Accessibility
Template website vs bespoke build. Which is right for you?
When it’s time to create a new website for your charity, not-for-profit or ethical business, one of the first decisions you’ll face is whether to go for a template-based website or a bespoke build. Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer – it depends on your goals, budget, and how much control or flexibility you need, so…
Read MoreWhy I created a template website package for charities and value-led small businesses
Over the last nine years, I’ve worked with dozens of charities, community groups, and ethical small businesses to build accessible, bespoke websites. It’s work I’m proud of – supporting organisations doing good in the world and making sure their websites are clear, inclusive, and easy to manage. But over the last year or so, something’s…
Read MoreLow contrast vision and how it affects web design
I’ve mentioned before that one of the reasons I started investigating digital accessibility is because I have poor contrast vision – that means that there is stuff I can’t see if the contrast between foreground and background isn’t big enough.It doesn’t impact me in my day to day life hugely. I can still get around…
Read MoreWhat makes traffic lights accessible?
I’ve been thinking recently about traffic lights and accessibility. ‘Why on earth would you do that???’ I hear you scream. Well, because traffic lights were designed with people with colour blindness in mind. That’s why, unless there are logistical reasons, they’re always in a vertical configuration – so if you can’t tell the difference between…
Read MoreThe importance of language for accessibility
Why do so many people make it so hard for people to understand what they do, or what they sell? As I’ve said many times before, accessibility isn’t just about visual impairment, it’s about everything that could make it difficult for anyone to use your website, and one of those things is language. Sometimes it…
Read MoreHow a website can demonstrate the social impact of your charity
Anyone who knows me, knows I can struggle with hearing or seeing organisations showing their social impact when they have missed some of the simplest tricks to boost that impact. According to Good Finance, social impact can be defined as the effect on people and communities that happens as a result of an action or inaction,…
Read MoreIs there such a thing as an accessible shed?
After being on the waiting list for about three years, and dreaming of owning an allotment for the best part of 40 years, I finally got one recently. It’s great, I love it. It’s full of weeds and brambles but I can see the potential, I can visualize all the beds and the fruit and…
Read MoreWhy accessibility is important to me
One of the questions I am frequently asked is why I am interested in accessibility. I’d like to say that it was because I understood and empathised with the needs of the disabled community, but at that point I didn’t. I had never knowingly known anyone who had issues using technology so I didn’t even…
Read MoreTen Ways to Make Your Website More Accessible
What is web accessibility? According to The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), who are an international community that develops open standards to ensure the long-term growth of the Web, and who also define the standards for making websites more accessible, “Web accessibility means that websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can…
Read MoreDoes Your Website Need to Adhere to Accessibility Legislation?
Jackie Latham, founder of Jackdaw Web Design, is an expert in accessibility for websites. And here she discusses whether your website falls into the legislation that says you must have accessibility features. “As you will have read in my previous blog, accessible websites work better for everyone. They are often faster, easier to use and…
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