I’m fully aware of the fact that not everyone who reads Joe’s article will wade through several hundred pages from the 3 WCAG specifications, and who could blame you? I read them, but the specs are certainly long, tedious and, in many cases, extremel

SEO Basics - Good Link, Bad Link
Your link profile is potentially the most powerful aspect of your SEO efforts, especially in the eyes of Google. Quality counts over quantity, but it is important to get a good list of well-balanced links pointing to your site. Diversification really is the key. Try not to concentrate all of your efforts on gaining links from one source, and similarly try not to gain them using a single method. A number of tactics should be avoided wherever possible because they either offer you no benefit whatsoever or your page may be penalized.This article looks at the acquisition of links purely fr

We interrupt our irregularly scheduled series on web accessibility for a not so late breaking news flash (sans Flash, of course.) It seems that the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) is on the verge of releasing a whole new set of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines called WCAG 2.0. With numerous changes in place, it now seems that the whole set of guidelines that many of us have worked so hard to implement are all kind of up in the air.

In many ways, the discussions about the document reflect the disparate philosophical positions within the community on what "accessibility" means. – Bruce Lawson, WCAG 2.0: when I want a beer, don’t give me shandy

Whether this new set of guidelines is the incredibly forward-looking, non-technology-dependant vision of accessibility it claims to be or whether it’s a backsliding, meaningless bunch of drivel meant to pander to corporate interests is currently the subject of much debate across the Internet by people far smarter and better informed than I. Perhaps at some point these discussions will include real people with real disabilities who, for some reason, have very little to do with this, but currently that doesn’t seem to be the case.

WCAG 2 backtracks on basics of responsible web development that are well accepted by standardistas. WCAG 2 is not enough of an improvement and was not worth the wait. – Joe Clark, A LIST APART: To Hell with WCAG 2

To be fair, the new guidelines are, in fact, a work in progress and not formally approved yet. Still, it’s a hard read. I mean it. I actually sat down to read the complete documentation and was only two pages into it before I found myself thinking how much I’d rather be at a dental appointment. So, I apologize for not having time to wade through the massive, unreadable documentation. I’ll have to leave that to others.

I’m fully aware of the fact that not everyone who reads Joe’s article will wade through several hundred pages from the 3 WCAG specifications, and who could blame you? I read them, but the specs are certainly long, tedious and, in many cases, extremely

How to Position Yourself as an Expert in Your Field
It doesn’t matter what the industry is, everyone wants to work with the expert. The expert is seen as someone who is credible and people want to work with that individual. So how can you go about positioning yourself as the expert in your industry? Well, today I will share with you some tips that you can use to have people perceive you as the expert and in turn increase the number of clients and referrals you receive.The first thing about becoming an expert is that you have to know what you’re talking about. This usually comes through years of study and also experience in the field. On

In many ways, the discussions about the document reflect the disparate philosophical positions within the community on what "accessibility" means. – Bruce Lawson, WCAG 2.0: when I want a beer, don’t give me shandy

Whether this new set of guidelines is the incredibly forward-looking, non-technology-dependant vision of accessibility it claims to be or whether it’s a backsliding, meaningless bunch of drivel meant to pander to corporate interests is currently the subject of much debate across the Internet by people far smarter and better informed than I. Perhaps at some point these discussions will include real people with real disabilities who, for some reason, have very little to do with this, but currently that doesn’t seem to be the case.

WCAG 2 backtracks on basics of responsible web development that are well accepted by standardistas. WCAG 2 is not enough of an improvement and was not worth the wait. – Joe Clark, A LIST APART: To Hell with WCAG 2

To be fair, the new guidelines are, in fact, a work in progress and not formally approved yet. Still, it’s a hard read. I mean it. I actually sat down to read the complete documentation and was only two pages into it before I found myself thinking how much I’d rather be at a dental appointment. So, I apologize for not having time to wade through the massive, unreadable documentation. I’ll have to leave that to others.

I’m fully aware of the fact that not everyone who reads Joe’s article will wade through several hundred pages from the 3 WCAG specifications, and who could blame you? I read them, but the specs are certainly long, tedious and, in many cases, extremel

How Testimonials Can Put You in the Spotlight
If you need evidence that a testimonial or referral can help you, let me tell you a personal story:My friend Dave raved about his boss all the time. “She knows I’m still in school,” he said, “so she always asks about my schedule.”“She’s really smart, too,” he added. “The company wants to promote her, but she keeps telling them she really trained to teach. She’s just waiting for a job opening.”“Hey,” I stopped him, “if she’s so great, why don’t you take her out?”“Nah,” he said. “She’s too old for me.”“So, how old is she?” I shot back. “30…40…more?”“Nop

ingless bunch of drivel meant to pander to corporate interests is currently the subject of much debate across the Internet by people far smarter and better informed than I. Perhaps at some point these discussions will include real people with real disabilities who, for some reason, have very little to do with this, but currently that doesn’t seem to be the case.

