Chapter 3 - Some Big Concepts You Need to Know

Question 1

progressive enhancement

Answer 1

one strategy for dealing with unknown browser capabilities - start with a baseline experience that makes the content or core functionality available to even the most rudimentary browsers or assistive devices - then layer on more advanced features for the browsers that can handle them - finish with nice to have effects that enhance the experience for users with the most advanced browsers

Question 2

graceful degradation

Answer 2

where you design the fully enhanced experience first, then create a series of fallbacks for non-supporting browsers

Question 3

authoring strategy

Answer 3

writing an HTML document in logical order, and elements marked up in an meaningful way, also ensures search engines will catalog the content correctly

Question 4

styling strategy

Answer 4

create layers of experiences by taking advantage of the way browsers parse style sheet rules

Question 5

scripting strategy

Answer 5

making sure basic functionality is intact even when JavaScript is turned off.

Question 6

Responsive Web Design (RWD)

Answer 6

strategy for providing appropriate layouts to devices based on the size of the viewport

Question 7

M-dot Sites

Answer 7

separate mobile sites with customized interface and features set

Question 8

accessibility

Answer 8

building pages in a manner that creates as few barriers as possible to getting to information, regardless of the user’s ability and the device used to access the web

Question 9

vision impairment

Answer 9

people with low or no vision

Question 10

mobility impairment

Answer 10

users with limited or no use of their hands

Question 11

auditory impairment

Answer 11

users with limited or no hearing

Question 12

cognitive impairment

Answer 12

users with memory, reading comprehension, problem solving, or attention limitations

Question 13

Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)

Answer 13

created by the W3C to address the need to make the web usable for everyone

Question 14

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

Answer 14

a document produced by the WAI to help developers create accessible sites

Question 15

Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA)

Answer 15

a spec that addresses the accessibility of web applications that include dynamically generated content, scripting, and advanced interface elements that are particularly confounding to assistive devices - defines a number of roles for content and widgets that authors can explicitly apply using the role attribute

Question 16

waterfall chart

Answer 16

a chart that shows you all the requests made and assets downloaded

Question 17

List at least two unknown factors you need to consider when designing and developing a site.

Answer 17

1. the size of the screen or browser window
2. the user’s internet connection speed
3. whether JavaScript is enabled
4. Whether the browser supports specific features
5. Whether the user is at a desk or on the go (context and attention span)

Question 18

Match the technology or practice with the problem it best addresses: Progressive enhancement

Answer 18

All levels of browser capabilities

Question 19

Server-side detection

Answer 19

Determining which device is being used

Question 20

Responsive design

Answer 20

A variety of screen sizes

Question 21

WAI-ARIA

Answer 21

Assistive reading and input devices

Question 22

Site performance optimization

Answer 22

Slow connection speeds

Question 23

Web accessibility strategies take into account four broad categories of disabilities. Name the four and provide a measure you might take to ensure content is accessible for each.

Answer 23

Sight impairment: make sure the content is semantic and in logical order for when it is read by a screen reader.
Hearing impairment: provide transcripts for audio and video content.
Mobility impairment: use measures that help users without a mouse or keyboard.
Cognitive impairment: content should be simple and clearly organized.

Question 24

When would you use a waterfall chart?

Answer 24

You would use a waterfall chart to evaluate your site’s performance in the optimization process.