LessFuss Design blog

Welcome to the blog of freelance web designer Andy Bryant, publishing news and announcements on web projects I'm working on, and articles I have written on various web design-related subjects - with a focus on accessibility, web standards and good practice.

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31 Aug 2010

Redesigned site: Relish Restaurant

After revamping the Chequers Playgroup site several months back, another of the very first websites I built through LessFuss Design got a facelift at the weekend. Relish Restaurant & Bar, in Newton Flotman, Norwich, has had a redesign and rebuild so the owners Jeremy & Rachael Parke can manage all the content themselves – using WordPress, and a handfull of plugins to make their life even easier. Continue reading »

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24 Aug 2010

Using aria-describedby for form help text

Last August I wrote a piece about using CSS to overcome a common problem for screen reader users with web forms – where help text associated with a field isn’t announced by screen readers when in Forms Mode. The CSS solution was convoluted and flaky in IE6. Fortunately there’s a better way: use aria-describedby. Continue reading »

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19 Aug 2010

Form validation & screen readers

For screen reader users it can be both disorienting and frustrating if your form validation reloads the page when there’s an error on a field, and little (or no) feedback is given to the unsighted user. There’s many things you can do to make your error handling friendlier to screen reader users, but the easiest is probably also one of the most effective – add a “skip to errors” link right in front of your “skip navigation” link. Continue reading »

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11 Jun 2010

Browser wars: it’s all in the name

I’ve heard it said that the losers from Microsoft having to provide a choice of browsers on new installations of Windows 7 in Europe will most likely be Microsoft themselves. I’m not convinced. I think there’s a basic reason why Microsoft’s browser will continue to have significant market share – it’s browser’s name. Continue reading »

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31 Mar 2010

BBC Glow 2.0

I’m a big fan of the BBC Glow javascript library (as I may have mentioned earlier), so it’s good news that Version 2.0 of the library is available as an Alpha release (the current stable download is version 1.7.2), promising enhanced features, improved performance and even better accessibility. Continue reading »

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23 Mar 2010

Spring clean for Chequers Playgroup

Chequers Playgroup [external link] was one of the first sites I did when I started freelancing in 2007. At the time I was one of the Committee members, so I took care of the site content and kept everything up to date. Recently the Committee members asked me to update the site so they could look after it themselves now I’m no longer a member. And because I can’t help myself sometimes, I also tinkered with the design… Continue reading »

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02 Mar 2010

New site: Hempnall Trust

The second charity site I’ve worked on recently (the other being the Green Light Trust site) is a small website for the Hempnall Trust, a charity in my village that gives grants to those in the parish experiencing need, hardship or distress. Continue reading »

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17 Feb 2010

Talk Talk? If only I could

Last month I made the catastrophic decision to change my phone & broadband provider. I wouldn’t recommend it if you want to keep your marbles where they are. After several weeks of poor service and poorer communication from my new provider, it was as a result of venting my frustration on social media that I managed to get all the issues resolved, which leads me to one conculsion. If you’re getting poor service, vent on Twitter and someone from their Marketing team, fire-fighting in the name of brand protection, will probably come to your rescue. Continue reading »

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31 Jan 2010

Green light for new charity website

I’m pleased to say that after many hours of effort – mainly from Tom Haczewski [external link], but with a bit from myself and other colleagues at Virgin Money [external link] – the new brand identity and website for the Green Light Trust [external link] has been launched. Continue reading »

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31 Dec 2009

Review of freelancing year #3

On the freelancing side of things, 2009 will be filed under ‘Frustrating’. It’s been a year of interest but not commitment from potential clients, and the work I have taken on has been, at times, painfully slow to progress. Continue reading »

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