Web Design Update: February 10, 2026

[Laura Carlson]

+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE.
- Volume 26, Issue 33, February 10, 2026.

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

++ISSUE 33 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: EVENTS.
04: HTML.
05: MISCELLANEOUS.
06: NAVIGATION.
07: TOOLS.
08: USABILITY.

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

[Contents ends.]


++ SECTION ONE: New references.

+01: ACCESSIBILITY.

For Review: Cognitive Accessibility Research Modules - First Draft Note
By Shawn Lawton Henry.
"…These Cognitive Accessibility Research Modules are early, in-progress drafts. They cover research on accessibility for people with cognitive and learning disabilities…"
https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-wai-announce/2026JanMar/0000.html

ACT Rules Format 1.1 is Now a Web Standard (W3C Recommendation)
By Shawn Lawton Henry.
"…ACT Rules Format defines a format for writing accessibility test rules…"
https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-wai-announce/2026JanMar/0001.html

For Review: WCAG-EM 2.0 - First Draft Note
By Shawn Lawton Henry.
"…WCAG-EM describes a methodology with a step-by-step process to evaluate how well digital products conform to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2…"
https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-wai-announce/2026JanMar/0002.html

WCAG-EM 2.0 Lets You Report on Accessibility of More Than Just Websites
By Hidde de Vries.
"WCAG-EM describes a process for checking if a large website conforms to WCAG. More than 10 years after it first came out, WCAG-EM 2.0 was just published as a draft. We'd like your feedback!…"
https://hidde.blog/wcag-em-apps/

You Probably Shouldn't Be Annotating Focus Order
By Eric W. Bailey.
"Hey there, fellow designer! Chances are good you've been linked to this after doing some annotation work on a design you've been creating…"
https://ericwbailey.website/published/you-probably-shouldnt-be-annotating-focus-order/

Understanding WCAG 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded) for WordPress
By María José Maldonado.
"In this article, we'll break down what WCAG 1.2.5 requires, why audio description matters, common implementation challenges, and practical ways to provide audio-described video content using WordPress-friendly tools and workflows…"
https://equalizedigital.com/understanding-wcag-1-2-5-audio-description-prerecorded-for-wordpress/

Accessible Design Is Digital Infrastructure
By Anna E. Cook.
"What America by Design reveals about how public platforms fail when maintenance, governance, and accountability are treated as optional…"
https://annaecook.com/writing/2026/2/2/accessible-design-is-digital-infrastructure

Accessible Building Blocks for the Web Videos
By Ela Gorla.
"…Our Accessible building blocks for web video series introduces key accessibility considerations for some of the most widely used elements on websites - from headings to images, links, buttons, and form fields…"
https://tetralogical.com/blog/2026/02/06/accessible-building-blocks-for-web-videos/

System Generated PDF Accessibility
By Hampus Sethfors.
"How do you make sure documents generated by systems - likely most documents out there today - are accessible to users and comply with accessibility legislation? Let's geek out on that topic in this article…"
https://axesslab.com/system-pdf-a11y/

Clarity Is Not the Enemy of Depth
By Akinyele Akintomiwa Michael.
"Don't hide behind technical language and jargon; explain it…"
https://the-word.news/2026/0205/clarity/

How to Write Alt Text for News
By Stacy Kess.
"If your image disappeared, how would you describe it?…"
https://the-word.news/2026/0205/alt-text-for-news/

How To Create More Accessible Presentations
By Tess Hutley.
"A practical guide to inclusive slides, language and delivery…" 
https://intopia.digital/articles/how-to-create-more-accessible-presentations/

The Case for Embedded Digital Accessibility
By Kyle Shachmut.
"Institutions that integrate accessibility into their digital infrastructure are better positioned to meet legal requirements, enhance student experiences and outcomes, and expand their reach and competitiveness…"
https://er.educause.edu/articles/2026/2/the-case-for-embedded-digital-accessibility 

Legal Update: January 2026
By Ken Nakata.
"Happy New Year from Converge Accessibility! The year is already off to a quick start, but from some unusual places like Utah, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Washington state…" 
https://convergeaccessibility.com/2026/02/02/legal-update-january-2026


+02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS.

How to Use the "auto" Value with clamp()
By Temani Afif.
"If you have tried the code below, you know it doesn't work…"
https://css-tip.com/clamp-auto/


+03: EVENTS.

