Web Design Update: June 2, 2026

[Laura Carlson]

+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE.
- Volume 26, Issue 49, June 2, 2026.

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

++ISSUE 49 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: EVALUATION & TESTING.
04: EVENTS.
05: JAVASCRIPT.
06: MISCELLANEOUS.
07: NAVIGATION.
08: TOOLS.
09: TYPOGRAPHY.
10: USABILITY.
11: WEBWASTE & SUSTAINABILITY.

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

[Contents ends.]


++ SECTION ONE: New references.

+01: ACCESSIBILITY.

Digital Accessibility Workshop
By The State of Colorado.
"The site includes interactive exercises across nine (9) different topics that show how people with disabilities experience web pages, forms, colors, and more. Some of the exercises are intentionally inaccessible in order to help learners gain a deeper understanding of how users experience technology in different ways."
https://sites.google.com/state.co.us/tap-empathy-lab/home

You Probably Shouldn't Be Annotating Focus Order
By Eric W. Bailey.
"…The easiest way to guarantee focus order matches reading order is to ensure the underlying HTML that powers your web experience is written in top-to-bottom order…"
https://ericwbailey.design/published/you-probably-shouldnt-be-annotating-focus-order/

Accessibility Question: Is Nesting Interactive Elements Bad?
By Christian Heilmann.
"…I am mixing two interaction modes here, navigation and selection, one being link based and the other form based…"
https://christianheilmann.com/2026/05/27/accessibility-question-is-nesting-interactive-elements-bad/

"Accessibility Question: Is Nesting Interactive Elements Bad?" (Response)
By Adrian Roselli.
"…Yes, bad.
* Reduced hit area;
* Extra tab-stops;
* Verbose in SRs;
* Hassle with voice control;
* Destructive mistakes;
* Contrast violation (in example).
I've been batting these down for years…"
https://toot.cafe/@aardrian/116657828013359712

W3C WAI 2026 Update Town Hall (Video)
By Knowbility.
"…Join Shawn Lawton Henry of the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) for a collaborative look at the latest standards shaping digital inclusivity. Moving beyond a traditional presentation format, this Town Hall invites attendees to engage directly with the WAI's current initiatives through open dialogue. It is a unique opportunity to contribute your questions and insights to the collective effort of making the web more accessible…"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGHoLq_c5LM

Sell Outcomes, NOT Accessibility to Avoid Burn Out with Meryl Evans. (Video)
By Knowbility.
"There seems to be growing concern about burnout in our professional and the need to amplify marginalized voices. Maybe if we promote accessibility as better workflows and systems that lead to generally improved productivity, increased customer trust and loyalty, and higher revenue we’d have better outcomes and less frustration. How do we build the supportive infrastructure and vocabulary to help us thrive in this fast-paced ever-changing accessibility world we’ve created?…"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc05YuCk280

AI-Generated Code is Inaccessible by Default
By Simon Miner.
"…AI can generate slick UI fast, but accessible code still needs explicit prompts, careful testing, and human judgment. The vibes are not enough…"
https://pedalpoint.com/2026/05/ai-generated-code-is-inaccessible-by-default/

Accessibility and AI
By Erik Kroes.
"There's a lot to be said about AI and accessibility. These are some thoughts on what goes wrong, and what could be improved…"
https://www.erikkroes.nl/blog/accessibility-and-ai/

Fixing Accessibility After the Fact Is Too Late
By Aaron Gustafson.
"At Ability Summit 2026, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel on a topic that feels more urgent by the day: how we prevent accessibility defects before they are baked into AI-assisted workflows and shipped at scale…"
https://www.aaron-gustafson.com/notebook/fixing-accessibility-after-the-fact-is-too-late/

An Extension is Not an Excuse
By John Northup.
"…The extension should therefore be treated not as a reprieve from accessibility, but as a reprieve from panic."
https://webaim.org/blog/an-extension-is-not-an-excuse/

Disability Advocates Sue Over Website Accessibility Delays
By Chris Teale.
"The National Federation of the Blind sued the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services after a rule requiring government websites to be accessible was delayed for a year…"
https://www.route-fifty.com/customer-experience/2026/05/disability-advocates-sue-over-website-accessibility-delays/413781/


+02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS.

Our CSS Isn't Opinionated Enough
By Craig Abbott.
"…By having the visual styles completely decoupled from the semantic meaning, accessibility is easy to forget, because we can't physically see missing attributes…When the styling hook is anchored to semantics, you can't get the visual styles without also getting the parts that make it accessible…"
https://www.craigabbott.co.uk/blog/2026/our-css-isnt-opinionated-enough/

Spanning Table Cells Are Always a Layout Bummer
By Adrian Roselli.
"…and often a screen reader navigation hassle. But this associates stuff correctly. The CSS is where I tried a different approach for the Safari bug…"
https://toot.cafe/@aardrian/116652816385451032

Accessible (I Think) Split-Cell Table Headers
By Eric A. Meyer.
"…Anyway, the point being, what I've done here feels more accessible to me, and basic testing by both me and Adrian didn't reveal any major problems, but I still worry about the positioning dorking things up for the users of screen readers I don't have access to.  So I throw it to the audience, particularly the accessibility-technology-using part of the audience: does this solution fall down for you, or is it good enough?…"
https://meyerweb.com/eric/thoughts/2026/05/28/accessible-i-think-split-cell-table-headers/

What's Missing in CSS Layout
By Patrick Brosset.
"I recently spent time asking for and reviewing feedback about CSS layout…"
https://patrickbrosset.com/articles/2026-05-20-whats-missing-in-css-layout/


+03: EVALUATION & TESTING.

