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The Most Exciting Thing About Web Standards Is … umm …

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Master (1777). Digital ID: 1635292. New York Public LibraryAs you may have heard, we’re currently in the process of redesigning NYPL.org from the ground up – a huge undertaking that seems to get bigger the deeper we get into it. We in the UX team have taken the redesign as an opportunity to implement new guidelines for best practices in web design that will be used as standards in future projects. The purpose of these guidelines is to provide a consistent experience for all users regardless of platform or browser capabilities, while ensuring that the site is flexible enough to incorporate new features and functionality in the future.

Here is a quick overview of some of the new guidelines we’re putting in place:

Markup

XHTML 1.0 Strict will be the standard Document Type Definition for all generated web pages, and all pages should validate. All content will be structured using semantic XHTML markup, with layout and presentational properties specified in external CSS files (see below). Presentational markup (e.g. use of <b>, <i> <u>, etc.) will be avoided. Class and ID names applied to content elements should be descriptive of the element’s function and not specific to presentational attributes (”title” or “subtitle” rather than “bold” or “red”).

CSS

All CSS rules will be defined in external files – use of embedded and inline styles should be avoided where possible. To best support users accessing the site with Internet Explorer 6 (currently about 25-30% of our overall traffic), use of CSS2 and CSS3 selectors and declarations will be avoided where practical as these are not supported in IE6. CSS2/3 can be used to enhance certain aspects of the design for browsers that support it, but care will be taken that the overall design and user experience is not significantly compromised in IE6. Browser-specific rules and hacks will be avoided whenever possible.

Javascript

Javascript will be utilized only in cases where its use provides a significant improvement to the user experience. Where it is used, Javascript should be unobtrusive, with scripts contained in external files and implemented in such a way that there is no loss in basic functionality for users with Javascript disabled.

Accessibility

Many of the guidelines above, in addition to representing best practices for web development, also serve to ensure that the web site is accessible to users with disabilities. Our goal is to fully comply with Priorities 1 and 2 of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. In this effort we are fortunate to have the input of the staff and patrons of the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library, who have provided very useful insight into practical issues faced by users who rely on screen reading and enlarging software to view web content. While the W3C guidelines are important, having insight into real user behavior is invaluable.


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