Web Design Update: November 18, 2025
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Laura Carlson
Nov 18, 2025, 3:18:06 AMNov 18
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+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE.
- Volume 26, Issue 21, November 19, 2025.
An email newsletter to distribute news and information about web design and development.
++ISSUE 21 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: EVALUATION & TESTING.
03: EVENTS.
04: JAVASCRIPT.
05: MISCELLANEOUS.
06: TYPOGRAPHY.
07: USABILITY.
08: WEBWASTE & SUSTAINABILITY.
SECTION TWO:
09: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site?
[Contents ends.]
++ SECTION ONE: New references.
+01: ACCESSIBILITY.
Title II Video Accessibility Compliance 101: What You Need to Know (Video)
By Erik Ducker.
"In this 30-minute session, we unpack the core components of the ruling and what it means for video accessibility. We'll translate the legal language into clear, actionable guidance so you will have clarity on what's required…"
https://www.3playmedia.com/events/wbnr-11-12-2025-video-accessibility-compliance-101/
Slide Deck:
https://onedrive.live.com/:p:/g/personal/C8C86250CB39DFFF/EeKMndTddj9Mu66nrTlYHYAB6kFCJKvkp-d7nEehTSpedg
Accessible Names and Labels: Understanding What Works and What Doesn't
By Akash Shukla.
"…This article explores how to correctly define and associate labels and accessible names for UI elements to ensure that all users, including those relying on assistive technologies, can understand the purpose of each control…"
https://www.tpgi.com/accessible-names-and-labels-understanding-what-works-and-what-doesnt/
Testing Methods: Interruptions
By Dennis Deacon.
"WCAG 2.2.4 Interruptions is a Level AAA conformance level Success Criterion. It ensures that users are allowed to turn off updates from the author/server except in emergencies…"
https://www.dennisdeacon.com/web/accessibility/testing-methods-interruptions/
Testing Methods: Re-authenticating
By Dennis Deacon.
"…Its purpose is simple but powerful: when a user's session expires or re-login is required, during checkout, form submission, or other workflows, the system must allow them to continue without losing previously entered data or context…"
https://www.dennisdeacon.com/web/accessibility/testing-methods-re-authenticating/
Testing Methods: Timeouts
By Dennis Deacon.
"…This success criterion builds upon 2.2.1 Timing Adjustable, shifting the focus toward communication, alerting users before their session times out due to inactivity, rather than simply allowing them to adjust time limits…"
https://www.dennisdeacon.com/web/accessibility/testing-methods-timeouts/
Testing Methods: Three Flashes or Below Threshold
By Dennis Deacon.
"…WCAG 2.3.1 is a Level A conformance level Success Criterion. It ensures that web content does not contain anything that flashes more than three times in any one-second period, unless the flashes are below the general or red flash thresholds that could trigger seizures.WCAG 2.3.1 is a Level A conformance level Success Criterion. It ensures that web content does not contain anything that flashes more than three times in any one-second period, unless the flashes are below the general or red flash thresholds that could trigger seizures…"
https://www.dennisdeacon.com/web/accessibility/testing-methods-three-flashes-or-below-threshold/
Testing Methods: Animation from Interactions
By Dennis Deacon.
"WCAG 2.3.3 Animation from Interactions is a Level AAA conformance level Success Criterion. It is designed to protect users from motion-triggered discomfort, including seizures, dizziness, or nausea…"
https://www.dennisdeacon.com/web/accessibility/testing-methods-animation-from-interactions/
A11y 101: 2.4.7 Focus Visible
By Nat Tarnoff.
"…The criteria is pretty straight forward. 'Any keyboard operable user interface has a mode of operation where the keyboard focus indicator is visible'…"
http://tarnoff.info/2025/11/17/a11y-101-2-4-7-focus-visible/
Why You Need to Close Open Objects When Users Navigate Away
By Sheri Byrne-Haber.
"…Clean exits matter as much as smooth entries. If your application opens things, it must also close them, both visibly and programmatically…"
https://buttondown.com/access-ability/archive/why-you-need-to-close-open-objects-when-users/
Last Week in WAI
By Steve Faulkner.
