26th January 2009, 02:00 PM
The new website looks great. Can I just ask how well it conforms to accessibility guidelines, particularly for the visually impaired? There are some useful guidelines issued by the RNIB, who will also offer you a 'See it Right' audit for new websites.
In particular, the menu on the left of the homepage, while very stylish, uses a faint contrast which some will find difficult to read, particularly if they suffer from certain forms of colour blindess. ColourOracle is a good program which simulates different forms of colour blindness and enables you to check your website. Also, do you always use alt tags on images? Have you tested the website using a text reader, such as Browse Aloud: http://www.browsealoud.com? How does it cope with the five vertical columns you have on the homepage?
Just some thoughts to throw in. I know the balance between design and accessibility can be a hard one to strike. On the new CBA site (small plug! http://www.britarch.ac.uk) we worked hard to try to get this right (although it still isn't perfect admittedly).
In particular, the menu on the left of the homepage, while very stylish, uses a faint contrast which some will find difficult to read, particularly if they suffer from certain forms of colour blindess. ColourOracle is a good program which simulates different forms of colour blindness and enables you to check your website. Also, do you always use alt tags on images? Have you tested the website using a text reader, such as Browse Aloud: http://www.browsealoud.com? How does it cope with the five vertical columns you have on the homepage?
Just some thoughts to throw in. I know the balance between design and accessibility can be a hard one to strike. On the new CBA site (small plug! http://www.britarch.ac.uk) we worked hard to try to get this right (although it still isn't perfect admittedly).