Does AI Find Real UI Problems or Just Hallucinations?
By Jim Lewis, Jeff Sauro, Will Schiavone, and Lucas Plabst.
"…Bottom line: AI usability reviews of videos require human oversight. In their current form (what we tested), these AI products can add value to this type of UX research, but more as junior researchers whose actions and conclusions require expert human oversight rather than as trusted experts themselves."
https://measuringu.com/does-ai-find-real-ui-problems-or-just-hallucinations/

How to Get Research Recommendations on the Roadmap
By Laura Klein.
"To influence the roadmap: join planning early, learn constraints, tie research to PM metrics, and give clear recommendations at the right time."
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/research-recommendations-roadmap/


+04: EVENTS.

ACT Rules - Update on Automatic and Manual (Funka Foundation)
June 5, 2026.
Online
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PEqszp1MR3-G0_83UnIK9Q#/registration

PDF Accessibility Basics: How to Test for Accessibility with JAWS
June 10, 2026.
Online
https://accessingenuity.com/pages/webinar/part-2-pdf-accessibility-basics-how-to-test-for-accessibility-with-jaws

Creating Accessible Digital Content and Presentations (Part 2)
June 16, 2026.
Online
https://mainecite.org/trainings/creating-accessible-digital-content-and-presentations-part-2-june-16-2026/

Implementing Accessibility: Five Common Pitfalls (And What to Do Instead)
June 16, 2026.
Online
https://knowbility.org/programs/be-a-digital-ally/june-2026

Part 3: PDF Accessibility Basics - Field Types and Tooltips
June 24, 2026,
Online
https://accessingenuity.com/pages/webinar/part-3-pdf-accessibility-basics-fillable-forms-field-types-tab-order-tooltips-and-screen-reader-testing

Digital Accessibility Conference
June 25, 2026.
London, England, United Kingdom.
https://www.citystgeorges.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/2025/june/digital-accessibility-conference

Accessibility News, Ask the Professionals with Ricky Onsman, David Kennedy, and Jack McElaney
June 30, 2026.
Online
https://events.humanitix.com/ozewai-accessibility-news-ask-the-professionals-30-june-2026


+05: JAVASCRIPT.

Where Can Aria-Label and Aria-Labelledby Be Used for Naming Elements?
By Russ Weakley.
"…Where possible, visible text labels are preferred over ARIA-only labels…"
https://www.maxdesign.com.au/articles/when-allowed.html


+06: MISCELLANEOUS.

Google Might Have Just Killed Websites (Video)
By Kevin Powell.
"…But a large portion of what they're doing will not have links anymore. And if there's no links to websites, what's the point in making websites? Google owners let Google scrape their websites… in exchange for Google sending traffic to them…"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xpk7soxvOMY

Websites Are Not Going to Die
By Jens Oliver Meiert.
"…Just because Google stops being a web search engine, doesn't mean people don't need or want web search anymore…The Web is more than one single player, no matter how large…If you run a personal website, don't get discouraged, keep it up. And if you don't run a website, then why not start one? Regardless of what Google does, everyone is welcome on the open Web…"
https://meiert.com/blog/websites-are-not-going-to-die/


+07: NAVIGATION.

Multi-Level Navigation: The Challenge of Identifying Parent Sections for Screen Readers
By Régine Lambrecht.
"Many guides show you how to build an accessible navigation menu, but they overlook the "you are here" complexity. How do we translate an "active parent" visual highlight into something a screen reader user actually understands?…"
https://elevenways.be/en/articles/multi-level-navigation-the-challenge-of-identifying-parent-sections-for-screen-readers


+08: TOOLS.

Able Player: 1 Year Later
By Joe Dolson.
"Support for Spoken Captions… require the capacity for a player to announce the subtitles of a video…"
https://www.joedolson.com/2026/05/able-player-1-year-later/

Upload Lecture Notes
By Ehban AWAN.
"Upload a PDF of handwritten lecture notes. Claude will transcribe each page - you review and correct, then download a fully accessible PDF…"
https://pdfcomply.vercel.app


+09: TYPOGRAPHY.

The Story of Shantell Sans
By Shantell Martin.
"Shantell Sans mixes variable axes for Weight, Italic, Informality, and Bounce to deliver a wide array of font styles, from friendly, readable, everyday typographic workhorses to striking, high-energy, experimental styles meant especially for animation…"
https://shantellsans.com/process


+10: USABILITY.

A Scale to Assess Consumer Perceptions of Technology Product Inclusivity: Development and Validation
By Carmen Van Ommen, Barbara S. Chaparro, Joseph R. Keebler, Sanjay Batra, Mei Lu.
"…This indicates that designing for inclusivity can have a strong effect on fundamental measures of technology product success, and measuring perceptions of inclusivity can give insights into the potential for success…"
https://uxpajournal.org/scale-consumer-perceptions-tech-product-inclusivity/

Input Controls: Design Patterns and Best Practices (Video)
By with Huei-Hsin Wang.
"Input controls are some of the most critical places where users interact with your product. From filling out forms and adjusting settings to entering data, getting it wrong creates friction when things are supposed to feel effortless…"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyBFLH1AaBI


+11: WEBWASTE & SUSTAINABILITY.

State of the Fossil-Free Internet 2026
By Green Web Foundation.
"In this first annual briefing by the Green Web Foundation, we examine the biggest obstacles to a fossil-free internet. This year's focus: the rise of too many dirty data centres controlled by unaccountable companies. If you work in tech or on climate, this report will help you navigate this vital topic and highlights meaningful pathways to a just and sustainable internet…"
https://fossilfree.greenweb.org/2026

Digital Declutter
By Wholegrain.
"A free checklist to support you in reducing digital carbon emissions in everyday actions, as an individual or as a business…"
https://www.wholegraindigital.com/declutter/


[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