Our Core Values at Work Behind the Scenes
Posted by Paul Ackling 10th May 2019
Part of our job as new home builders requires us to think of all the potential benefits and enhancements that will make life just that little bit better for our clients.
We think of the user (or owner) experience as a core aspect of our business and endeavour to have this core value flow through to every area of our business.
Enter website accessibility – something almost no one ever talks about, but something we’ve decided to focus on because it aligns with our core values as a business.
The team at WebRefresh have been working with us to ensure our website stays up-to-date and communicates who we are as a business. When they recommend that we could make improvements to increase our website accessibility for vision impaired users, we were all ears!
5 Improvements that make all the difference for our vision-impaired site users:
Image Alt Text
Vision-impaired users are often not able to clearly view an image on their screen so they rely on a screen reading application on their computer to describe the image to them. By actively focusing on website accessibility, we endeavour to include image alt text on almost every image on our website.
Contrasted Content
For internet users with poor vision, it can be really hard to make out text that isn’t contrasted properly against the background colour of a website. While opting for high contrast colours can often not be as aesthetically pleasing for users with perfect vision, it certainly makes a world of difference for the vision impaired. This is why we’ve opted for simple black paragraph text on a white background among other contrast considerations.
Text sizes
Similar to contrasted content, opting for text that is just a few points larger can make a huge difference in the readability of your website content. This is why we’ve opted for a slightly larger than normal font size of 20px for both desktop and mobile users.
In-Content Keyboard Navigation Links
Because vision-impaired users often find it very difficult to use a mouse, the keyboard becomes the preferred method of browsing a website. The Peninsula Homes website has been specifically set up to allow a user to browse the website using a keyboard. You can try this for yourself by using the tab key to browse through each page on the Peninsula Homes website.
Buttons with Accessible Names
Knowing when a clickable button or link is available is super important for enabling vision-impaired users to navigate a website. This is why each clickable element should have a name that makes it easy for users using screen readers to understand exactly what that button is and where it links to.
The end-user value behind a core value, as simple as user experience, is something we value in every project we undertake.
Do you have a building project that requires that extra attention to detail? We’d love to chat!
Comments
Related Posts
Let’s explore some of the unique aspects that make the Northern Beaches not just a location but a lifestyle choice for homeowners and builders.
Posted by Paul Ackling 18/01/2024
This quick guide we give you a few tips on what to look out for when getting your building project quoted.
Posted by Paul Ackling 14/08/2023
With lots to think about when designing & building a home, we asked our team at Peninsula Homes, what 3 things they would include in a knockdown rebuild!
Posted by Nicole O'Gready 23/09/2022