Enhancing Accessibility through Visual Elements Review
Client: A Technology Corporation Industry: Technology and Innovation Challenge: Improving Accessibility through Visual Elements Introduction A forward-thinking Technology Corporation, is committed to inclusivity and accessibility. They sought to enhance the accessibility of their digital products and services to ensure that all users, regardless of their abilities, could interact with their offerings seamlessly. To achieve this, they partnered with Accessible Minds, a leading accessibility consulting firm, to conduct a comprehensive Visual Elements Review. Client Objectives The Accessible Minds Approach Accessible Minds assigned a team of experienced accessibility experts to work closely with the Technology Corporation’s development and design teams. The process consisted of the following key steps: Results and Outcomes The partnership with Accessible Minds yielded significant results for the Technology Corporation: Conclusion The partnership between the Technology Corporation and Accessible Minds exemplifies the positive impact of accessibility initiatives on digital products and services. By conducting a Visual Elements Review and implementing recommended changes, the Technology Corporation not only improved the user experience for individuals with disabilities but also gained a competitive edge and reinforced their commitment to inclusivity and diversity. Accessible Minds remains dedicated to helping organizations like these make their digital spaces accessible to all, ensuring that the digital world is truly inclusive.
Accessibility in Finance – A Partnership for Accessible Documents
Challenge: The Finance Firm, a prominent player in the financial industry, recognized the importance of making their documents accessible to a wide range of users, including those with disabilities. With a vast repository of financial reports, statements, and investment guides, they were facing the challenge of ensuring that their critical information was accessible to everyone, in compliance with accessibility standards and regulations. Solution: Accessible Minds, a leading accessibility consulting agency, partnered with the Finance Firm to address their accessibility concerns and transform their document management process. The collaboration aimed to enhance the firm’s commitment to inclusivity and align with its core values of providing equitable access to financial information. Approach: Results: Conclusion: The collaboration between the Finance Firm and Accessible Minds exemplifies the transformative impact of prioritizing accessibility in the financial sector. By leveraging Accessible Minds‘ expertise, the finance firm not only ensured compliance with accessibility standards but also demonstrated their commitment to providing equal access to financial information for all individuals, regardless of their abilities. This case study underscores the significance of embracing accessibility as a core value, ultimately contributing to a more inclusive and equitable digital landscape.
Accessible Minds Performs Accessibility Testing for Global Consumer Goods Website
While doing business in this digital era; ensuring that websites are accessible to all individuals, including those with disabilities, has become an important aspect of web development. At Accessible Minds, we recently took on a challenging project to perform accessibility testing for a global consumer goods website. This case study highlights our collaboration with the client, the challenges we faced, the solutions we provided, and the results we achieved through our expertise. About the Client: Our client, a prominent global consumer goods company, operates an e-commerce website that serves customers worldwide. With a wide range of products available on their website, they aimed to provide an inclusive and seamless online shopping experience for all users. Recognizing the importance of accessibility, the client sought our assistance at Accessible Minds to ensure their website complied with international accessibility standards. Challenges: The client’s website posed several challenges in terms of accessibility. Some of the key challenges we identified were: Compliance with accessibility guidelines: The website needed to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 to ensure compatibility with assistive technologies and provide equal access to all users.Complex interactive elements: The website included intricate interactive elements, such as dynamic menus, product customization features, and complex forms. Ensuring the accessibility of these elements required a comprehensive testing approach.Multilingual support: As a global company, the client’s website offers content in multiple languages. Ensuring accessibility across all language variations presented an additional challenge for us at Accessible Minds. Solutions We Provide: At Accessible Minds, we employ a systematic approach to tackle accessibility challenges and provide a solution tailored to the client’s requirements. The key solutions we implemented were: Accessibility audit: We conducted a thorough accessibility audit of the client’s website, examining its compliance with WCAG 2.1 standards. This involved analyzing the website’s structure, design, navigation, and interactive components.Manual testing and assistive technology: Our team of accessibility experts performed manual testing using a variety of assistive technologies, including screen readers, magnification tools, and keyboard-only navigation. This approach allowed us to identify and address accessibility barriers faced by users with disabilities.Remediation guidance: We provided detailed recommendations and actionable steps to address accessibility issues identified during the audit and testing phase. These recommendations covered areas such as colour contrast, keyboard accessibility, alternative text for images, and proper labelling of form fields. Result: The collaboration between Accessible Minds and the client led to significant improvements in the website’s accessibility. Some of the notable results we achieved were: WCAG 2.1 compliance: Through our rigorous accessibility testing and remediation process, the client’s website achieved conformance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA, ensuring a high standard of accessibility for users with disabilities.Enhanced user experience: By addressing accessibility barriers, the client’s website became more user-friendly and inclusive. Users with visual impairments, mobility limitations, or other disabilities could now navigate and interact with the website seamlessly.Expanded audience reach: The improved accessibility of the website allowed the client to reach a broader audience, including individuals with disabilities who might have faced barriers previously. This expansion of the customer base contributed to increased engagement and potential sales. Conclusion: Through our expertise in accessibility testing and remediation, Accessible Minds successfully helped a global consumer goods company enhance the accessibility of its website. By addressing complex challenges and ensuring compliance with international accessibility standards, we enabled the client to provide an inclusive online experience for all users. This case study exemplifies the importance of accessibility testing in today’s digital landscape and highlights our commitment at Accessible Minds to creating a more accessible and inclusive online world.
