Welcome - work, you're welcome to it
Hi, I'm Mike Foskett and welcome to my "work" website. The key to a high-performance websites is to focus on improving front-end performance and that, as a front-end engineer, is what I do. Here I publish small code snippets with the intent to help make the web quicker and more accessible. Most of the code samples presented were developed while working for a Government agency whose copyright allows non-profit publication for the common good.
My purpose here is to supply help and guidance relating to front-end development issues, and hopefully gain further employment as an accessible, web standards developer with a high degree of experience in accessibility, optimisation, (X)HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Ajax and a little jQuery. See Services if you're interested. My main aims are to:
- Create engaging web solutions, which are fast, rich and usable, to demonstrate accessible sites do not have to be dull.
- Encourage developers into adopting web standards, developing strategies to ensure a greater compliance with accessible design guidelines.
- Raise awareness within organisations of the problems encountered by people with disabilities that affect their use of the web.
- Direct visitors to information and resources on accessible web development.
- Influence policy within organisations to positively effect web accessibility across the public and private sector.
- Educate and inform managers and programmers of the benefits that optimised accessible developments bring to organisations.
This website is currently undergoing a major overhaul. Certain sections are still in the "old" style. I can only apologise but the site is maintained in my spare time and I'm too eager to test the Ajax components. Maybe it's time I paid someone else to do it?
The site is now in it's fourth year and this is it's first redevelopment. I've added a few new resources too. Presently I'm attempting to add Ajax delivered content in an accessible manner which is no mean feat given the nature of access technologies.
Many techniques demonstrated here may be found useful to developers with accessibility in mind. Currently the most popular is the comprehensive: Accessible forms: Guidelines, examples and JavaScript tricks which while extensive is a little to dry for my tastes. The CSS snippets page gets a lot of hits too, but take a look at the full list of resources available.
Last year I uploaded an old (2004) online accessibility workshop aimed at beginners but may be found useful if you are training developers or managers in priority one accessibility.
