For v.1.1.3, just a subtle change. (+ another v2 wireframe)
For version 1.1.3 of DalandanConcepts.com, just a subtle change: I changed "I'm currently accepting work for [month year]." to "Yes, I am currently accepting new work."
Here is another screenshot of the Dalandan v2 wireframe. I've been working on 3 different wireframes for V2: mobile (screenshot in the previous post), desktop, and tablet. I'm planning a single-page layout for each device, perhaps with subpages or galleries related to each portfolio project. The sticky navigation would start towards the bottom of the page in the home section but ultimately stay at the top of the page when you scroll down to other sections. V2 will also be more geared toward an industry that I am now planning to primarily target. Please feel free to provide feedback!
A whole slew of accessibility changes for version 1.1
I recently ran PowerMapper's Section 508 checker across DalandanConcepts.com to see how I was doing on accessibility. There were quite a host of violations, including some Priority A issues ("accessibility users will find it impossible to use some pages"). So, when I updated my work availability estimate yesterday, I decided to go through the site and fix a bunch of these.
In fact, a majority of web users have some sort of disability, whether they use software such as screen readers to help themselves cope with it or—I would suspect—use normal browsers wherever possible and just adjust their interactions with websites to cope with their physical condition.
Here are a few of the improvements I made for accessibility and usability this week:
Added a site map page since those who use screen readers are more likely to use them.
Added more event handlers to my navigation links so that people who cannot use a mouse/touchpad will see the navigation states change. (I am aware of a bug in this that I still need to fix. It's on my to-do list.)
Modified the breadcrumbs so that the home page link says "Home". I also moved the breadcrumbs to the top of the page, above the header.
Added a meta description to the site's template and shortened page titles for SEO.
Modified the header tags to fit a proper outline form (h1, h2, etc., instead of starting with h3 for the page header).
All this adds up to no more Priority A violations for DalandanConcepts.com! And one of these can go on my site, if I choose to put it there:
I made a few more cosmetic changes too:
Replaced the very wide "rule of thirds" copyright image with a more condensed and attractive copyright image. The paper mockup of this is in the portfolio.
Added the current site version and a link to the site map in the page footers.
Moved the availability text down so that it does not touch the green lines in the page headers.
The site still has a few violations of the Section 508 standards, but these are considered less severe:
Use relative (e.g. %) rather than absolute (e.g. px) units in HTML attributes: I will change this in version 2 when I create a responsive layout for my site. I love the responsiveness of layouts like that of University of Chicago. For version 1, my site uses a pixel-based 960 grid.
This page has no privacy policy. If your web server logs visits, then every page reachable by a search engine should have a privacy policy explaining what is logged and how the logs are used: Good point, EU Privacy Regulations. My site does not use cookies, but I agree that it should have a short, clear privacy policy—especially after I add Google Analytics to it later.
Provide a search option on each page of content-rich Web sites: This may be needed for version 2, depending on the structure of the site. The site may get broader and deeper, or I might even condense it to one page like some other designers have done.
Use text links rather than image links. In general, text links are more easily recognized as clickable: This is the only feedback from the 508 checker that I disagree with. Unless I replace my company logo and navigation bar with text links, I can't see myself doing this. Images are also a much larger link target than text unless that text is very large.
To see how I was doing compared to other UX designers whose sites I have bookmarked, I have been running their sites through the Section 508 checker. Each one has Priority A violations, meaning that accessibility users cannot use them—including many in the categories of accessibility and usability! I am surprised about this. As UX designers, we pride ourselves on being the go-to people on usability. I am not saying Section 508 is a perfect standard for our websites, but should we not also go to whatever lengths we need to make sure everyone can use our own sites?
Version 1 of the Dalandan Concepts website has been live for a couple of weeks now. What do you want to see in version 2? At the top of my list is a more responsive, mobile-friendly layout.
For more information about what I can do, please check out my Services page. You can also get in touch with me if you would like to hire me for a project or ask me a question.
