Tools and Technologies
This website is built using the following:
- Eleventy - a really efficient static site generator which is generally excellent to use.
- Sass - a CSS preprocessor.
- Minimal Javascript, run only when required (usually when visible), using 11ty/is-land.
My development process includes:
- Netlify - really fast and easy static site hosting and preview builds.
- Lighthouse CI - test every build on Lighthouse. Small fluctuations in score are fine, but a big jump means I've made a mistake.
- Polypane - a Chromium-based browser designed for web development. I can no longer imagine building anything responsive without it.
Other features, explained on the blog:
- Color and contrast switch - provides six possible themes with different colors and contrast levels.
- MathML authoring - a custom shortcode to render MathML.
Privacy
No personally identifiable information is handled.
Local storage is used to store visitor preferences. Users are always warned before anything is saved, and nothing is stored from users who don't express preferences.
Accessibility
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) defines requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. It defines three levels of conformance: Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA. My personal website is fully conformant with WCAG 2.1 level AA. Fully conformant means that the content fully conforms to the accessibility standard without any exceptions.
Additionally, some WCAG 2.1 AAA criteria are applied where possible, including a contrast ratio in the default and high contrast color schemes and never using images of text.
Since this website discusses web accessibility, there can be intentionally inaccessible content. Currently, the blog contains demonstrations of what low-contrast text looks like. In this case, the text would not meet the guidelines. The text used adds no information beyond what is included in the surrounding text, so no information is lost if the text can't be read.
This website is, however, primarily a hobby. I use it as a canvas to experiment with techniques, and it's possible that things slip through. I welcome feedback on the accessibility of this website. Please let me know if you encounter accessibility barriers on the site, and I will take them seriously.