Why I am considering migrating a large site to WordPress

1. Accessible WordPress themes have been audited.

Hands down--this is the number one concern for an active organization of people who are low vision and blind. The Washington Council of the Blind (WCB) provides information and resources to the general public largely through its website. Our current website uses old code and looks very dated.

Sure, achieving 100 percent accessibility is almost impossible because there is no industry standard for browsers or adaptive software. And now people access the Internet with many different kinds of devices.

Who has the time to test forms for accessibility? WCB is an all-volunteer organization. Our website committee does well to submit content and edit. When we post a scholarship application it needs to work or credibility is lost.

George Williams posted a great article listing accessible themes that have been thoroughly tested.

2. People using screen-reading software can manage the admin controls.

This means empowerment for everyone. The Cisco Academy for the Visually Impaired offers an excellent online course on managing WordPress sites. Yes, there are blind designers and programmers who do very well.

3. New WordPress themes are responsive.

This means the themes reflow your content to work well on computers, tablets, and phones. You don’t have to build, test, and update three separate layouts.

4. Code is kept up-to-date.

This keeps my back-end programmer and the membership very happy when security is such a headache.

5. Dynamic header plug-ins give a fresh look when good photos are hard to come by. 

This means I can have four or five photo collages that swap out each time the site is visited.

Do blind people really care about how a site looks? Yes, and people losing vision are hyper-sensitive about design and fashion.

Content and authenticity matter with photos.

Visitors to a site need to know there are real people they can engage. Use action photos of real people in your organization, not stock photos. Fresh content tells visitors you pay attention. Using your website as an online brochure will not invite action or repeat visits.

(Of course, provide alternative text so someone using a screen reader knows what content is provided in each photo.)

Seven tips for creating an accessible PDF from InDesign

Accessibility is a hot-button issue for companies with federal contracts and not just from a litigation concern. Why would any business exclude certain consumers and limit profits?

When exporting from InDesign,  go to the General pane inside the PDF print dialog box.

1) Make sure the Create Tags option is on. Tags add additional structure for screen reading software and help rankings with Google and Bing searches (SEO).
2) Turn on bookmarks and links. Most online PDFs are a hybrid optimized for interactivity and printing.
3) Leave Embed Page Thumbnails off. This feature is not really needed anymore.
4) If your document is longer than four or five pages, turn on Optimize for Fast Web View. This allows the browser to download one page at a time.
5) For accessibility, use captions with graphics that contain important content.
6) If you have graphics or photos that use transparency (i.e., drop shadows), use the PDF/X-1a preset. This option flattens transparency that can cause image quality problems.
7) If you are distributing PDFs for other people to print at home, keep your images RGB for better results.

To learn more, check out: www.lynda.com

Explaining logos

Discussing the logic behind logo design is always a challenge. Note the evolution of the Apple logo. The original logo from 1976 was a hippie-dippie illustration--very busy. Then the familiar apple with a bite taken out of it appeared. This logo is withstanding the test of time because it is distinct, compact. and easy to recognize at any size.

Now think about explaining logo design to an organization of people who happen to be blind. Below is a snippet I'm writing for the American Council of the Blind.

What is a logo?

A logo is an easy-to-identify, easy-to-reproduce design element. A logo can be a name, initials, or symbol with specified colors. 

Feel the top of a MacBook Pro or back of an iPad. In the center you’ll find the smooth flat shape of an apple. There’s a bite taken out of the right side and a leaf on top leaning to the right. This is the Apple logo. It’s distinct, simple, and compact—easy for a sighted person to recognize no matter what size.

Logos are everywhere. If you feel the front grill of a car you can usually find the logo. The Seahawks have made a mint selling all kinds of merchandise sporting their logo. Logos are on the sides of trucks. buses, planes, and buildings.

In an instant, the logo represents the organization's image or message and position. A well-designed logo evokes some memory or emotion from the viewer. 

A logo can be a distinct shape (icon), type, or a combination of the two. Companies spend a ton of many to ensure their logo is protected and used correctly. A corporation knows that a cohesive look to their products and communication materials builds credibility.

A logo should be simple, memorable, timeless, versatile, and appropriate. Does a logo for a blind organization have to include the white cane? Probably not. When reduced to business-card size, a cane looks similar to a tiny toothpick.

