I've moved

I've now moved this blog to a self-hosted WordPress site. You can find it at www.prettysimple.co.uk/blog. I won't be updating this one anymore, so please update your bookmarks and RSS feeds now.

Accessify Forum getting an upgrade

One of my more regular haunts, Accessify Forum, is currently being redesigned. You can see the requirements for the new system, as well as contribute to the process.

For those that don't know, Accessify Forum is an invaluable forum for discussing accessibility. It has over 7,000 members with over 60,ooo posts in the past 5 years. It is an essential starting place for web designers and developers wanting to learn more about accessibility, as well as anyone wanting to perfect their knowledge of the subject.

If you're already a member, head on over there and give your input on how you'd like to see it improved. If you're not a member, head over there anyway and browse the forums - you're bound to learn something new!

I'm migrating (to Wordpress)

I've arranged the hosting, got my hands on Wordpress v2.7, read up on the various pitfalls of migrating blogs, and am now working on the initial designs which will eventually see this blog moving to a customised Wordpress platform later this year. Hopefully all will go smoothly, but I'll post details of how I get on, along with lessons learned, for anyone else considering such a move.

Wish me luck!

PS I've now moved. See www.prettysimple.co.uk/blog.

My 2009 Web Resolutions

OK, not so much resolutions as a list of to-dos. These are areas which I'll be looking more into during 2009. If you've got similar goals, or think I should be looking at other things too, do leave a comment!

Upgrade my host

My main website is currently hosted for free at Awardspace. They have been fantastic - only a bit of downtime and lots of features. However, it's time to upgrade to something a bit more professional, so I'm now looking around for the best paid options. I'll need to be able to host a couple of blogs too (including this one after I found an interesting article on Why Your Business Blog Shouldn't Be On BlogSpot.com).

Complete a list of resources for implementing WCAG 2.0

There are lots of resources appearing, but there still isn't a comprehensive source of everything you'll need to design and test according to the new guidelines. I hope to bring together an ever-increasing collection of resources for this purpose, building on it with my own experiences as I work on new projects.

Figure out how to make the most of Twitter

I've only recently started using Twitter, and I'm still not entirely sure what purpose it is fulfilling. I'm sure that I should be on there; I'm just not sure why. So I'm going to follow more people, post more updates, promote my presence on there, and see what happens.

One situation where I think Twitter could help is within my organisation, as a tool for communicating to staff exactly what I'm up to on a day to day basis. For many, our website and online presence remains a bit of a mystery, and I want increase understanding amongst colleagues so that they understand what the web has to offer. By posting regular tweets about the projects that I'm working on and the latest things we've put online, people will hopefully get a better idea of the breadth of content we publish, the projects we're supporting, and the process involved in getting things online. The brevity of Twitter lends itself to this far more than, for example, a traditional blog.

Publish more videos online

I really want to get to grips with Youtube and its peers this year, to get a solid idea of the functionality of these services and to kick-start some research on the possibilities and limitations of such platforms. The first obvious step is to get stuff on there - some will be basic footage of local events, others will be experimental projects (I'm very interested in time-lapse photography, for example).

One major project that I'm hoping our organisation will support later in the year is to get much of the content of our corporate website available online as British Sign Language video, with audio and captions. This will primarily benefit severely or profoundly deaf individuals for whom BSL is the first language (1500 of which are estimated to be living within our authority alone), but could also help other deaf users, individuals with low literacy, blind users, and many others.

Get up close and personal with Wordpress

I'm also hoping to get to grips with self-installing and customising hosting Wordpress, not just for my own blogs, but also as a platform for building CMS-driven websites. Worpress offers tremendous potential for very effective customisation, and I'll write more about my experiences as I progress.

Be more secure

I think online security is going to continue to increase in importance in 2009, with more peolpe expecting higher standards of security and the penalties for poor security becoming ever harsher. I've already overhauled all my passwords, and will next be looking at beefing up my security practices across the board.

So that's it - a few things which will be keeping me busy over the next 12 months. Stay tuned to see how I get on.

2008 online - some retrospectives

As the year draws to a close, here's a few retrospectives looking at the highlights of 2008 on the web, as well as looking forward to 2009. Let me know if you've spotted any others worth including here.

Looking back...

The BBC's list of technology we have loved in 2008

From dongles to netbooks and services to applications, the BBC News technology team talk through what they have loved in the world of technology during 2008.

