Web Design Update: July 7, 2026

[Laura Carlson]

+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE.
- Volume 27, Issue 02, July 7, 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.

RED ALERT: SBA Advocacy Threatens Entire DOJ Title II Web Rule
By Ken Nakata.
"…Web accessibility runs on a chain of compulsion. Vendors do not
build accessible products unless their customers consistently demand
it. Governments do not consistently demand accessibility unless a
regulation compels them to. Pull the regulation out and the chain
breaks: governments stop requiring accessibility, vendors stop
building it in, and accessibility quietly evaporates…"
https://convergeaccessibility.com/2026/06/30/sba-threatens-doj-title-2-web-rule/

What Is an Accessible Name, and Why Does It Matter for Accessibility?
By Pope Tech.
"…In this article, we'll cover:
* How accessible names can affect users, including a screen reader demo
* How to easily view your interactive elements' accessible names
* How assistive technology determines the accessible name with examples
* Our suggestion for getting accessible names right…"
https://blog.pope.tech/2026/07/01/accessible-name/

The Problem with Blanks for People Who Are Blind or Low Vision
By Sheri Byrne-Haber.
"…Blanks communicate nothing about why they are blank, and a screen
reader user cannot infer the why from the surrounding layout the way a
sighted user can…"
https://www.sheribyrnehaber.com/the-problem-with-blanks-for-people-who-are-blind-or-low-vision/

Digital Accessibility Ethics Multi-Author Q&A (Video)
By A11y Book Club.
"Watch the recap of the June 2026 Accessibility Book Club meeting, a
live 60-minute multi-author Q&A discussion of Digital Accessibility
Ethics: Disability Inclusion in All Things Tech, a 368-page collection
of 32 chapters by 39 authors, released May 6, 2026. This session was
hosted by Crystal Scott, CPWA, Founder of the Accessibility Book Club,
and featured co-editors and contributing authors from across the
accessibility community…"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYMeIPpZkaM

Accessibility Regression: Why Accessibility Efforts Break Down Over Time
By Vispero Team.
"…Accessibility becomes sustainable when it is treated as a standard
quality requirement rather than a specialized initiative…"
https://vispero.com/resources/accessibility-regression/

Why Accessibility Is An Operational Capability, Not A Feature
By Mikhail Prosmitskiy.
"…Accessibility is not a feature. It's an operational capability.
Treat it that way, and you get something dev and product leaders
already care about: a faster, safer, more reliable way to ship
software."
https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2026/06/why-accessibility-operational-capability-not-feature/


+02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS.

Return of CSS Outline
By Morgan Murrah.
"…People who particularly rely on keyboard access and visual cues may
not be able to see what is in focus without an outline…"
https://www.morganwebdev.org/posts/outline-back/

Progressively Enhancing Grid Lanes
By Manuel Matuzović.
"…The more I think about it, the less sympathy I have for Grid Lanes.
You create a DOM order that you think makes sense, then you mess it up
with CSS. Then, if you're aware of the problem, you fix it again with
CSS…"
https://www.matuzo.at/blog/2026/grid-lanes-progressive-enhancement


+03: EVALUATION & TESTING.

Stop Reporting UX Activity and Report Business Outcomes
By Lola Famulegun.
"…UX teams should report business outcomes — not activity or UX
metrics — to show impact on revenue, cost, risk, speed, retention, and
to secure resources…"
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/reporting-ux-business-outcomes/


+04: EVENTS.

Lainey Feingold Discusses Her Book and DRA11y Turns One
July 21, 2026.
Online
https://www.meetup.com/durham-raleigh-a11y/events/314819085/

Virtual Web Accessibility Training
August 19-20, 2026.
Online
https://webaim.org/training/virtual/

Accessible Web Development with Karl Groves
August 19-20, 2026.
Online
https://afixt.com/training/


+05: HTML.

Focusgroup Tests
By Adrian Roselli.
"…If you work in digital accessibility, you have an opportunity to
find gaps that others might miss (especially in how roles are
exposed). Let's get those documented before the spec or browsers
ossify code that cannot be readily changed in the future…"
https://adrianroselli.com/2026/07/focusgroup-tests.html


+06: JAVASCRIPT.

React's Architectural Accessibility Gaps
By Chris Yoong.
"Unless you build it yourself there's no auto lang sync, change
announcements, or focus management…"
https://chrisyoong.com/blog/react-router-language-toggle-accessibility-wcag


+07: MISCELLANEOUS.

If I want more IRL, I must go AFK
By Blake Watson.
"…But it's still not a replacement for the real world…"
https://blakewatson.com/journal/if-i-want-more-irl-i-must-go-afk/

A Dose of Dennis by the Fire
By Steve Faulkner.
"You may know him from Deque, Paypal, e-bay or GitHub. As WebAxe, or
Easychirp or Dennis E. Lembrée or you may not know him at all. Now is
your opportunity to get to know him a little better!…"
https://html5accessibility.com/stuff/2026/07/06/a-dose-of-dennis-by-the-fire/


+08: USABILITY.

UX Design Principles: How to Enhance User Satisfaction
By Toby Biddle.
"…UX design principles are guidelines that help designers create
user-friendly and enjoyable experiences…"
https://www.loop11.com/ux-design-principles-how-to-enhance-user-satisfaction/


+09: WEBWASTE & SUSTAINABILITY.

Making Websites Sustainable (Video)
By Siddhesh Wagle (Sid).
"Learn how sustainable web design reduces digital energy consumption.
This session covers practical steps to build more efficient websites…"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L-0Nx-IKs0


[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.


+ SUBSCRIPTION INFO.

WEB DESIGN UPDATE is available by subscription. For information on how
to subscribe and unsubscribe please visit:
https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/webdev_listserv.html
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.]