How Web Accessibility fixes helped a Company in doubling their online traffic
Accessible Minds takes pride in its commitment to creating inclusive digital experiences. In this case study, we highlight how our web accessibility fixes led to a significant boost in online traffic for one of our clients. By implementing accessible design principles and addressing usability barriers; we helped our client achieve remarkable results. About the Client: Our client is an e-commerce company specializing in fashion accessories. With a growing online presence, they sought to improve the accessibility of their website to cater to a wider audience and enhance user experience. They recognized the importance of inclusivity and approached Accessible Minds for assistance. Challenges: Before engaging Accessible Minds, they faced various challenges that hindered their online growth: Solutions: Accessible Minds employed a systematic approach to address the challenges and unlock the client’s online potential: Results: The efforts made by Accessible Minds resulted in outstanding outcomes for our client: By partnering with Accessible Minds, our client transformed their website into an inclusive platform that catered to a broader audience. Through comprehensive accessibility fixes, they doubled their online traffic, improved conversion rates, and achieved compliance with accessibility standards.
How Accessible Minds Mitigated Legal Risk and Enhanced Digital Accessibility for a Law Firm
In 2022; our client, a well-known law firm in the US, became aware of the importance of accessible digital content. However, like many organizations; they faced uncertainty in achieving their accessibility goals. As they focus on this aspect, their internal advocates realized that their in-house resources were not fully prepared to handle this initiative. In response; our client sought the expertise of Accessible Minds, to ensure that their digital content would be inclusive and accessible to everyone. This case study explores the impactful collaboration between our client and Accessible Minds, highlighting how this partnership empowered our client to bridge the accessibility gap and ensure the long-term accessibility of their digital assets. About the Client: Our client, a nonprofit learning organization, is committed to training attorneys and professionals with cutting-edge knowledge and expertise. Their mission revolves around delivering top-notch; accredited continuing legal and professional education programs in a wide range of formats. These programs are led by over 4,000 esteemed volunteer faculty members, consisting of prominent lawyers, judges, investment bankers, accountants, corporate counsel and government regulators from both the United States and international spheres. Their dedication to providing the highest quality education ensures that legal and professional practitioners stay at the forefront of their fields. Challenges: Two primary drivers drove our clients to prioritize accessibility within their organization. Firstly, they recognized the prime significance of having an inclusive website that catered to all their customers, ensuring seamless access to their products and services. As a forward-thinking learning organization, PLI offered a wide array of online and digital resources, ranging from webcasts to digital publications and exam preparation materials. Failing to ensure accessibility would not only result in a subpar experience for their customers but also expose them to potential litigation and reputational damage.The second driving force behind our client’s accessibility journey stemmed from external advocates who highlighted areas requiring accessibility improvements. These advocates further bolstered the internal consensus on the importance of accessibility, solidifying the case for organizational buy-in.Upon deciding to address the accessibility challenge, our client boarded on extensive research to understand how to create an accessible website, train their staff to develop inclusive content and implement ongoing accessibility monitoring. It became evident that their aspirations surpassed the capabilities of their internal resources, leading them to recognize the value of collaborating with a capable partner to kickstart their efforts. Solutions: Our client; in their quest to achieve accessibility goals, made the strategic decision to partner with Accessible Minds. Throughout their two-year collaboration; Accessible Minds successfully provided the following impactful solutions: Result: Through their partnership with Accessible Minds, our client has achieved impressive results in reducing WCAG violations; with a reduction of over 90% since the collaboration began. Their website; once plagued with inaccessible content, now offers an inclusive user experience. The development team has gained confidence in resolving accessibility issues and has improved its coding practices to prevent errors. With the tools, training, and internal processes implemented over the two-year partnership, our client is well-prepared to address future accessibility concerns and considers their accessibility goals accomplished.