"Each week I get a ton of mailing list emails and a load of github emails related to issues and discussions going in the W3C Web Standards (AKA Web Accessibility Initiative). A few bubble up and pique my interest…"
https://html5accessibility.com/stuff/2025/11/11/last-week-in-wai/
Pre-order "Digital Accessibility Ethics"
By Adrian Roselli.
"Lainey Feingold, Reginé Gilbert, and Chancey Fleet gathered 36 authors across 10 countries and a commonwealth to write 32 chapters about ethics in digital accessibility…"
https://adrianroselli.com/2025/11/pre-order-digital-accessibility-ethics.html
+02: EVALUATION & TESTING.
What is Mixed-Methods Research? (Video)
By Rachel Banawa.
"Want the numbers and the stories behind them? Mixed-methods research combines qualitative and quantitative data to give you a clearer, fuller picture of the user experience."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UswDa3hISiU
+03: EVENTS.
More Than Words: How Sign Language Unlocks New Worlds
with Verónica Morales Beltrán
November 26, 2025.
Online
https://a11ytalks.com/posts/2025-nov
Building a Budget for Video Compliance with the University of Florida
December 3, 2025.
Online
https://go.3playmedia.com/wbnr-12-03-2025-building-a-budget
UX360 Research Summit
February 4-5, 2026.
Online
https://www.virtual.ux360summit.com/
Developer Week
February 18-20, 2026.
Online and San Jose, California, U.S.A.
https://www.developerweek.com/
Axe-con
February 24-25, 2026.
Online
https://www.deque.com/axe-con/
+04: JAVASCRIPT.
Aria-labels and Privacy: A Word of Caution
By Homer Gaines.
"Using aria-labels can expose sensitive data to tracking software…"
https://rightbadcode.com/aria-labels-and-privacy-a-word-of-caution
Pikaday
By David Bushell.
"Who needs a JavaScript date picker? The answer, in most cases, is nobody…"
https://pikaday.dbushell.com/
+05: MISCELLANEOUS.
Tim Berners-Lee on Apple's WebKit Monopoly
By Bruce Lawson.
"I recently listened to a podcast called Decoder with Nilay Patel, in which Tim Berners-Lee was interviewed. Nilay asked Sir Uncle Timbo about browser competition on iOS. I'm happy to report that the inventor of the Web agrees with me that Apple inexplicably doesn't want the Web to compete with its single-platform rent-extraction App Store…"
https://brucelawson.co.uk/2025/tim-berners-lee-on-apples-webkit-monopoly/
+06: TYPOGRAPHY.
Trump's Oval Office Sign - A Typography Breakdown
By Oliver Schöndorfer.
"…there are two takeaways: 1.) Let materials match the message: If you want something to feel premium, the typography, material, and execution all need to work together. A fancy font needs to fit the environment. 2.) Choose script fonts with care: Use them sparingly and intentionally. Test how letters connect. Check whether the elegance holds up at the size and medium you're working with…"
https://pimpmytype.com/oval-office-sign/
+07: USABILITY.
Good Visual Design, Explained
By Kelley Gordon.
"To create appealing designs, align type and elements to a grid, build a clear visual hierarchy, use color intentionally, and stay consistent with every design choice."
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/good-visual-design/
The Fundamentals Problem
By Christopher Butler.
"Anyone can make something that looks designed, but that doesn't mean that design has happened…"
https://www.chrbutler.com/the-fundamentals-problem
The Impact of Web Accessibility Overlays on the Usability and User Experience for People with Permanent Visual Impairments
By Daniela Kubesch.
…this thesis show that users generally experience a worse UX and reduced usability when they realise a website has an accessibility overlay. This negative impact is further compounded when users interact with or activate the overlay…Accessibility overlays also do not ensure conformity with the success criteria of the WCAG 2.1 AA standard. This result aligns with findings…"
https://overlays.dnikub.dev/
+08: WEBWASTE & SUSTAINABILITY.
W3C TPAC Sustainable Web Guidelines Breakout Discussion (Slides)
By Mike Gifford and Tzviya Siegman.
"This slide deck is for the Sustainable Web Guidelines Breakout Discussion at TPAC 2025…"
https://mgifford.github.io/w3c-tpac-susty-breakout/Templates/Overview.html
[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.
