One small step
I just happened to notice that MovableType has released a new version, and my name mentioned in the MovableType 2.51 changelog.
Movabletype used to use “More” for extended entries. If you had several extended entries, they would all say “More.” Well that’s of little use for people who use assistive technologies where they might read the text of links out of context. How do they know when they have the right link? (Opera users: press control + J to get a listing of all the links on any given page. If you can’t tell where they do, then the page author has done a poor job.)
You might have noticed that my Movabletype templates have not used “More” for this reason. I suggested to the authors (awesome folks, by the way, they responded very quickly and openly to my suggestion).
One small step towards accessibility becoming the standard.
Accessibility and usability (which are not the same, but often co-mingle) are not just for people with disabilities. I was in a bookstore today that I haven’t been in for awhile... it’s a cozy little shop that I really enjoy, except I can remember thinking that the shop would be totally impossible for someone in a wheelchair to move through.
Today I was in there with a stroller. It was nearly impossible for me to get around there too.
Design for accessibility and it will help everyone, perhaps even yourself. Search engines often give more weight to keywords found in links than in the body of a message.
“More” is bad design. “Click here” is bad design. What does “More” mean? Related information? Further reading? What would happen if I did “click here”? “Continues” is much more clear, it tells you there is more in this same article, indicates that you are reading an excerpt.
It doesn’t just help people with disabilities, it helps people who are in a hurry, who might be scanning a page looking for something. It makes it easier for everyone to use your site.
For a quick list of accessibility items, see the Section 508 and WCAG sidebar.