Today's New Media Age (NMA) reviewed www.liverpoolfc.tv in its site inspection, awarding it a very respectable 76/100.
NMA's Anna Richardson reviewed the website, giving it a score of 20/25 for content, 17/25 for usability, 19/25 for branding and 20/25 for monetisation.
The site, which was developed in conjunction with Liverpool F.C.'s in-house development team has been a great success since launch breaking several previous records - you can read more about that in a previous blog post.
You can read the full site review on the NMA website, but you'll need to be a subscriber.
Showing posts with label accessible website. Show all posts
Showing posts with label accessible website. Show all posts
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Monday, 19 April 2010
Web Accessibility and Website Law
Websites started out as very simple text which was accessible to everyone, provided they had software to interpret the contents. In the last ten years, websites have altered dramatically to include movies, Flash and dynamic content, such that the job of the software reading the website has become a great deal more complex. The disabled could easily be overlooked in designing and building websites, however this would be an unwise decision since there are laws in many countries to protect them.
The UK Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 states: “It is unlawful for a provider of services to discriminate against a disabled person in refusing to provide, or deliberately not providing, to the disabled person any service which he provides, or is prepared to provide, to members of the public and also in failing to comply with any duty imposed on him by section 21 in circumstances in which the effect of that failure is to make it impossible or unreasonably difficult for the disabled person to make use of any such service”
And further the law states that rules apply in the following scenarios:
Access to and use of any place which members of the public are permitted to enter; access to and use of means of communication; access to and use of information services; facilities by way of banking or insurance or for grants, loans, credit or finance; facilities for entertainment, recreation or refreshment; the services of any profession or trade, or any local or other public authority.
Most websites fulfil at least one of the above conditions – whether it be buying an item or communicating to friends. Mostly though, lawsuits have been targeted at websites providing a public service; after all if one site doesn’t provide access, another will.
The basics behind making a site available to all haven’t changed all that much over the years, most importantly the developers and designers need to bear in mind the various disabilities there are and how they will be gaining access to the information available...
People with disabilities may for example want to increase font size, have their own styles or be unable to use an alternative to Flash or Shockwave. In each case, alternative content / functionality should be available so that no loss of user experience occurs. Testing the site by using focus groups is the ultimate check, and testing services are offered by charities including RNIB, AbilityNet and Shaw Trust.
Sources/Further reading:
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2005/ukpga_20050013_en_1
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fss/resources/access/disabled.htm
http://www.w3.org/WAI/Policy/
Alex Rigg
Developer
The UK Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 states: “It is unlawful for a provider of services to discriminate against a disabled person in refusing to provide, or deliberately not providing, to the disabled person any service which he provides, or is prepared to provide, to members of the public and also in failing to comply with any duty imposed on him by section 21 in circumstances in which the effect of that failure is to make it impossible or unreasonably difficult for the disabled person to make use of any such service”
And further the law states that rules apply in the following scenarios:
Access to and use of any place which members of the public are permitted to enter; access to and use of means of communication; access to and use of information services; facilities by way of banking or insurance or for grants, loans, credit or finance; facilities for entertainment, recreation or refreshment; the services of any profession or trade, or any local or other public authority.
Most websites fulfil at least one of the above conditions – whether it be buying an item or communicating to friends. Mostly though, lawsuits have been targeted at websites providing a public service; after all if one site doesn’t provide access, another will.
The basics behind making a site available to all haven’t changed all that much over the years, most importantly the developers and designers need to bear in mind the various disabilities there are and how they will be gaining access to the information available...
People with disabilities may for example want to increase font size, have their own styles or be unable to use an alternative to Flash or Shockwave. In each case, alternative content / functionality should be available so that no loss of user experience occurs. Testing the site by using focus groups is the ultimate check, and testing services are offered by charities including RNIB, AbilityNet and Shaw Trust.
Sources/Further reading:
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2005/ukpga_20050013_en_1
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fss/resources/access/disabled.htm
http://www.w3.org/WAI/Policy/
Alex Rigg
Developer
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
Digital Agency - behind closed doors
Sometimes an agency appears to be just that. A name, a website, a portfolio and an address. Of course, Bluhalo is much more than that, but sometimes, without physically walking through those doors, it is hard to see beyond the cold hard facts and the Google search results.