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.]
- Volume 26, Issue 21, November 19, 2025.
An email newsletter to distribute news and information about web design and development.
++ISSUE 21 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: EVALUATION & TESTING.
03: EVENTS.
04: JAVASCRIPT.
05: MISCELLANEOUS.
06: TYPOGRAPHY.
07: USABILITY.
08: WEBWASTE & SUSTAINABILITY.
SECTION TWO:
09: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site?
[Contents ends.]
++ SECTION ONE: New references.
+01: ACCESSIBILITY.
Title II Video Accessibility Compliance 101: What You Need to Know (Video)
By Erik Ducker.
"In this 30-minute session, we unpack the core components of the ruling and what it means for video accessibility. We'll translate the legal language into clear, actionable guidance so you will have clarity on what's required…"
https://www.3playmedia.com/events/wbnr-11-12-2025-video-accessibility-compliance-101/
Slide Deck:
https://onedrive.live.com/:p:/g/personal/C8C86250CB39DFFF/EeKMndTddj9Mu66nrTlYHYAB6kFCJKvkp-d7nEehTSpedg
Accessible Names and Labels: Understanding What Works and What Doesn't
By Akash Shukla.
"…This article explores how to correctly define and associate labels and accessible names for UI elements to ensure that all users, including those relying on assistive technologies, can understand the purpose of each control…"
https://www.tpgi.com/accessible-names-and-labels-understanding-what-works-and-what-doesnt/
Testing Methods: Interruptions
By Dennis Deacon.
"WCAG 2.2.4 Interruptions is a Level AAA conformance level Success Criterion. It ensures that users are allowed to turn off updates from the author/server except in emergencies…"
https://www.dennisdeacon.com/web/accessibility/testing-methods-interruptions/
Testing Methods: Re-authenticating
By Dennis Deacon.
"…Its purpose is simple but powerful: when a user's session expires or re-login is required, during checkout, form submission, or other workflows, the system must allow them to continue without losing previously entered data or context…"
https://www.dennisdeacon.com/web/accessibility/testing-methods-re-authenticating/
Testing Methods: Timeouts
By Dennis Deacon.
"…This success criterion builds upon 2.2.1 Timing Adjustable, shifting the focus toward communication, alerting users before their session times out due to inactivity, rather than simply allowing them to adjust time limits…"
https://www.dennisdeacon.com/web/accessibility/testing-methods-timeouts/
Testing Methods: Three Flashes or Below Threshold
By Dennis Deacon.
"…WCAG 2.3.1 is a Level A conformance level Success Criterion. It ensures that web content does not contain anything that flashes more than three times in any one-second period, unless the flashes are below the general or red flash thresholds that could trigger seizures.WCAG 2.3.1 is a Level A conformance level Success Criterion. It ensures that web content does not contain anything that flashes more than three times in any one-second period, unless the flashes are below the general or red flash thresholds that could trigger seizures…"
https://www.dennisdeacon.com/web/accessibility/testing-methods-three-flashes-or-below-threshold/
Testing Methods: Animation from Interactions
By Dennis Deacon.
"WCAG 2.3.3 Animation from Interactions is a Level AAA conformance level Success Criterion. It is designed to protect users from motion-triggered discomfort, including seizures, dizziness, or nausea…"
https://www.dennisdeacon.com/web/accessibility/testing-methods-animation-from-interactions/
A11y 101: 2.4.7 Focus Visible
By Nat Tarnoff.
"…The criteria is pretty straight forward. 'Any keyboard operable user interface has a mode of operation where the keyboard focus indicator is visible'…"
http://tarnoff.info/2025/11/17/a11y-101-2-4-7-focus-visible/
Why You Need to Close Open Objects When Users Navigate Away
By Sheri Byrne-Haber.
"…Clean exits matter as much as smooth entries. If your application opens things, it must also close them, both visibly and programmatically…"
https://buttondown.com/access-ability/archive/why-you-need-to-close-open-objects-when-users/
Last Week in WAI
By Steve Faulkner.
