Designing Better Filters: Designing for Complexity (Video)
By Megan Chan.
"The difference between users abandoning your site and completing
their task just might boil down to your filters. Don't treat their
design as an afterthought…"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfVWcomfzLs


+09: WEBWASTE & SUSTAINABILITY.

AI-Driven Productivity Gains Enable More CO2 Emissions Than They Avoid
in a Global Energy-Economy Model
By Will Alpine, Nathan Geldner, Holly Alpine, and Maksym G.Chepeliev.
"…AI does not inherently decarbonize or intensify emissions; its
productivity gains reinforce the economic and institutional structures
of the system in which it operates…"
https://www.nature.com/articles/s44168-026-00411-0

[Section one ends.]


++ SECTION TWO:

+10: 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.]