May 2015

In this post, I’ll show you how a blind person inserts media into a WordPress post while using a screen reader. In this example, I’ve inserted some audio, but this also applies to other media such as images or video.

For screen reader users, there’s a quick audio tutorial that you can use to start inserting media if you’re not doing so already.

In this scenario, I’m uploading media, not choosing from what’s already in my media library.

First, open the media panel

Below the field labeled “enter title here,” I find a link that says “add media.” I press space on that.

Next, I move down to the bottom of the screen by pressing ctrl+end. There, I find the “browse” button.

Because I want to upload media from my computer, I press enter or space on that.

A standard “choose file” dialog will open. I use standard controls/methods to find the file I want to upload from my own computer, and then tab to the “open” button and press enter or space on that.

Now, insert the media.

Next, I’ll insert the media I’ve just uploaded. To do this, I first make sure the window is maximized.

Next, I orient myself by returning to the bottom of the screen.

Then, I arrow up until I find the “insert media” link, and press space on that.

If my screen reader starts babbling at me, I know my media is inserted.

Tomorrow, I’ll show you how I work with what I like to refer to as the finer details of media.

In this talk, Jennifer Bourn of Bourn Creative, breaks down the process she uses to plan and create content for the Bourn Creative blog.

She shows you how to create content that attracts clients, and how to use your internal processes to create content that can then be used on your blog so that you’re not constantly having to reinvent the wheel.

Think it’s the lack of advanced techniques that’s been holding you back?

Think your blog isn’t finding readers because you don’t have the coolest plugins?

Or that your sales page doesn’t convert because you couldn’t afford the 1,999 Secrets of Ninja Marketing Masters product that got released last month?

Think the secret to successful marketing and running a profitable online business is some piece of Jedi mastery that you would need to study for years to learn?

It’s none of the above.

The problem has to do with getting back to basics.

Fortunately, Copyblogger has done all the work for you and written this handy guide.

Warning: Work Ahead

Implementing the steps in this guide is going to take a lot of work at first.

either it’s going to take a lot of work because you’re new at this and it all seems foreign, or it’s going to take a lot of work because you’ll have to spend time unlearning everything you’ve picked up over the years from all the “systems” you’ve spent tons of cash on.

No matter which angle you’re coming from, this is not a get-rich-quick scheme.

But everything in this guide is totally worth the effort.

So go learn, and implement all the things.

This talk, once again from Loopconf, is required watching not only for WordPress developers, but anyone who develops for, or writes content for, the modern web. A responsive web is a responsible web, and also an accessible web. Lastly, and I think most importantly, accessibility is everyone’s responsibility.

In the first live edition of "Ask Me Anything", going forward, to be referred to as "WPAMA", Michael from Evansville Indiana asks Amanda how to prevent crowding and overlapping of text, proper use of images, and optimizing the areas of a site built with WordPress, i.e., header right, navigation bar, footer area, etc. Amanda answers these questions in addition to explaining the return to minimalism, why sliders suck, and how site design changes almost yearly, just like fashion trends. But perhaps most useful, her suggestions for reaching out to the very helpful WordPress community to ask for help, especially for us blind implementers and designers who need to find those possessing the skills to provide greater attention to detail. This informative eight minute audio segment should provide something for everyone to take away to make your sites become even more cosmetic appealing, but most of all, highly functional and user friendly.

See Original Post: Ask Me Anything – Live Wednesdays at 8PM Eastern – Twitter HashTag #WPAMA

This talk was given as part of the first day of Loopconf, but I think it has wider applications. It’s about sharing your code, but it also deals with Impostor Syndrome, confidence, learning, and why it’s important to realize you can’t do it all by yourself.