So, how about a peep behind our closed doors (which are always open by the way), to find out a little more about the people behind the machine?
It has been a busy month so far this September, with both our NMA Top 100 and Marketing Digital Leagues entries going in, several exciting pitches involving visits to the much-loved city of Milan and the cultural city of Manchester, and the approaching launch of a new website design for one of our clients; eagerly awaited by many dedicated fans of the brand. We’ve also got a couple of important new client wins to announce but that is going to be a case of ‘watch this space’ until we get formal approval to go ahead and shout it from the rooftops!
And so to the people; a recent addition to the team seems an appropriate place to start for our first edition of Behind Closed Doors and so, I introduce to you, Ewan Gee, Creative Director.
Previously of Publicis, Ewan has recently joined Bluhalo to further strengthen and develop the creative team. Tasked with recruiting a Head of Design, leading the creative thinking behind the new Bluhalo website (yes, it is on its way and is going to be brilliant!) and jumping in with some of our highest profile clients, Ewan’s first few weeks have been non-stop pure agency lifestyle, to say the least. So let’s hear what Ewan has to say. I presented him with a few questions:
So, how about a peep behind our closed doors (which are always open by the way), to find out a little more about the people behind the machine?
It has been a busy month so far this September, with both our NMA Top 100 and Marketing Digital Leagues entries going in, several exciting pitches involving visits to the much-loved city of Milan and the cultural city of Manchester, and the approaching launch of a new website design for one of our clients; eagerly awaited by many dedicated fans of the brand. We’ve also got a couple of important new client wins to announce but that is going to be a case of ‘watch this space’ until we get formal approval to go ahead and shout it from the rooftops!
And so to the people; a recent addition to the team seems an appropriate place to start for our first edition of Behind Closed Doors and so, I introduce to you, Ewan Gee, Creative Director.
Previously of Publicis, Ewan has recently joined Bluhalo to further strengthen and develop the creative team. Tasked with recruiting a Head of Design, leading the creative thinking behind the new Bluhalo website (yes, it is on its way and is going to be brilliant!) and jumping in with some of our highest profile clients, Ewan’s first few weeks have been non-stop pure agency lifestyle, to say the least. So let’s hear what Ewan has to say. I presented him with a few questions:
What have you been up to this month?
“Working, mostly. On pitches, meetings, ideas. Finding my feet, getting frustrated, getting inspired, finding ways to build a bigger, better creative department.”
What sites are you loving?
“The new agency website – in development.”
What are you listening to?
“The radio. And other people’s tunes. I’ve no time for music of my own any more.”
What’s the next big thing?
“New romantic revival, Romola Garai, more powerful tools to create transparency on the Web, business really getting to grips with social media and putting it to work for them to build brands, drive engagement, improve their CRM.”
That’s it from Behind Closed Doors today, I hope you’ve found it interesting - we’ll be back soon with more insight into the daily workings of digital agency Bluhalo. In the meantime, if you need a bit of digital magic working for your brand, give us a shout – we love a new challenge and have a few tricks up our sleeve to put you one step ahead of your competitors.
Jocelyn Kirby
Marketing & Business Development Manager
“Working, mostly. On pitches, meetings, ideas. Finding my feet, getting frustrated, getting inspired, finding ways to build a bigger, better creative department.”
What sites are you loving?
“The new agency website – in development.”
What are you listening to?
“The radio. And other people’s tunes. I’ve no time for music of my own any more.”
What’s the next big thing?
“New romantic revival, Romola Garai, more powerful tools to create transparency on the Web, business really getting to grips with social media and putting it to work for them to build brands, drive engagement, improve their CRM.”
That’s it from Behind Closed Doors today, I hope you’ve found it interesting - we’ll be back soon with more insight into the daily workings of digital agency Bluhalo. In the meantime, if you need a bit of digital magic working for your brand, give us a shout – we love a new challenge and have a few tricks up our sleeve to put you one step ahead of your competitors.
Jocelyn Kirby
Marketing & Business Development Manager
Thursday, 22 May 2008
Top 5 Accessibility Resources
I was asked to compile a list of my top accessibility resources, but this proved to be a little harder than I thought. There are literally hundreds of reputable organisations all with their own articles, posts and white papers on accessibility - it's like picking a needle from a haystack! The five below however, stand out in my eyes as the definitive resources of web accessibility.
1. Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
A branch of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the Web Accessibility Initiative is the premier provider of accessibility information and guidelines for web users and developers alike. They developed the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), a set of documents which have become the industry standard for accessible web development.
2. Webcredible
Webcredible is a usability and accessibility agency in London who are experts in the user experience, having written over 150 white papers on the matter. Thousands subscribe to their newsletter and they provide a huge library of information on everything from CSS to SEO.
3. WebAIM
WebAIM is a non-profit organization within the Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University who provide not only training and services directly to other organisations, but free software and media to an online community of like-minded individuals and companies.
4. RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People)
The RNIB have always been at the forefront of rights for partially sighted and blind people and this stretches well into the reaches of the internet as well. They offer a wide range of consultancy services as well as a Web Access Centre with resources for web developers.
5. Watchfire and TAW
Watchfire's WebXact software (and it's predecessor, Bobby) have long been the tools of choice for testing websites against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, but since their IBM acquisition this is no longer provided for free. The Web Accessibility Test at tawdis.org however serves as a useful replacement, along with a great many other similar websites.
Jay
1. Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
A branch of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the Web Accessibility Initiative is the premier provider of accessibility information and guidelines for web users and developers alike. They developed the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), a set of documents which have become the industry standard for accessible web development.
2. Webcredible
Webcredible is a usability and accessibility agency in London who are experts in the user experience, having written over 150 white papers on the matter. Thousands subscribe to their newsletter and they provide a huge library of information on everything from CSS to SEO.
3. WebAIM
WebAIM is a non-profit organization within the Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University who provide not only training and services directly to other organisations, but free software and media to an online community of like-minded individuals and companies.
4. RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People)
The RNIB have always been at the forefront of rights for partially sighted and blind people and this stretches well into the reaches of the internet as well. They offer a wide range of consultancy services as well as a Web Access Centre with resources for web developers.
5. Watchfire and TAW
Watchfire's WebXact software (and it's predecessor, Bobby) have long been the tools of choice for testing websites against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, but since their IBM acquisition this is no longer provided for free. The Web Accessibility Test at tawdis.org however serves as a useful replacement, along with a great many other similar websites.
Jay
Monday, 12 May 2008
Improve Email Effectiveness
Email campaigns should be viewed in much the same light as an offline direct mail campaign, following the general rules that the better the quality of your output and the better the quality of the data that it is sent to, the higher the response rate you are likely to achieve.
Now, obviously, there are far more variables involved than the two just mentioned, and an almost immeasurable number of success determinants, but follow a few simple steps and you should see a marked improvement in the success of your email campaigns.
1. Make your opening line count
They say first impressions count, well in email marketing they really do! The ‘from’ name and the subject line are very often all that your campaign recipients will see unless they choose to open your email. Think carefully about what your recipients want to hear, what will grab their interest and make them want to know more.
Good quality email broadcast software will allow you test a number of subject lines on a sample from your data list, broadcasting the bulk of your campaign to the subject line with the highest open rate from your test.
2. Knowledge is power
A targeted, quality data list will make the difference between an unsuccessful and a successful campaign. Make sure your data list is from a reputable data supplier (if you’re buying in the data), try to get it with guarantees (x% accuracy rates are common, but are not always offered on email data) and comprises your target market – after all, you could produce the best looking email campaign and get no response if you’re sending it to the wrong people!
3. Image is everything
We don’t like to admit it but it’s true. Image is everything. Get a professional email design which is geared up to produce results and you’ll immediately see uplift in your response rates. A professional design guides the recipient through the email, holding their attention, highlighting key messages and encouraging that all important action, be it a purchase, click-through or forward to a friend.
4. Tell them what to do
If you don’t tell the recipient what you want them to do, they’re not going to do it. The inclusion of clear calls to action in your email is essential in ensuring you reach your target response rates, as are multiple calls to action – the more opportunity for them to act, the more chance you have of them acting.
5. Track, record, analyse
A successful campaign isn’t just about good copy and a creative idea. It’s about tracking conversions, recording responses and analysing results. If you don’t know how you’ve done, how can you improve on it? How can you measure ROI? Make sure the data is there and then analyse, analyse, analyse. Remember, knowledge is power.
