This book’s subtitle of, ‘Accessible web interfaces, piece by piece’ is almost the perfect descriptor as it really does do what it says on the tin.  Want to build an accessible tooltip?  This has step by step instructions with code examples and design renderings to not only show you what to do but show what it ‘should’ look like.

There is plenty covered throughout the book and it is very easy to digest, even for someone who only reads code rather than writes it.  I’ve put some of the chapters included in the book below to give you a flavour of what to expect.  There’s even more under some of the headings with checkboxes and radio buttons included under Toggle Buttons as an example.

Chapters include;

• Toggle Buttons

• Menus and Menu Buttons

• Collapsible Sections

• A Content Slider

• Data Tables

Each chapter has a Conclusion summarising the content and a Checklist for those that have read and want a quick check or refresher.  These were particularly useful for me to help confirm my thoughts and I see no reason they wouldn’t do the same for someone with a more in-depth coding background. 

In summary, this is a great book for anyone associated with web development or indeed design.  Like anything to do with software the examples given is not the only way to achieve accessible components and updates like HTML5 may render some of the recommendations redundant but that doesn’t stop me recommending it. 

While the book was provided free to me by Smashing Magazine all opinions are my own.

Ref:

http://inclusive-components.design/

https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2019/12/inclusive-components-book-reviews/

Written January 2020