[Chapter-delegates] Website Accessibility Update

[Gunela Astbrink]

Hi Dan,

Great news!

I wish to thank Dan and the team for all the work in ensuring that the 
website is closer to meeting W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. 
Not only will it invite the 15% of the world's population who have a 
disability to use the site more easily but it will also raise ISOC's 
website for SOI. And as you say, the accessibility of the site means it 
also renders well on mobile devices. It's a win-win situation.

I totally endorse the need for training of content editors. This will 
help them understand why accessibility is important - not just how to do it.

I'll be contacting you from time to time to mention any specific 
accessibility issues such as missing form labels for the search box.

Regards,
Gunela

On 3/09/13 11:24 PM, Dan Graham wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I wanted to provide you with an update regarding efforts to make our
> site more accessible.
>
> *- Overview of changes*
> The following changes have been made to the site over the past few months:
>
>   * *Transcripts:*  Written transcripts have been added to many audio
>     and video clips. This allows people with hearing disabilities to
>     access such content (it also helps people who aren't proficient in
>     English to read the content instead of listening to it).
>
>
>   * *Responsive design:* Accessibility is also about making our site
>     easier to access using different devices. If you access our site
>     using a mobile or a tablet, you'll notice how the site adapts itself
>     based on the device being used. Our site also adapts itself when
>     resizing your browser when viewing the site on a desktop or laptop.
>
>
>   * *Heading colour changes:* Our site's headings (the bold titles that
>     appear on our pages) have changed to improve colour contrast and to
>     ensure that we are using colour combinations that make our text
>     easier to read for people with visual impairment (colour-blindness,
>     trouble reading text...etc).
>
>
>   * *Forms:* Changes to our forms (donation, registration forms...etc)
>     have been made to improve the experience for people who use screen
>     readers.
>
>
>   * *Content Management System (CMS) Changes:* Changes have been made to
>     ensure that when images are added, content authors must add
>     alternative text (i.e. text that is read by screen readers).
>
>
> *- User testing*
>
> Our site was recently tested by people with disabilities (using a
> company called Knowbility: http://www.knowbility.org). Further changes
> to the site will be implemented based on the results of this test.
>
>
> *- Next steps*
>
> Improvements to the site will continue as ensuring a site's
> accessibility is a continuous job. Content editors will be trained on
> what makes content accessible and decisions will need to be made about
> items such as the hompepage image carousel and the Chapter map which
> continue to represent accessibility challenges.
>
>
> There's still a lot of work to be done, however we're moving in the
> right direction.
>
>
> This has been a great team effort and I want to thank IT (especially
> Henri for the form improvements) and our web developer (Balance) for
> their help.
>
>
> Best Regards,
>
>
> Dan
>
>
> Dan Graham
>
> Director, Online Marketing Programmes
>
> Internet Society
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> Chapter Portal (AMS): https://portal.isoc.org
>

-- 
Gunela Astbrink
GSA InfoComm
PO Box 600
Ballina NSW 2478
Australia
Mobile: +61 417 715738
Email: g.astbrink at gsa.com.au
www.gsa.com.au