Blog
“We don’t allow Alt text”
An extensive digital accessibility review I was talking to one of my clients yesterday that I had done a large piece of work for at the start of the year, helping them with the digital accessibility of their 5 websites. They are a wonderful organisation with a real passion for the inclusivity of disabled people. Their agency has been on a vertical learning curve since and I have been absolutely delighted with their progress so... read more »
The Blue Badge Access Awards 2023 have now been launched, with a new website!
What are the Blue Badge Access Awards? The Blue Badge Access Awards has been setting the Gold Standard for Access within the hospitality sector. It was set up by our good friend Fiona Jarvis, the founder of Blue Badge Style, in 2016 and aims to reward hotels, restaurants, leisure and tourism venues and people for their efforts in becoming “accessible with style!” A desire to be hospitable The hospitality sector often has many challenges with accessibility but... read more »
Access by Design shortlisted for Small Award!
The Digital Star Award We are very proud to announce that we have been has been shortlisted for the Digital Star Award at this year’s Small Awards.Now in its seventh year, The Small Awards is a nationwide search for the smallest and greatest firms in the UK, across all sectors. It is organised annually by Small Business Britain, which champions, inspires and accelerates the nation’s 5.5 million small firms. What is the award for? We... read more »
How to Migrate Your Business Online
The consequences of the deadly epidemic have been truly harsh on people. However, certain reports reveal a considerable increase in the close of traditional businesses. Rather than dwelling on the pain, damage, and uncertainty, migrating your business online is probably the wisest decision. This decision will help you survive and thrive during these tough economic times.While consumers prefer online shopping more than in-person shopping, moving your business online is important. In a nutshell,... read more »
Expanding our team again in a different way!
Live website audits One of my favourite parts of what I do is working with my Team on the Live Audits. It is always an enlightening experience but a sobering one at the same. I do not know what it is like to be blind and use a screen reader, or be unable to use a keyboard or mouse and use dictation software. However, when my team share the screens with me, sharing their daily... read more »
Enlightening and horrifying!
I would like to share a comment I received on Monday from a web developer after I presented them with a digital accessibility review of a 6th-form college website. “And Clive, if I take this moment (as the development team working on the amends) - the video and audio walkthroughs were both incredibly enlightening and horrifying at the same time. We've worked with accessibility companies in the past, but the level of detail you... read more »
LinkedIn tried to become more accessible and it sadly backfired
LinkedIn has decided to automatically add an alt tag when you post with an image.A commendable attempt to improve accessibility on LinkedIn.Except that, if you have already added it, it replaces it.I uploaded my team photo with the Alt Text as follows:"Photos of the Access by Design Team: Iona, Mede, Sara, Krista and Lleona"LinkedIn helpfully replaced this with the following:"graphical user interface, application, Teams"I do not want to criticise LinkedIn for wanting to improve... read more »
Let me ask you a question
If you truly wanted to find out how accessible your website is for disabled people, does it make sense to use disabled people to help you find out?If the answer is yes then you know the first question to ask when you’re looking for somebody to work with you on improving your digital accessibility!I’ve been working with accessible web design... read more »
The European Accessibility Act
The train is coming. The European Accessibility Act comes into force on the 28th June 2025. At this point, website accessibility becomes enforceable within the EU. The effects of this will be far-reaching and, just like GDPR, every country in the world will fall into line.Digital accessibility, along with all other forms of accessibility, has never been more important than now. However, 230 million websites fail to meet even the most basic standards of accessibility. Let... read more »
What happens when you fall at the first hurdle?
Accessibility audit for a sixth form college I completed a website accessibility audit with a college recently. Like other colleges, they have a certain amount of disabled students attend each year. They needed an audit done because they had been required to by the UK Government’s Digital Service. However, given the fact that they have disabled students and will have in the future, it was also important for them to understand themselves what the... read more »