Sub Menu
Other Sections
Design Consultancy
Whether you're planning a new website or modifications to an existing one, our services are designed to dovetail with every stage of your development process to ensure that accessibility is designed in from the outset.
The key stages are typically:
- Initial consultancy
- Wireframe or mockup stage
- Page template stage
- Final build stage
Initial Consultancy
By involving an accessibility consultant from the very start of a project, before the design specification has been produced, you can ensure that the final design meets the level of accessibility you are aiming for.
The consultant will identify where the proposed content or technologies will result in reduced accessibility, and will suggest how the same objectives can be met in an accessible manner.
If necessary we can create an accessibility policy and guidelines for your developers and content creators to ensure that they work in alignment with the project's accessibility objectives.
At this stage the consultant can also determine the strategy for testing and advise on the selection of an automated tool if this is appropriate.
Read more about Automated Tool Selection 
Wireframe or Mockup Stage
The production of wireframes provides the first opportunity to verify that the project is on track to provide the required level of accessibility.
Even though the website only exists as in PDF or PhotoShop format it is possible to assess many important criteria. A subset of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) can be tested and actual or potential issues can be identified.
Read more about Wireframe Testing
Page Template Stage
Technical testing can begin when page templates have been created. Even though they contain placeholder content it is possible to verify most of the WCAG checkpoints.
The importance of testing at this stage cannot be overestimated because it is much easier and cheaper to implement changes now than it is when the website is populated with content.
Read more about WCAG Testing
Final Build Stage
The website will now be fully populated with content. Previous testing will have verified that the framework of the site is accessible, and a final round of technical testing will identify any issues relating to the content.
Prior to this point all the testing has been conducted on individual pages in isolation. The consultant will now identify the important use cases and conduct scenario-based user testing.
Read more about User Testing