Alex Edwards Design

17/12/2024

Another happy customer, looking very smart whilst out and about. Thanks JSC Joinery and Construction! 💙

Looking very professional with our new site signage, thanks so much and , they look fab 💙

19/12/2022

🎄 Merry Christmas one and all! 🎄

It's been a wonderful year of meeting new clients local and afar.

In a bid to save a few trees, please accept this "Digital Christmas card" from myself and Lola the cat.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Lots of love,
Alex & Lola

26/10/2022

💡 Did you know?

👮 Since 23 September 2018 in the UK, accessibility regulation came into force that states websites and mobile apps must be 'more accessible', as well as an accessibility statement made readily available.

💻 Intranets and Extranets count too (e.g. an internal website acting as a resource hub for employees).

🔎 Public sector bodies in the UK include government organisations, some charities and other non-government organisations (e.g. an independent charity mostly financed by the public or that provides essential services to the public or disabled people). Primary and secondary schools or exempt, except for content that is required to access a service (e.g. an online form to select a school meal).

🔎 Sources:
https://buff.ly/30yFKdj

05/10/2022

📖 New blog post!

✨ Cheap Alternatives to Adobe

‍🎨 There are some fantastic alternatives to the Creative Cloud machine, why not try a few and perhaps save some money too?

👩‍🎨 Try some of these suggestions and let me know what you think!

https://www.alexed.me/blog/cheap-alternatives-adobe

28/09/2022

👊 Jargon busting: Do you know your acronyms?

When embarking on a new web based project, you'll come across all kinds of acronyms. Here are a few of the basic (and arguably), most important.

1️⃣ UX - User Experience:
The umbrella term, encompassing all aspects of your product that the end user may touch on. This can be an entire user journey, through to a single element.

2️⃣ UCD - User Centered Design
A design methodology (and one that I follow), making sure the end user is considered at every stage. Ideas and features are worked on iteratively, to make sure we're continuously meeting the user's needs.

3️⃣ CMS - Content Management System
A visual yet hidden part of your website, allowing you to log in and make changes to content without immediately affecting your live website.

4️⃣ CTA - Call To Action
An element on a design that instructs the user to do something e.g. "Checkout", "Find out more".

Did you know these acronyms? Are there any you're unsure about? Let me know in the comments!

25/08/2022

📖 New blog post!

✨ What's new in WCAG 2.2?

The next minor update will be released by the end of the year. I've updated my previous blog post to include recent changes to the working draft.

🧠 Clue yourself up on new criteria before it happens!
https://www.alexed.me/blog/whats-new-in-wcag-2-2

19/07/2022

💡 Did you know?

🍕 Domino's Pizza Pizza was recently sued in America for having an inaccessible website and 
mobile application.

🇺🇸 Over in the USA, the judge ruled that Domino’s violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, as a blind customer was unable to customize toppings or even complete an order using the Domino's iPhone app.

💸 The popular fast food chain has since been ordered to fix their website and app, as well as award the plaintiff $4,000. It would've certainly have been cheaper should Domino's have adopted an accessibility first approach in the first place!

🔎 Sources:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-46894463
https://www.lflegal.com/2021/06/dominos-june-2021/

⭐ Incorporate accessibility best practice right from the start of a project. Keep checking in every step of the way, and utilise some of the incredible free tools at your disposal. Stark and WAVE are great places to start!

29/04/2022

👊 Jargon busting: What is a POUR website?

WCAG principles apply to all aspects of your website. What are the four User Centred principles of accessibility?

Each success criteria within the WCAG guidelines falls under one major category. The four major categories of web accessibility are defined as:

1️⃣ Perceivable (Users must be able to recognise the information that is being presented to them.)

2️⃣ Operable (Users can comfortably navigate your website and that interface is user-friendly)

3️⃣ Understandable (Users must be able to process the information in front of them)

4️⃣ Robust (Your content remains accessible regardless of how your user changes and technology evolves)

🧠 These make up the acronym "POUR", which is a great way to remember key accessibility principles when making updates to your site!

⭐ Strive to maintain a "POUR" website! You might not achieve WCAG success criteria directly, but it's a start and likely, much more than your competitors are attempting to achieve.

11/04/2022

💡 Did you know?
You can automatically test for common accessibility issues yourself, using Google’s own Lighthouse within Chrome.

1. Right click anywhere on your page, and select "Inspector Tools"
2. Navigate across to the "Lighthouse" tab
3. Select the parameters you wish to test by. The majority of websites won't need a "Progressive Web App" check.
4. Select a Mobile or Desktop test. It's good to run both to gather a full picture of how your website is performing.

The test takes a minute or two to complete, so make yourself a brew.

When ready, you'll be presented with a report that breaks down each metric and presents you with a colour coded score, out of 100. The higher the score, the better your website is performing against that metric!

90 and above indicates a "Good" score, indicated with a green circle
50 to 90 "Needs" Improvement
50 and below "Poor" is considered poor

⭐ This is a great check to conduct every now and again, especially now that Googles search algorithm has updated to rank higher scoring websites accordingly. A "Website audit" report incorporates Lighthouse findings, amongst other analytical data.

04/04/2022

✨ "Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn."

🌳 I recently repotted one of my favourite plants (that has amazingly survived!). It's funny shape of half growing upwards and half growing out to the side got me thinking...

📖 Everyone has different learning styles, and it really doesn't matter! Whatever your goals, you should feel comfortable enough to move forward in your own way - whether that's taking the direct route and going straight for it, or perhaps a detour, or a direction that wasn't anticipated.

🎨 Accessible design is an area I certainly grew into, having known little about the subject and not realising just how big the area is!

🚴 Growth doesn't have to be specific to your career too. In this last year alone, I've committed to growing my freelance business and learned to cycle!

⭐ Are you growing in to anything? Out of something? Diverting to explore anything new?

28/03/2022

👊 Jargon busting: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

Usually referred to as ‘WCAG’.. pronounced ‘wuh-cag’.. or sometimes ‘W.C.A.G’.. and even ‘the W3C guidelines’

The “Web Content Accessibility Guidelines”, or WCAG, are seen as the benchmark in accessible web design and development. 2.1 Is the most recent accessibility standard to be published.

🌎 The guidelines are set and maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), who are an international community that "develops open standards to ensure the long-term growth of the Web".

⬆️ Guidelines are split into 4 key categories, with each success criteria measured at one of three levels (A, AA and AAA). Industry best practice and most accessible legislation requires compliance to AA standard.

⭐ It's important to remember that the guidelines are just a starting point. An accessibility audit can highlight areas that require improvement, but it's up to you to maintain your standard through every update to your site.

21/03/2022

💡 Did you know?
In 2019, a blind woman sued Beyonce, claiming her website was not easily accessible to those with disabilities.

The lady is fully blind, unable to interact with the website and subsequently purchase any merchandise that relies on images to provide critical information, amongst other issues.

"Web accessibility requires that alt-text be coded with each picture so that a screen-reader can speak the alternative text while sighted users see the picture," her lawyer writes.

"There are many important pictures on Beyonce.com that lack a text equivalent. ... As a result, Plaintiff and blind Beyonce.com customers are unable to determine what is on the website, browse the website or investigate and/or make purchases."

https://www.accessibility.com/digital-lawsuits/mary-parkwood-2019-01-4

⭐️ Make sure any non-text content on your website has a text based alternative, that provides the same information.