Archived posts, December 2005
Predictions and hopes for 2006
A look back at a list of predictions and hopes I made at the end of 2004.
Web fonts and typography
Andy Hume explains the technology used to display type on computer screens and goes through the basic principles of web typography.
456 Berea Street on the top lists
Thank you to everybody who has mentioned 456 Berea Street on their lists of personal favourite sites/weblogs of 2005.
Use CSS background images responsibly
CSS background images should only be used for presentational images, not for informational or functional images.
Microsoft or Google to buy Opera?
There are rumours going around that say Microsoft or Google are about to buy Opera Software.
Internet Explorer for the Mac is no more
Microsoft will end support for IE/Mac on December 31, 2005, and as of 31 January, 2006, it will no longer be available for download. Good riddance.
Required elements and optional tags in HTML
The start and end tags of some elements (html, head, body) may be completely removed from an HTML document, even though the elements themselves are required.
Safari matters - support it or lose credibility
Many web applications and websites that don’t work properly (or at all) in Safari would work if their developers did their job properly.
Label your form controls properly
Remember to use the label element to associate form controls with their respective label texts.
Nominate the best blog posts of 2005
If you’ve read any blog posts this year that are of the kind that you can read over and over again, nominate them for Best posts of 2005.
456 Berea Street highlights of 2005
An end-of-the-year summary of readworthy articles that I’ve written during this year.
FACE: Faruk’s Animated CSS Enhancements
A technique that combines the power of JavaScript with the flexibility of CSS to enable designers to create animations without having to know Flash or JavaScript.
Choosing a CAPTCHA for a commercial product
A detailed list of the pros and cons of several different methods for creating a CAPTCHA.
Yahoo! Music still stuck in 1999
The developers at Yahoo! Music are asking people to downgrade their browsers to Netscape 4.7 in order to view videos on their site. Thanks, but no thanks.
How to write a useful accessibility statement
If you don’t have an accessibility statement on your site, this article explains how to write one. If you already have one, here’s how to make it better.
Scoping projects and dealing with scope creep
A few tips on scoping projects to make sure both you and your clients are happy when the project is done.
Favourite music albums of 2005
A selection of the best new music to be relased during 2005. According to my personal taste, obviously.
The web is global
It’s called the World Wide Web, so try to spend some time thinking about internationalisation when creating a website with a global audience.
8 essential search engine marketing techniques
An in-depth review of an audio CD where SEO expert Brad Fallon talks about ways of improving search engine rankings.
Elements of Typographic Style for the Web
A website that explains how to apply the working principles described in The Elements of Typographic Style to the Web.
Transitional vs. Strict DOCTYPEs
The fundamental differences between Transitional and Strict DOCTYPEs, and common mistakes made after choosing to use Strict markup.
Web trend forecast for 2006
A couple of lists of predictions of what will happen in web design and development in 2006.
Simple markup, organised CSS
Notes on CSS coding style and separating design from content.
Managing incoming email
Some tips on how to deal with large amounts of email.
Redesign your site for Firefox now
Marketing speak for “Rebuild your website with web standards to make it more profitable”.
The history of CSS hacks
Tantek Çelik recaptures the history and evolution of CSS hacks and filters.
Reading comment spam can be fun
Examples of the funniest, weirdest and nuttiest comment spam to be posted on a blog.
The anatomy of an XHTML document
A close look at the different parts of an XHTML document, all the way from the XML declaration to the closing html tag.
Accessible DHTML: two different approaches
Examples of different approaches to making dynamic web content more accessible: WAI’s dynamic web content accessibility and Web Forms 2.
Firefox displays CSS errors in the JavaScript Console
Want to know if you got your CSS syntax right? Just open the JavaScript Console in Firefox.
Beginners should start with HTML, not XHTML
Arguments against teaching beginners XHTML before they have mastered HTML.
Ten reasons to learn and use web standards
Some of the most important reasons for spending the time to learn all about using web standards to design and develop websites.
Create a design for the CSS Toolshed
An updated templates pack and step-by-step instructions on creating a CSS Toolshed entry are now available.
24 web development tips and tricks
One new web development tip or trick published every day for the first 24 days of December 2005.
W3C Feed Validation Service with SOAP
The Feed Validator for Atom and RSS is now available at the W3C website, and exposes its Web service as a SOAP 1.2 interface.
CAPTCHA is bad for accessibility
Using a bitmap image containing distorted text to verify that the user is human prevents several groups of disabled people from using web based services.
Which blogging style do you use?
There are several different styles of blogging that will generate traffic to a site.
Guidelines for HTML email design
Essential information for anyone involved in creating or sending email newsletters that should reach and be read by their recipients.
Accessibility and usability for interactive television
Accessibility and usability for ITV have a lot in common with accessibility and usability for the web. There are also many differences, some of which are highlighted in this article.
Information, sponsorship, and externals
About the author
Roger Johansson is a Swedish web professional specialising in web standards, accessibility, and usability. More about me and this site.
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