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College of Fine Arts Web Instruction | College of Fine Arts | University of Texas At Austin

College of Fine Arts Web instruction

University of Texas At Austin

  • Welcome
  • About Us
    • WordPress & Drupal
    • Find a Content Owner
  • Getting Started
    • Learn Best Practices for Web
    • Vocabulary Terms
    • Do you need a website?
    • Ways to Get a Website
      • Website Options On Campus
      • Initiate a Project with the Web Team
      • Outsource or DIY
    • Know Your Audience
    • Navigation & Menu Items
  • Requirements
    • Americans with Disabilities Legal Obligations
      • Alternate Text
      • Use of Color & Contrast
      • Link Text & Appearance
        • Non-Visible Link Context
      • PDF Files
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      • Captions, Audio Description & Transcripts
        • webVTT Caption File
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        • Video & Remote Communications
      • Additional ADA Issues
        • Accessible Social Media
        • Video & Remote Communications
    • UT Web Accessibility Policy
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    • Records Retention – Backups, Archives and Revisions
    • College of Fine Arts Brand
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  • Best Practices
    • College of Fine Arts Communications Written Style Guide
    • Using a Rich Text Editor
      • Using an External HTML Editor
    • Links & URLs
      • Link Text & Appearance
        • Non-Visible Link Context
      • Absolute vs. Relative Paths
      • HTTP vs HTTPS
      • Anchor Links
      • Changing URLs
      • Shorten a URL for Marketing
    • Images
      • JPG vs PNG
      • Image Editing and Troubleshooting
    • Web Forms & Surveys
    • Standards & Structure
      • Hierarchical Headers
      • Computer File Names
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        • UT Short Links Service
      • HTML
        • Common HTML Errors
        • Multiple Rows with Floated Images
        • Responsive Word Wrapping
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Test & Evaluate
    • Wikipedia
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      • Accessible Social Media
    • RSS & Feeds
    • UT Austin Web Publishing Guidelines
  • Site Performance
    • Page Load Time
      • Fonts
    • Respond to a Variety of Devices
      • Telephone Numbers on Smart Phones
    • Analytics & Visitor Data
      • Outreach Campaign Link Tracking
        • Campaign URL Builder
        • Campaign Link Tracking Worksheet
    • Page Not Found Traffic
    • Tips to Increase Traffic
    • Optimize for AI Chat and Search
  • Site Specific Instructions
    • COFA/UT WordPress Instruction
    • COFA Drupal Instruction
    • UT Drupal Kit Managed

Respond to a Variety of Devices

To create content for a website most people sit at a desk with a large monitor, accessing the Internet through a Web browser.

But visitors to the site will be on all kinds of devices, operating systems, and browsers, some with only a keyboard, touch, a rotor or a pointer. Blind visitors cannot use mouse to navigate a website. Mobile phones, tablets and assistive technology, are just a few devices for accessing and interacting with the Web and the future holds many more unknowns.

At the very least, test your content on a small screen and adhere to accessibility requirements.

Standards

The device and browser companies, the programmers and designers, and the content writers all need to agree to a set of rules and standards so that we can be confident our websites will display and function as expected with all the different devices. The Web Standards Project is the leader in fighting for the standards used on the Web.

Responsive

We build websites using standards based best practices to deliver flexible page layouts that are, as much as possible, consistently perceivable, operable, understandable and robust across devices.

Ways content creators can help:

  1. Create structured, hierarchical and organized content.
  2. Avoid common code mistakes that may present okay on a large screen but cause issues on small screens.
  3. Optimize the content and images so they will load quickly no matter what your visitor’s connection speed.
  4. Do not link to downloads without letting the visitor know in advance, or they may be charged for extra data on their cellular plan.
  5. Take care when putting text into images. As the image shrinks to fit the small screen the text may not be legible.
  6. Consider Word Wrapping as it changes with the screen size
  7. Write context relevant links.
  8. Adhere to the requirements of the American’s with Disabilities Act.
  9. Provide options for access.
  10. Interactive elements, such as links, should be large enough for reliable interaction on touch screens. Make sure adjacent clickable elements have a target to touch with a width and height of at least 48dp. See Google’s “Material” system of guidelines, components, and tools that support the best practices of user interface design.

Provide Options for Access

It is highly recommended that you provide alternate access options for content whenever possible. Particularly if the content is available in an alternate format or location. For example, if you’re embedding from YouTube, provide a direct link to the video on YouTube. Also include contact information for the visitor to request assistance if s/he is unable to access the video.

Technology is always changing and what works today may not work tomorrow. Code could become obsolete, a browser update could break your content or a new device may not handle the content as expected. Don’t rely too heavily on one delivery system if alternates are available.

Learn More

Not convinced that a blind user will use a touch screen? Check out Nielsen Norman Group’s article Screen Readers on Touch Devices. Learn more about the connection of responsiveness and accessibility.  Take the oath to be future friendly. Dive in deep with Brad Frost’s This is Responsive resources list.

Primary Sidebar

Open Office / Co-Working Sessions

Second Monday of the month:

11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Fourth Thursday of the month:

2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Email us for the Zoom link.

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Contact Us

The COFA Web team can be reached by emailing us at cofawebmaster@austin.utexas.edu


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