Main Points

  • Accessibility Testing and tweaking for SEO and accessibility. As well as CSS tweaks for future flexibility.
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Accessibility and SEO

Here's the demo pages as they've been developing...

  1. KeyboardAccessible.aspx This template is the culmination of a lot of work. The Semantic XHTML template was upgraded with the full working contact form including functional rollover script. The Javascript event handler code for the drop down menus has been cleaned up and done much more efficiently. The Internet Explorer keyboard navigation problem has been remedied. The breadcrumb menus have been put back into the page, here's hoping they work this time. The navbar has been remodeled as close as possible to a standard menu bar on a windows desktop application.
    [chroniclemaster1, 2007/09/12]
  2. SemanticXhtmlTemplate.aspx This template never saw the light of day, but it served as an important transitional step during the development of the contact form. The contact form was being added at this time naturally, although it had not implemented across the site. Too many things were going on, which is one reason this step in the development of the template is showcased. We were building the contact form, redesigning it's CSS, adopting the new POSH philosophy of XHTML markup, redesigning the navbar, writing the VB code for the contact email, dealing with sitemap problem, and looking to dump VB and begin coding in C#. We were even considering ASP.NET 2.0 master pages to implement the elements which we now are using server side includes. We probably will ultimately do that, though they seem to be biting off a bit much at this point.
    [chroniclemaster1, 2007/08/12]
  3. SkipLinksTemplate.aspx This takes the AspnetTemplate.aspx and updates a few key features that I kept building in to Earth Chronicle as I was trying to get it posted. They were fairly easy to incorporate into the .aspx pages (including this one) and so this template is the one that the current Earth Chronicle and Beta sites are based on. One, the Main Points box controls access to the entire page, but there's no way to get to it. This template adds skip links back to the main menu whose title has a new named anchor to skip back to. It also removes a fairly useless title class on the main <h1> heading. Some of the spacing of the code was corrected to maintain proper indentation. And all the variables and names (except file names) were converted to the more standardized lowerCamelCase structure so that naming conventions for the Earth Chronicle family of websites would have consistent naming practices. It also boasts the revised meta keywords I developed on Earth Chronicle while retaining the extra beta keywords. I also revised the main header navbar for the beta site. This should be much more user friendly.
    [chroniclemaster1, 2007/07/06]
  4. AspnetTemplate.aspx Wow... talk about a hiatus. One minute I'm working slowly and steadily on getting Earth Chronicle up and running, and the next I'm training to become a web developer. That Javascript clock I'd been begging for... here it is. I built it. And it comes with fully deployed CSS, unobtrusive Javascript, and server side includes as well. So large chunks of the code are in separate external files, that when changed update every page site wide. CSS naturally condenses the styles for a website into a single separate sheet. And there is no Javascript code in any of the webpages (unobtrusive Javascript) except for the reference to our master script file, making it easy to update the entire site by changing one file. And using server side includes, key portions of the webpage, like the navbars are not part of the web page, but are instead blocks of XHTML code that are saved in separate files. This allows the XHTML code to be lite, linear, and to maximize the structure for those who need accessibility above all other concerns. Keep your eyes open for the new Contact form, coming soon. Or at least, right after I finish applying this new template to Earth Chronicle.
    [chroniclemaster1, 2007/06/23]
  5. Accessibility1.html Based on our initial tests, the accessibility of the template is virtually unaffected by the Javascript events controlling the windows. Therefore, the header navbar was returned to the top of the code so that it is more linear. The css file has become a master file which calls the other .css files, this seems to be the most effective way to control styles from multiple style sheets. All the master settings are controlled in the first style sheet called, and any modifications are applied in the second. SEO links have also been tweaked so they now mimic precisely the layout of the main navbar. The presentation is a bit better that way, especially with CSS off. Still need to test future CSS manipulation tweaks. Testing accessibility in JAWS with and w/o braille display as well as Zoomtext, the main packages for the blind and visually impaired. Still need to assimilate information from the W3C guidelines to increase accessibility as well. AND consider SEO. Wow! A long ways to go.
    [chroniclemaster1, 2006/11/29]
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