images

[tefnut]

OK so liquid layout (stretchy) is more accessible but what do I do about images? if I make them a percentage they scale fine with the layout but go blurry or bitty even id they are jpegs. Is there a magic way of doing this? or another image format I should use?

Thanks

[Kravvitz]

Why would all of the images need to resize?

Perhaps some of them should be tiled background images.

[tefnut]

OK, if you have a logo in the top left that doesn't scale in a liquid layout it will over lap other elements if the window is made small and look odd when the window is scaled big. The same goes for any liquid layout containing image of say products diagrams etc, they'd need to scale as well otherwise it renders the site useless for varying screen sizes.

A tiled background would work only if you needed a patterned/textured background, it wouldn't be very useful if it was a logo or graphic as you count out an alt tag or a link on it.

Thanks

[KDLA]

If you rely on the browser to size your images, you'll never be able to control the quality. Design first for 800x600 resolution, then make adjustments for larger resolutions.
As to "important" images: What you might do, instead, is to link the images (such as product diagrams) to larger versions, for those who may require a way to view more details.

KDLA

[tefnut]

Hi KDLA

As far as I know fixed width isn't as accessible as liquid layout, I would like to be able to build sites that accomodate very small page layouts/screen sizes as well as the larger ones, a 'one size fits all' type of ethic, this is what I'm trying to achieve.

Thanks

[KDLA]

Layouts do not have to be liquid to be accessible; accessibility is based upon the ability to resize text. If your design can stretch vertically to handle text size increases, it is considered accessible.

In my previous post, I meant that you should design for the smallest possible space, then make some adjustments for the larger resolutions. Many times, designers do the opposite: they design for larger resolution screens, then only make adjustments for 800x600. When that's done, you end up with a highly cluttered page: too many elements for the small space: their aim is just to have everything fit, and not necessarily be optimized for quick reading.

To me, a highly cluttered page isn't accessible. It's much better to have too much white space, rather than too little. We serve a large population of visually-impaired customers. They constantly comment that they need white space around elements to help them focus on the text.

KDLA

[tefnut]

I think it is considered accessible when a layout is completely liquid according to WC3 Priority 2:

http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/wai-pageauth.html#tech-relative-units