From Complexity to Clarity: How Accessible Minds Streamlined Agile Accessibility Support for a Growing Company
This case study explores the journey of Accessible Minds as they partnered with a rapidly expanding company to streamline their agile accessibility support. The client, a fast-growing technology company; recognized the importance of inclusivity and accessibility in their products and sought Accessible Minds’ expertise to ensure their software was accessible to all users. Facing numerous challenges in managing accessibility requirements within an agile development framework; Accessible Minds devised innovative solutions to overcome these obstacles and achieve remarkable results. About the Client: The client is a dynamic technology company that offers a diverse range of software solutions catering to a global user base. As they experienced substantial growth; the company recognized the need to prioritize accessibility to ensure that their products were inclusive and could be used by people with disabilities. They approached Accessible Minds to assist them in integrating accessibility seamlessly into their agile development processes. What did they want? The client aimed to establish a robust and efficient accessibility support system within their agile development framework. They sought a streamlined process that would enable their development teams to incorporate accessibility requirements seamlessly and iteratively without compromising the speed and flexibility of the agile methodologies. Their goal was to ensure that accessibility was an integral part of their software development lifecycle. They wanted that their products met the highest accessibility standards. Challenges: Integration of Accessibility and Agile: The client faced the challenge of integrating accessibility considerations into their agile development process. They needed to strike a balance between the iterative nature of agile methodologies and the comprehensive and evolving accessibility requirements.Knowledge and Expertise: The development teams lacked in-depth knowledge and expertise in accessibility standards and practices. They needed guidance and support to navigate complex accessibility guidelines and ensure their implementations were compliant.Communication and Collaboration: Effective communication and collaboration between the accessibility consultants and the development teams were essential to achieve seamless integration. The challenge was to establish clear channels of communication and provide continuous support throughout the development cycle. Solutions: Tailored Accessibility Training: Accessible Minds conducted customized accessibility training sessions for the client’s development teams. These sessions covered accessibility fundamentals, guidelines, and best practices; equipping the teams with the necessary knowledge to integrate accessibility into their work.Accessibility User Stories: Our team collaborated with the client’s product owners and developers to create accessibility-focused user stories. These user stories were included in the product backlog; ensuring that accessibility requirements were considered during sprint planning and prioritized alongside other features.Agile Accessibility Review: We introduced a systematic accessibility review process, conducted in parallel with regular feature development. By embedding accessibility checks into the agile workflow, potential issues were identified early and feedback was provided promptly; allowing for quick iterations and improvements. Result: Streamlined Accessibility Integration: The collaboration between Accessible Minds and the client’s development teams resulted in the successful integration of accessibility into the agile development process. Accessibility considerations became an inherent part of the development lifecycle; ensuring that accessibility was not an afterthought but an integral component of the software.Increased Accessibility Compliance: Through the agile accessibility review process, the client’s development teams gained a deeper understanding of accessibility guidelines and standards. This step resulted in improved compliance with accessibility requirements; making their software more accessible to users with disabilities.Efficient Communication and Collaboration: The establishment of clear communication channels between Accessible Minds and the development teams fostered effective collaboration. Accessibility consultants provided timely feedback, guidance, and support, ensuring a seamless integration of accessibility within the agile development workflow.Enhanced User Experience: By prioritizing accessibility and integrating it into the agile development process, the client achieved a more inclusive user experience. Their software became accessible to a wider range of users, boosting user satisfaction and market reach. Result: Through a strategic partnership with Accessible Minds, the client successfully streamlined their agile accessibility support, overcoming challenges related to integration; knowledge, and collaboration. By embedding accessibility within their development processes, the client achieved increased compliance, improved user experience, and a more inclusive product. Accessible Minds’ expertise and innovative solutions paved the way for a successful transformation from complexity to clarity, setting a new standard for agile accessibility support in the technology industry.