Think about your region and the qualities you want to project. Is there an indigenous plant that represents growth? Is there a geographical feature like a mountain? A historical monument like the Liberty Bell? Washington State has a distinct shape because of its coastline, Sound, and islands. This works as a logo element if it is a solid color. A thin outline of this shape would not reproduce well or be easy-to-recognize at a small size or at a distance.

Before working with a designer decide the qualities you want to project. If possible, clip logo samples you like and share them with the designer. Better yet, decide on a type family that offers a variety of weights: light, regular, bold, and black. Stay away from script fonts. As a rule they are difficult to read at small sizes.

Forms, forms, forms

Filling out forms is tedious, but some career sites make it hair-pulling torture.

The conclusion I've reached is that forms are tedious for web designers and programmers too. Forms don't get the loving attention, editing, or testing they merit.

For example, one major corporation in Seattle makes it almost impossible to find their career site login even after you've created an account. It's as if they would prefer you logged in to the main site to buy more of their product.

Another major corporation in Seattle tells you up front that their career website only works with Internet Explorer. After using the site, even that is questionable. People have certain expectations when uploading documents and editing profiles. This site did not follow the norms.

The text tells the user to upload their resume, but there is no button. A mad hunt for the mystery button ensued, hitting dead ends, having to login to the site repeatedly. Another bit of text tells me to click the edit button next to documents, but the edit button is nowhere to be found. Then there's the text asking me which option I want to use and only gives me one option.

This is not how they treat customers, so why do they treat me this way?

These companies have federal contracts and are mandated this year to hire a certain number of people with disabilities. They aren't prepared to do what it takes.

The most accessible and user-friendly career site I've used so far is https://my.usajobs.gov Simple, clean, easy to follow interface. User friendly. Do what they do.

Hunting for Accessible Accounting Software

Finding accessible accounting software is a hot discussion right now within the Washington Council of the Blind. Quicken and QuickBooks are accessible for screen-magnifying software, but not screen-reading software. One of my friends stumbled upon software that claims to be accessible right out of the box: Accomplish CashManager. http://us.accomplishglobal.com Freedom Scientific's screen-reader, JAWs, works with PeachTree Accounting Software using scripts. http://www.scriptsforjaws.com If you have feedback on either of these products, please share!

Inserting braille characters on the Mac

Inserting braille has to be done one character at a time using Special Characters and the Apple Braille font. This works in TextEdit and Adobe CS. Using the Mac version of Word, look for the Apple Symbol font.

On the Apple desktop menu, go to Edit > Special Characters, click on the settings button> Customize list, select Code Tables, Select Unicode, select Braille Patterns, 00002800, double-click on the character you want to add to favorites, such as w, c, b, click the Add to Favorites button.

(It helps to know braille, but you can turn VoiceOver on to hear the character.)

To insert these chosen letters into a document, you have to bring up the character viewer, Favorites, then double click on each character. You can highlight and adjust the size.

Ramping up in 2013

This year, the Washington Council of the Blind is combining the Public Relations Committee and the Web Oversight Committee. Can you hear someone hyperventilating in the Pacific Northwest?

Priority number 1: Change the organizational goals for the website

Currently the website gets traffic three times three times a year: around board meetings and before convention. Highest number of unique visitors: about 430. It's basically a filing cabinet for the members. That's a start.

The definition of success: a website that generates traffic and spurs visitors to take action.

One person cannot make the website successful. A handful of people on a committee cannot make this website successful. There has to be input and "buy in" from the members.

To become more useful for members, potential members, partner organizations, donors, and media we need to review the current website content.

1. We will read the evaluations provided by the American Council of the Blind Public Relaltions committee last summer.
2. We will survey members, research our target audiences, and compile compelling content
3. Develop a process and timeline for making changes to the website
4. Develop a process and timeline for keeping content current
5. Promote the new content changes

Priority number 2: Public relations education

We will use traditional news releases, phone calls, email, and flyers. Members have to get comfortable with these tools. It is possible Rick Lewis can help us with PSAs for delivery on YouTube.

We need to access our social media capability. Who is using it? What platforms are they using? How well are they using it?

This week I am developing an editorial calendar that will help us keep content current... and praying for guidance.