WCAG 2 backtracks on basics of responsible web development that are well accepted by standardistas. WCAG 2 is not enough of an improvement and was not worth the wait. – Joe Clark, A LIST APART: To Hell with WCAG 2

To be fair, the new guidelines are, in fact, a work in progress and not formally approved yet. Still, it’s a hard read. I mean it. I actually sat down to read the complete documentation and was only two pages into it before I found myself thinking how much I’d rather be at a dental appointment. So, I apologize for not having time to wade through the massive, unreadable documentation. I’ll have to leave that to others.

I’m fully aware of the fact that not everyone who reads Joe’s article will wade through several hundred pages from the 3 WCAG specifications, and who could blame you? I read them, but the specs are certainly long, tedious and, in many cases, extremel

Traffic Building With Forums – Step By Step I
ForumsForum advertising can be an effective form of driving traffic, although it does require some time – intensive work when you first get started with it.So what is a forum?A forum is an online interactive community where members can ask questions of each other, answer questions of each other, and provide help and resources to each other.The list building/traffic element stems from the idea that generally if someone is using a forum, or even reading posts in the forum actively, they are somewhat interested in the topic, more so perhaps than a casual surfer or mor

t are well accepted by standardistas. WCAG 2 is not enough of an improvement and was not worth the wait. – Joe Clark, A LIST APART: To Hell with WCAG 2

To be fair, the new guidelines are, in fact, a work in progress and not formally approved yet. Still, it’s a hard read. I mean it. I actually sat down to read the complete documentation and was only two pages into it before I found myself thinking how much I’d rather be at a dental appointment. So, I apologize for not having time to wade through the massive, unreadable documentation. I’ll have to leave that to others.

I’m fully aware of the fact that not everyone who reads Joe’s article will wade through several hundred pages from the 3 WCAG specifications, and who could blame you? I read them, but the specs are certainly long, tedious and, in many cases, extremel

Outsourcing from Europe to Europe
What is it?Outsourcing is the delegation of tasks or jobs from internal production to an external entity (such as a subcontractor). Recently the term is being used for delegation to countries where salaries are very low in order to cut the costs. Still, most of the outsourcing that occurs today still occurs within the country boundaries. Why? Delegation to eastern countries can bring several obstacles. Finding a reliable and suitable partner is a hard task. In order to benefit from outsourcing without a huge risk you need reliable partner, company or individuals. Selection proce

g how much I’d rather be at a dental appointment. So, I apologize for not having time to wade through the massive, unreadable documentation. I’ll have to leave that to others.

I’m fully aware of the fact that not everyone who reads Joe’s article will wade through several hundred pages from the 3 WCAG specifications, and who could blame you? I read them, but the specs are certainly long, tedious and, in many cases, extremely difficult to comprehend. – Lachlan Hunt, WCAG 2.0

Perhaps groups like the WCAG Samurai (http://wcagsamurai.org/) wouldn’t have to exist if the WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative) committee didn’t tend to move and operate like a sumo wrestler itself. After all, there is something to be said for open discussion and actual accomplishment.

The simple fact of the matter is that I actually have to work for a living. I build real websites that serve real needs in real communities and are used by real people–only some of whom have disabilities. Frankly, I don’t get paid for any of this. Not one client of mine has ever asked for or even commented on having an accessible website. It’s something that I do on my own because I consider it to be part of the job. It’s simply a matter of good design and usability.

The only ray of hope I can find in the whole thing is that perhaps this will encourage website owners (especially those in the public sector) to think beyond checking the WCAG checkbox. Maybe this will make them think about how to really make their site more accessible rather than simply concentrating on covering their collective arses. – Paul Boag, Body blow to web accessibility guidelines

What do we do in the face of all this debate? Quite simply, those of us that actually make websites and care about making them useful and accessible to real people are just going to have to go on doing the best we can on our own–as, in fact, we’ve pretty much been doing. We will continue to use our own brains to think about what we’re doing and how we can make it as useful as possible to all users. That’s all there is to it. We’re already going above and