Our Accessibility Policy

Our Goal is to Create a Website with Inclusive Design In Mind

 

different people

 A disability is a characteristic, it does not define a person’s full potential

  It’s our goal to create the best possible user experience for our visitors.  Not all of our visitors are the same.  Some have special needs that are often not addressed in website design.  This puts them at a disadvantage when they are needs are ignored.   We can no longer go back to the old ways of designing website. We realize that some of our visitors us assistive technology to access online resources.  Others might face different challenges.  For these reasons, we  are committed to  making  improvements to our site, and stay informed with the latest WCAG guidelines. Making this site more accessible with inclusive design practices in mind is a continuous process, and our mission. 

eyes with a grey background

Visual Impairment

Some visitors use devices like screen readers in order to understand the contents on our website.  Without these tools, it would be nearly impossible for a blind person to access and understand the pages of any website.  We start out by always adding descriptions (alt-text) to our images. That’s a basic tool many developers ignore (not us).  periodically we will consult friends  in the blind community to text our site, and give us input. 

 

colors for contrast with 8 colors

Color Blindness

This is an issues that doesn’t get talked about enough.  We are aware of  the role  contrast ratios of text, and images, (and how they interact together) affects some of our visitors ability to see images.   A contract checker  was used to design this page.  The main image above demonstrates the importance of  choosing the right background and foreground combination.  This will now be a part of our design process. 

a head with mechanical wheels

Cognitive Awareness

Cognitive disabilities have a broad range of categories.  To enhance the users experience,  we’d like to focus on things we can do today to enhance these users’ experiences.  Our recapture works in the background so our users do not have take a test to prove they aren’t bots.  Recapture works in  the background.   

 

close up of person's hands on mouse surfing on the web

Mobility Issues

Some visitors with mobility/dexterity disabilities, use a wide variety of assistive technologies when online.  We are gaining a better understanding of things that could hinder a visitor’s user experience and the ability to maneuver throughout our website.  Our first step is to learn better ways to design with these users in mind by avoiding barriers such as: impossible navigation menus, too much text on a page, inaccessible forms and more.   

 

w3c accessibility guideline version 3

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

Our goal is to be on top of the new and updated guidelines addressed on the W3C’s website.  In case you didn’t know, the W3C is a leading organization that provides a range of recommendations to make websites more accessible for people with disabilities.  Feel free to contact us with any issues you are having navigating on the Reel Doc Website. 

wrenches on top of each other

Tools for Accessibility

There are many new tools currently available that helps in building  more human-centered, accessible websites.  Here is a list of a few we either currently use or are planning to use: human site testers who have disabilities, use virtual site map generators, accessible site checker software, use color contrast analyzers, accessibility audit extension tools for the browser. .