Google Zeitgeist 2008

Studying the aggregation of the billions of search queries that people type into the Google search box gives us a glimpse into the zeitgeist — the spirit of the times. We've compiled some of the highlights from Google searches around the globe and hope you enjoy looking back as much as we do.

The Register's jaw-droppers of 2008

Here is The Register's list of the worst, most cringe-worthy and jaw-dropping moments from the last 12 months that people would probably prefer to forget about. Nine wags of the finger plus - because it wasn't all bad this year - one tip of the hat, for balance.

Web Marketing Association's WebAwards 2008

Now in its 12th year, the WebAwards is the premier annual website award competition that names the best Web sites in 96 industries while setting the standard of excellence for all website development.

Time.com's 50 Best Websites 2008

Some are as useful as a GPS device, others aren't that useful but give you something to do when you had nothing planned for the day. Put them all together and they become TIME.com's 2008 picks for the best the Web has to offer.

Wired.com's 10 Best Galleries of 2008

A year of fast and furious pixel-pushing by the Wired.com photo department has finally come to a close. Now, as we slow down long enough to risk a look back, we've compiled a list of our favorites from the hundreds of galleries we ran in 2008.

and looking forward...

ReadWriteWeb's predictions for 2009

It's time for our annual predictions post, in which the ReadWriteWeb authors look forward to what 2009 might bring in the world of Web technology and new media.

Website Magazine's prediction for 2009

Website Magazine’s predictions for 2009 reveal that in spite of our current economy, the Web as a whole will continue to see strong growth and investment over the next year - a prediction that many industry analysts don't necessarily agree with.

Happy new year to you all!

Slippery deadlines not good for business

I've had cause to think about this subject recently when we had a bit of a palaver over the public deadline for our online school enrolment forms. Released in mid-November, the deadline was set at December 24th. A bit tight, I thought, but it's not my position to question such things. Christmas came and went, and I asked if it was appropriate to now remove the forms, given that the deadline had passed. Oh no, I was told, as by law we must accept applications until 15th March. I was then asked to amend the deadline date accordingly. The December deadline was a fake.

Although I can understand that it is useful to receive submissions as early as possible, to allow staff to manage their workloads, it seems a bit unreasonable to present a false deadline which is then discretely extended. Many people will have put themselves to great inconvenience to complete this form in time, especially given the time of year, and to find that the deadline has been extended by almost three months will no doubt cause annoyance. There is also the risk that citizens will stop taking deadlines seriously, and may miss the window of opportunity in the future, where stated deadlines are genuine.

Far better, perhaps, to give the genuine deadline, but state that early submission is recommended. In some cases (for example, applying for grants from a limited fund) you could even suggest that early submissions will receive preference - that should get people moving!

Consultations

Similar issues have dogged some recent consultations that we've held, with deadlines being pushed back and back to try to squeeze out more responses. The problem here is that those who aimed for the original deadline may not have given themselves sufficient time to compose a full and accurate response. Those who replied early on are likely to be those who feel strongest about the subject of the consultation, and therefore the kind of people you want to listen to carefully and not annoy.

Of course, there are some instances where extending a deadline is sensible. In a consultation where new information has come to light, for example, or where there has been a technical problem preventing people from completing the process. In such cases, the reason for the extension should always be made clear. Otherwise, the organisation risks looking unorganised and unprofessional.

Project deadlines

The same applies to project deadlines. I recently finished a job which had to be completed by a certain date. No problem there - I'm used to tight deadlines. But when the delivery day arrived, the client came back with a few tweaks and some new requests, and it turned out the original deadline wasn't as crucial as first made out. These fake deadlines don't do the developer any favours - many things may get rushed or dropped entirely as a result. Also, it's usually a lot harder to change a final product, rather than factor in any modifications as part of the build process. It's therefore far more productive to set milestones, where you deliver certain things by certain timescales. This allows for a far smoother progression from planning to the final product.

Screen Reader survey

WebAIM are conducting a survey of the preferences of Screen Reader users.

"If you are a full-time, part-time, or even occasional screen reader user, please take a few minutes to complete the survey and provide us with a few details on your screen reader usage and preferences.... The results of the survey will be made public in a few months. We believe the results will be very useful to those who are developing accessible web content."

WebAIM Blog

The results could be very enlightening, and I'd hope that anyone in a position to reply would do so to help inform best practices in designing websites sympathetic to the needs of these users.

I'll be sure to report the release of the results in the new year, so watch this space or head over to WebAIM to get it from the horse's mouth!