Seeing Beyond Sight: How Designing for Visual Impairments Can Enhance Accessibility
Accessible Minds recently worked with a leading e-commerce website to improve accessibility for visually impaired users. The client’s website received complaints from users who found it difficult to navigate, view products, and make purchases due to a lack of accessibility features. About the Client: The e-commerce company is a leading name in the online retail industry of Canada with millions of customers across the country. The online store offers a wide range of products across different categories. The interface of the website is very user-friendly and that’s why it is immensely popular among the shoppers. However; the website had been receiving complaints from visually impaired users who found it difficult to navigate and make purchases due to a lack of accessibility features. Challenges: The website faced several challenges in terms of accessibility; particularly for visually impaired users. The website’s design was not optimized for users with low vision and many images lacked alt text, making it difficult for screen reader software to interpret them. It led to a poor user experience for visually impaired users and resulted in lost sales and revenue for the e-commerce website. Solutions: Accessible Minds was contacted and brought in to conduct an accessibility audit of the website. The team identified several areas for improvement including the need to design the website with visual impairments in mind. We recommended using high-contrast colors and clear fonts to make the content more legible for users with low vision. We also recommended adding alt text to images which would allow users with visual impairments to understand the content of the images using screen reader software. Results: The e-commerce website implemented the recommendations made by Accessible Minds and the results were significant. The number of user complaints decreased and the website saw an increase in traffic and sales from visually impaired users. The changes not only made the website more accessible but also enhanced the user experience for all users, regardless of their abilities. Accessible Minds’ service for the e-commerce website demonstrates the importance of designing for accessibility especially for users with visual impairments. By prioritizing accessibility; the e-commerce website was able to create a more inclusive online environment that meets the requirements of all users. The website’s success in enhancing accessibility serves as an inspiration for other businesses looking to create a more accessible and inclusive online presence. In this way; businesses can create a more inclusive online environment that benefits all users. With the help of accessibility experts like Accessible Minds, businesses can ensure that their websites meet the needs of all users and comply with accessibility guidelines and regulations.
Accessibility Audit Service for a Retirement Financial Service Website
Keyword: Accessibility Audit Accessibility is an integral part of web design and development. After developing a website; it is also important to have an accessibility audit so that one can find out the areas of improvements. Recently, Accessible Minds has helped a retirement financial service website to audit and make their website completely accessible. About the Client: Our client is a Canada based finance company that deals with financial services to the retired people. As the maximum number of users of their website is aged people; accessibility is of their prime importance while redesigning the website. Their website must meet all the accessibility guidelines so that they have a maximum number of satisfied users who feel no hassle while using their service. What do they want? The retirement financial service provider reached out to Accessible Minds after receiving accessibility testing service from another client. While the initial testing process identified some accessibility issues, our client wanted to ensure that it was fully compliant with accessibility guidelines and standards. That’s why they asked Accessible Minds to engage in performing the accessibility audit and ensure that it meets all the required standards. Challenges: The website has a large number of complex pages that has made difficult for our team to access the accessibility of the site comprehensively. Moreover, the internal team of the client had limited knowledge about accessibility and they were not aware how to implement them. The budget is another important aspect as the website team was concerned that addressing all the accessibility gaps would be costly and time-consuming. Solutions we Provide: Our team started the project with a high-level review of the accessibility standard of the website. Our audit identified a significant number of accessibility gaps and deficiencies that were not covered in the previous testing. We recommended a comprehensive website audit for accessibility issues along with suggestions to fix them. The Accessible Minds team of engineers started the accessibility audit. The conducted audit was a combination of manual and automated testing to find out all the accessibility gaps on the website. We also have non-sighted testers in our office who help greatly to identify accessibility issues, especially in the areas of keyboard navigation, color contrast and alternative text for images. Accessible Minds then provided the website team with a detailed report outlining all the accessibility gaps along with recommendations to address them. The report included a VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) that was revised to reflect the accessibility gaps found during the audit. After finding out the issues in the audit, Accessible Minds provided an accessibility service to our client. The service involved working with the team to fix the identified accessibility gaps and ensure that the website was fully accessible to all users. Result: With our guidance, their team successfully implemented the accessibility recommendations. Finally, their website becomes compliant with all the required accessibility guidelines and standards. The internal IT team also gained a better understanding of accessibility and how to implement it, so that they can avoid future accessibility issues. Conclusion; Our comprehensive accessibility audit and accessibility service helped the retirement financial company to achieve much needed accessibility compliance. They were much pleased with the outcome and acknowledged that it would not have been possible without the expertise and guidance of Accessible Minds.