"Each week I get a ton of mailing list emails and a load of github emails related to issues and discussions going in the W3C Web Standards (AKA Web Accessibility Initiative). A few bubble up and pique my interest…"
https://html5accessibility.com/stuff/2025/11/11/last-week-in-wai/
Pre-order "Digital Accessibility Ethics"
By Adrian Roselli.
"Lainey Feingold, Reginé Gilbert, and Chancey Fleet gathered 36 authors across 10 countries and a commonwealth to write 32 chapters about ethics in digital accessibility…"
https://adrianroselli.com/2025/11/pre-order-digital-accessibility-ethics.html
+02: EVALUATION & TESTING.
What is Mixed-Methods Research? (Video)
By Rachel Banawa.
"Want the numbers and the stories behind them? Mixed-methods research combines qualitative and quantitative data to give you a clearer, fuller picture of the user experience."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UswDa3hISiU
+03: EVENTS.
More Than Words: How Sign Language Unlocks New Worlds
with Verónica Morales Beltrán
November 26, 2025.
Online
https://a11ytalks.com/posts/2025-nov
Building a Budget for Video Compliance with the University of Florida
December 3, 2025.
Online
https://go.3playmedia.com/wbnr-12-03-2025-building-a-budget
UX360 Research Summit
February 4-5, 2026.
Online
https://www.virtual.ux360summit.com/
Developer Week
February 18-20, 2026.
Online and San Jose, California, U.S.A.
https://www.developerweek.com/
Axe-con
February 24-25, 2026.
Online
https://www.deque.com/axe-con/
+04: JAVASCRIPT.
Aria-labels and Privacy: A Word of Caution
By Homer Gaines.
"Using aria-labels can expose sensitive data to tracking software…"
https://rightbadcode.com/aria-labels-and-privacy-a-word-of-caution
Pikaday
By David Bushell.
"Who needs a JavaScript date picker? The answer, in most cases, is nobody…"
https://pikaday.dbushell.com/
+05: MISCELLANEOUS.
Tim Berners-Lee on Apple's WebKit Monopoly
By Bruce Lawson.
"I recently listened to a podcast called Decoder with Nilay Patel, in which Tim Berners-Lee was interviewed. Nilay asked Sir Uncle Timbo about browser competition on iOS. I'm happy to report that the inventor of the Web agrees with me that Apple inexplicably doesn't want the Web to compete with its single-platform rent-extraction App Store…"
https://brucelawson.co.uk/2025/tim-berners-lee-on-apples-webkit-monopoly/
+06: TYPOGRAPHY.
Trump's Oval Office Sign - A Typography Breakdown
By Oliver Schöndorfer.
"…there are two takeaways: 1.) Let materials match the message: If you want something to feel premium, the typography, material, and execution all need to work together. A fancy font needs to fit the environment. 2.) Choose script fonts with care: Use them sparingly and intentionally. Test how letters connect. Check whether the elegance holds up at the size and medium you're working with…"
https://pimpmytype.com/oval-office-sign/
+07: USABILITY.
Good Visual Design, Explained
By Kelley Gordon.
"To create appealing designs, align type and elements to a grid, build a clear visual hierarchy, use color intentionally, and stay consistent with every design choice."
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/good-visual-design/
The Fundamentals Problem
By Christopher Butler.
"Anyone can make something that looks designed, but that doesn't mean that design has happened…"
https://www.chrbutler.com/the-fundamentals-problem
The Impact of Web Accessibility Overlays on the Usability and User Experience for People with Permanent Visual Impairments
By Daniela Kubesch.
…this thesis show that users generally experience a worse UX and reduced usability when they realise a website has an accessibility overlay. This negative impact is further compounded when users interact with or activate the overlay…Accessibility overlays also do not ensure conformity with the success criteria of the WCAG 2.1 AA standard. This result aligns with findings…"
https://overlays.dnikub.dev/
+08: WEBWASTE & SUSTAINABILITY.
W3C TPAC Sustainable Web Guidelines Breakout Discussion (Slides)
By Mike Gifford and Tzviya Siegman.
"This slide deck is for the Sustainable Web Guidelines Breakout Discussion at TPAC 2025…"
https://mgifford.github.io/w3c-tpac-susty-breakout/Templates/Overview.html
[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.
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.]
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
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
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