IRC Meeting Summary: 13 Feb 2013

As per last week, we had a very lively and interesting meeting with the main focus being Custom Menus (again) and the use of hidden skip links. Thanks to all who took part — especially a couple of UIUI UI is an acronym for User Interface - the layout of the page the user interacts with. Think ‘how are they doing that’ and less about what they are doing. team members. The inter-team discussion is invaluable as it allows us to get a better perspective on the overall coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. development philosophies as well as the current development cycle goals. I think the more we learn about the development process, the more effective we can become at offering practical, effective, suggestions at the right times.

User Testing

@accessiblejoe will be looking at developing videod user tests for the CSUN conference based on the list provided by @GrahamArmfield and the alter discussion on IRC:

  • Logon and interpret dashboard and toolbar
  • Publish new post including use of headings, bold etc. Add categories and tags.
  • Edit post to add media (image or pdf) with caption, alt text etc.
  • Update user options including setting new password
  • Use Theme CustomizerCustomizer Tool built into WordPress core that hooks into most modern themes. You can use it to preview and modify many of your site’s appearance settings. to change Site Title and background colours etc.
  • Creation of a simple custom menu; re-ordering of menu items including a single item sub-menu.
  • Logging out of WordPress.

We hope that any videos obtained will help the core development teams to gain a better understanding of some of the issues faced by disabled users.

Front-end AccessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility)

@joedolson is still working on an extension of the Theme Check pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party as part of the optional accessibility audit for all themes submitted to wordpress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/. He now has a modified version of the plugin available for testing and is actively looking for feedback.

There was also a lively discussion of “hidden” links — including both skip links and the current log out link (which is effectively hidden in a dropdown) — and balancing link visibility with the need to avoid a cluttered interface.

Finally, a reminder to all readers that, as a group, we are still stretched pretty thin and would welcome new members — both technical developers and non-technical disabled authors.

#wordpress-ui log for February 13 2013

#core-2, #irc, #meetup, #testing