At Americaneagle.com, page speed has been a concern and focus of attention for as long as we’ve been working on websites.

Website accessibility is a hot topic at the moment, and it’s looking likely that issues surrounding accessibility will continue to become more and more important.

Here at Americaneagle.com we have run into all types of issues and quirks that can only really be determined through manual testing. Having gone through audits and accessibility web development for projects, we have a bit of a list accumulating of different "gotchas" or hidden issues even when spec appropriate code is being used. Unfortunately, browser differences in the accessibility tree of the DOM can be the culprit for some hidden a11y issues. This is by no means exhaustive and there are many resources and developers out there trying to figure out workarounds.

If you are trying to run a successful site, there have probably been countless hours spent on discussing colors, choosing placement of content, and deciding on the perfect phrasing for call to actions. There is probably a push in your company for quick loading pages while researching and implementing best SEO practices.

If you haven’t really thought about accessibility for the web or heard of 508 and ADA compliance, which is pretty common, then there is something you definitely need to catch up on. The benefits of this knowledge not only help the UX and usability of sites, but also keep you protected against a quickly growing legal presence.

Back in the days of the second browser wars, jQuery and other libraries emerged to try and conquer the emerging browsers into a cohesive and easy to use syntax. Around 9 years ago, the Javascript world was quite a buggy and an inconsistent place with Internet Explorer 6 and 7 in play. Firefox was starting to emerge, Netscape Navigator was still around, and Chrome didn’t exist yet. Having to write any decent Javascript that worked cross browser was a nightmare at times. Mootools, Prototype, and jQuery introduced easier cross browser DOM and CSS manipulation as well as convenient animation options. It’s no wonder developers across the globe grabbed these tightly with their calloused, worn out fingers. Many faces were saved from keyboard smashes and the web world hasn’t really let go since.

With all of the devices available now, it may seem that developing and testing is a nightmare for your web project. The amount of screen sizes to think about is a lot more diverse than the older days of mostly 1024px monitors. But what complicates things further is that these devices have different pixel densities. There ends up being more vocabulary and marketing that complicate the subject.

The web has grown a lot over the past 20+ years since it became available to the public. With this growth the visual experience for users has matured as well. Sometimes we forget how different sites used to be but taking a look at Space Jam always reminds me how much more complex sites have become.

What approach for site navigation shows the most pros for the largest amount of users? There are many ways a user could interact with a web page, but let’s focus on the main two that you see online… hover and click.

With smartphones at one’s fingertips and wireless access almost everywhere, users are wanting to use your site now. And there are aspects of your site that could very well be making them wait.