Accessible Minds Help A Company in Demand Letter Validation
Introduction As the number of internet users is growing every day; it has become mandatory to ensure the accessibility of any web asset. Websites that fail to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities are facing a rush of demand letters and lawsuits. Recently, Accessible Minds has helped a company with demand letter validation. About the client The client is a leading USA-based photo printing company. They offer their service across the country. On their website, the users have to upload their images, make collages or designs, and order prints. The online printing service provider then prints as per the requirements and delivers the images to the doorstep of their customers. What did they want? The client has received a demand letter regarding the standard of accessibility of their website. They reach Accessible Minds as we are a leading accessibility service provider. They were looking for assistance in validating the demand letter and navigating the legal process. Challenges: Our US-based client was facing potential legal action for the website in accessibility which could have resulted in financial penalties and damages to their reputation. The client was not sure how to respond to the demand letter. They were in need of expert guidance to effectively address the legal challenge. That was the time Accessible Minds come into the picture. Solutions We Provide: Accessible Minds swiftly responded to the client’s request for assistance and began by conducting a thorough review of the demand letter to validate its legitimacy. The team of accessibility experts at Accessible Minds carefully examined the claim, assessing the alleged accessibility issues on the client’s website based on industry standards, including the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 and 2.1.Upon validating the demand letter, Accessible Minds devised a comprehensive strategy to assist the client in the legal process. This included developing a response plan, drafting a detailed and legally sound response to the demand letter, and providing guidance on how to present the response in court, if necessary.Throughout the legal process, Accessible Minds worked closely with the client, providing continuous support and expert advice. The team coordinated with the client’s legal counsel team and ensured that all necessary steps were taken to effectively address the demand letter and protect the client’s interests. Result: With the help of an expert team of Accessible Minds, the online printing service provider was able to respond effectively to the demand letter and resolve the legal matter in the most favorable manner. They were able to avoid costly penalties along with the scope of reputation damage. We have also addressed the accessibility issues on the website. Our team has demonstrated a proactive approach to accessibility compliance.Moreover, the online printing solution was finally able to enhance the accessibility standard of the website with our help. We have made it more inclusive and accommodating for the use of people with disabilities. This not only helped the client comply with accessibility regulations but also improved the overall user experience for all website visitors.
Enhanced Web Accessibility for an Entertainment Website – A Case Study
Introduction: Web accessibility is a vital aspect for people to access digital content with ease. It is a better way to ensure that 18% of the world population who are facing disability problems don’t feel frustrated or isolated while accessing the internet. Recently Accessible Minds has helped a website to find out the accessibility issues. About the Client: The client is a leading American entertainment website. They have a website and application to showcase the talents of the local people. People can showcase their skills in singing, dancing, and acting via different videos and images. What do they want? The website received many complaints from its users that many people, especially people with disability. They were facing issues while watching videos or images. So, they wanted to remove the barriers by incorporating accessibility and usability in the process. They are committed to making a website that meets the need of all people. For that reason, they have contacted Accessible Minds to evaluate their website for accessibility. Challenges: Our definition of accessibility involves eliminating obstacles that prevent individuals, particularly those who are neurodivergent, from accessing the information on an equal footing. In contrast, usability refers to designing products such as websites and apps that are user-friendly for everyone. This encompasses both the ease of use during the initial encounter with the product and the overall experience, which should be satisfactory enough to encourage users to return. An example of usability in the physical world would be knowing whether to push or pull a door to open it. Solutions We Provide: Our team has done the accessibility testing and we found many issues that are not compliant with ADA guidelines. We suggested the remediation for the following issues:• To Increase the color contrast: In order to ensure that users with low vision and color blindness can read it, the text should have enough contrast with its background. However, some of the text in our themes did not meet the WCAG 2.0 AA standards due to insufficient contrast. We suggested using only accessible combinations for text and background colors.• To Improve the Font Legibility: The website was not using fonts that are easily readable. We suggested using an accessibility-friendly font, especially in the header and footer sections of the website.• Better Semantic Markup: By utilizing semantic markup, which refers to the use of HTML markup that accurately describes the purpose and function of content, many accessibility needs can be met. This approach is preferable to relying heavily on styled or tags for all content. We suggested they, adjust heading tags, add label tags to the search form, and remove heading tags from non-heading content.• Improvise the keyword-only navigation: For users who navigate the website through a keyboard without a mouse may find it difficult to access the content. Our suggestions include the required changes to make the website keyboard-only navigation friendly.• Better Functionalities for Screen Readers: To improve the screen reader experience for certain elements, we suggested incorporating ARIA labels. For instance, we ask to add ARIA accessibility labeling to “Read More” links throughout the platform to provide screen reader users with additional context about the link. Similarly, ARIA labeling to pagination links to offer more information about the destination of each “Next” or “Back” link. Result: Their internal team has made the required changes and then we do the regression testing to ensure all the accessibility requirements are made. The step has improved the traffic of the website and decreased the bounce rate to a great level.