All sounds very obvious when it’s written down, but it’s surprising how many emails just don’t cover these basic guidelines! If you’d like to speak to us in more detail about your email marketing then give us a call on 01252 70 11 11 or contact us online.
Now, obviously, there are far more variables involved than the two just mentioned, and an almost immeasurable number of success determinants, but follow a few simple steps and you should see a marked improvement in the success of your email campaigns.
1. Make your opening line count
They say first impressions count, well in email marketing they really do! The ‘from’ name and the subject line are very often all that your campaign recipients will see unless they choose to open your email. Think carefully about what your recipients want to hear, what will grab their interest and make them want to know more.
Good quality email broadcast software will allow you test a number of subject lines on a sample from your data list, broadcasting the bulk of your campaign to the subject line with the highest open rate from your test.
2. Knowledge is power
A targeted, quality data list will make the difference between an unsuccessful and a successful campaign. Make sure your data list is from a reputable data supplier (if you’re buying in the data), try to get it with guarantees (x% accuracy rates are common, but are not always offered on email data) and comprises your target market – after all, you could produce the best looking email campaign and get no response if you’re sending it to the wrong people!
3. Image is everything
We don’t like to admit it but it’s true. Image is everything. Get a professional email design which is geared up to produce results and you’ll immediately see uplift in your response rates. A professional design guides the recipient through the email, holding their attention, highlighting key messages and encouraging that all important action, be it a purchase, click-through or forward to a friend.
4. Tell them what to do
If you don’t tell the recipient what you want them to do, they’re not going to do it. The inclusion of clear calls to action in your email is essential in ensuring you reach your target response rates, as are multiple calls to action – the more opportunity for them to act, the more chance you have of them acting.
5. Track, record, analyse
A successful campaign isn’t just about good copy and a creative idea. It’s about tracking conversions, recording responses and analysing results. If you don’t know how you’ve done, how can you improve on it? How can you measure ROI? Make sure the data is there and then analyse, analyse, analyse. Remember, knowledge is power.
All sounds very obvious when it’s written down, but it’s surprising how many emails just don’t cover these basic guidelines! If you’d like to speak to us in more detail about your email marketing then give us a call on 01252 70 11 11 or contact us online.
Thursday, 28 February 2008
Top ten tips for a more accessible website...
A lot is said about the subject of web accessibility these days. While it cannot be said that making a website accessible is either quick or easy, there are a few simple changes one can make to improve accessibility.
Here are Bluhalo’s top ten quick wins to a more accessible website:
1. Validate your work.
Ensure code is valid in accordance with web standards.
2. Readable links.
Link text should make sense when read out of context.
3. Sensible Tables.
Add headings and summaries to data tables.
4. Alternative content.
An alternative should always be available in case the user has flash or javascript turned off.
5. Add a Search facility.
Allow users to search for what they are looking for.
6. Check in multiple browsers.
Not everybody uses one browser, check websites in all major browsers.
7. Alt text.
Non-presentational images should always have descriptive alt text.
8. Check contrast
Ensure the contrast between text and background is sufficient for colour blind and partially sighted users.
9. Improve 404’s.
Make error pages helpful by linking to the navigation and search facilities.
10. Font scalability.
Pages should allow the user to increase font size without breaking the layout.
Here are Bluhalo’s top ten quick wins to a more accessible website:
1. Validate your work.
Ensure code is valid in accordance with web standards.
2. Readable links.
Link text should make sense when read out of context.
3. Sensible Tables.
Add headings and summaries to data tables.
4. Alternative content.
An alternative should always be available in case the user has flash or javascript turned off.
5. Add a Search facility.
Allow users to search for what they are looking for.
6. Check in multiple browsers.
Not everybody uses one browser, check websites in all major browsers.
7. Alt text.
Non-presentational images should always have descriptive alt text.
8. Check contrast
Ensure the contrast between text and background is sufficient for colour blind and partially sighted users.
9. Improve 404’s.
Make error pages helpful by linking to the navigation and search facilities.
10. Font scalability.
Pages should allow the user to increase font size without breaking the layout.
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