A11Y Idaho A11y  Community of Practice Meetup
February 11, 2026.
Online
https://uidaho.zoom.us/meeting/register/6KkAkSMUSVqpyj8Pnf2GuA#/registration

The Accessibility Guy - Designing Accessible PDFs
February 11, 2026.
Online
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/1217700423710/WN_ePKk8IvmRziQdpPkFeSHYQ#/registration

Remediating PDFs or Choosing the Right Alternative Formats
February 26, 2026.
Online
https://umarcomm.umn.edu/blog/2026/02/03/accessibility-ambassadors-remediating-pdfs-or-choosing-right-alternative-formats

AccessU 2026
May 11-14, 2026.
Austin, Texas, U.S.A.
https://knowbility.org/programs/john-slatin-accessu-2026

Women in Tech Global 2026
May 12-15, 2026.
Online
https://www.womentech.net/en-us/women-tech-conference

Access: Given
May 13, 2026.
Newcastle, England, United Kingdom
https://accessgiven.co.uk/


+04: HTML.

Try Text Scaling Support in Chrome Canary
By Josh Tumath.
"If you have Chrome Canary installed with the 'Experimental Web Platform features' flag enabled, you can now try out a new HTML meta tag…"
https://www.joshtumath.uk/posts/2026-01-27-try-text-scaling-support-in-chrome-canary/

Introduction to the New HTML Element <geolocation>
By Manuel Matuzović.
"There is a new HTML element called geolocation. I checked it out and here's what I learned…"
https://www.matuzo.at/blog/2026/geolocation-element

Honoring Mobile OS Text Size
By Adrian Roselli.
"If your users scale the text size in Android or iDeviceOS, that doesn't always affect the size of text on a web page. It's a function of browser and authored code, as opposed to a standardized approach. That may be changing…"
https://adrianroselli.com/2026/02/honoring-mobile-os-text-size.html

A New Meta Tag for Respecting Text Scaling on Mobile
By Manuel Matuzović.
"When you open the accessibility settings on your smartphone and increase the font size, you will immediately notice that the system font size increases…"
https://www.matuzo.at/blog/2026/text-scaling-meta-tag

Quick Tip: Do Not Replicate OS Behavior
By Nat Tarnoff.
"…Disabled individuals have customized their devices to work for them. Implementing features that replicate the OS or browser features only wastes your time and money. Those who need the tools have them, and those who don't have them need to learn how to use the correct tools in their devices."
http://tarnoff.info/2026/02/05/quick-tip-do-not-replicate-os-behavior/

Screen Reader HTML Support
By TetraLogical.
"A Work in progress: Last updated 5 February 2026. Also all Screen Reader support tables have been updated/spruced up by Grace Snow…"
https://github.com/TetraLogical/screen-reader-HTML-support?tab=readme-ov-file#screen-reader-html-support

How to Improve Your HTML Game
By Jens Oliver Meiert.
"On moving beyond unsystematic HTML by choosing a deliberate writing style, committing to validation, and regularly consulting the specification…"
https://meiert.com/blog/improve-your-html-game/


+05: MISCELLANEOUS.

A Word With the Accessibility Egg - Eric Eggert
By Steve Faulkner.
"Well, Eric, welcome to the seventh Fireside Chat. Hopefully, you're feeling lucky, my friend…"
https://html5accessibility.com/stuff/2026/02/05/a-word-with-the-accessibility-egg-eric-eggert/

Accessibility is Black History
By Akinyele Akintomiwa Michael.
"What Haben Girma and a longer lineage of Black advocates teach us about access…"
https://the-word.news/2026/0205/black-history-accessibility/

AI will Eliminate the Need for Accessibility Professionals? I think not.
By Sheri Byrne-Haber.
"Every day, there are more articles about AI replacing people in tech. Accessibility testers, who are very often viewed as 'unnecessary overhead,' are not escaping this treatment…"
https://buttondown.com/access-ability/archive/ai-will-eliminate-the-need-for-accessibility/


+06: NAVIGATION.

You Know What? Just Don't Split Words into Letters
By Adrian Roselli.
"This is an unplanned part two for Barriers from Links with ARIA. The title reflects my exasperation because this isn't new, 'veI simply failed to be explicit about it over the last decade or so…"
https://adrianroselli.com/2026/02/you-know-what-just-dont-split-words-into-letters.html


+07: TOOLS.

Whisper Live Captioning Presentation Template
By Mike Gifford.
"An accessible HTML presentation template with real-time live captioning powered by Whisper.cpp. This is a standalone, test-driven presentation you can use as a starting point for creating your own presentations with live transcription…"
https://github.com/mgifford/whisper-slides


+08: USABILITY.

Your Design System Needs an Enforcer
By Laura Klein.
"Although design systems promise consistency, most still fail without someone actively enforcing the rules and making teams follow them."
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-system-enforcer/

[Section one ends.]


++ SECTION TWO:

+09: 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.

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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: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