Forgemedia.ca

Forgemedia.ca demonstrates how cutting-edge design and strict accessibility standards combine to create an inclusive, user-friendly website—validated by real users and expert consultation.

This is Forge’s agency website, and so we wanted to demonstrate that a site could be cool and accessible. The site’s purpose is not only to showcase our projects and team, but our capabilities in terms of pushing the envelope of what online accessibility can be without sacrificing aesthetics.

From initial planning, through to conceptualizing with wireframes to the style guide and finally to the finished website, user accessibility remained at the forefront of our process. Our goal was to keep information perceivable, interfaces operable, content understandable, and the design robust from the get-go to ensure we didn’t have to adjust things mid-process. Accessibility is a team priority, and so as flags were raised for potential issues, we were able to ideate creative, accessible solutions as team.

Realizing that accessibility is not just a series of tests passed via dev tools, but vitally, with real people using the site, we ensured that the site was keyboard navigable, utilized semantic HTML and extended with WAI-ARIA labels to provide contextual information to screen readers as well as passing dev tool testing.

We also had an accessibility consultant, Debbie Gillespie, run through the site and point out deficiencies and opportunities for improvement.

Prioritized creating an equitable experience for as many users as possible, not only through the usage of design principles, but with content, keeping it clear and concise and providing contextual information via semantic HTML.

Readability was measured using Flesch Kincaid Grade Level metrics, and while some pages are scoring a bit high, we are continually adjusting to make our content more readable.

Yoast measured for content inclusivity.

Our goal throughout was to comply with AODA regulations; meeting and exceeding WCAG 2.1 AA and user acceptance testing.

We believe that enhancing accessibility is an ongoing practice, and we revisit our site regularly to make enhancements.