This article explores the challenges of using pull quotes—a print design element—in digital content, particularly concerning text-to-speech accessibility and content integrity. It highlights how pull quotes, while visually effective in attracting readers, can create confusing repetitions when read aloud and potentially alter the original author's work when embedded directly in the markup.
The article contrasts print and digital media, emphasizing the flexibility needed in digital content to accommodate user preferences like resizing, translation, and text-to-speech. It uses the example of drop caps, another print technique, to illustrate how design elements intended for print might not translate seamlessly to digital formats.
The core issue revolves around the typical HTML implementation of pull quotes, which duplicates content, leading to awkward repetitions in text-to-speech applications. This duplication also alters the original content, creating potential problems for future layout changes or SEO.
Two solutions are proposed: a JavaScript-based approach creating a separate pull quote element and a CSS-based method using data attributes and pseudo-elements. The latter is favored for its reliance on CSS, avoiding JavaScript parsing issues and ensuring graceful degradation if pull quotes are removed from a future layout. The principle advocated is to "do nothing to pollute your original content."
The article concludes with a FAQ section addressing various aspects of pull quote usage, including their purpose, selection criteria, formatting, placement, suitability for different content types, and differences from block quotes. The FAQ clarifies best practices for using pull quotes effectively in both print and digital contexts.
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