What you need to know about the September 2019 accessibility requirements
From 23rd September 2019 public sector websites will be required to meet new accessibility guidelines. Here is what that actually means. What is accessibility? Accessibility (or ‘a11y’) doesn’t just refer to people with disabilities but is about ensuring everyone is able to use every site on the web. Accessibility can affect anyone; users could be […]
Publishing readable blog posts
Accessibility is becoming hugely important on the internet (as it should be!) and attention spans are shrinking so being able to write easy to read content is essential. This post isn’t about what you should write but instead has easy to follow tips on publishing a blog that everyone can read. 1. Use headings Readers […]
7 tips for freshening up your comms
You’re a digital communications manager returning to your desk after the festive break. You open your inbox to a stream of apparently ‘urgent’ emails, you can’t remember the Twitter password and your monitoring software provider calls to say they’ve increased your annual subscription fees. It might not feel like it at the time but this […]
Accessibility for WordPress publishers
Accessibility (or ‘a11y’) doesn’t just refer to people with disabilities but is about ensuring everyone is able to use every site on the web. We work to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 in all our sites as standard, however we recently had the pleasure of working with one of our clients who is willing to […]
Helpful’s first firebreak: what we learned
During June 2018, we had our first Gov.uk inspired ‘firebreak’, where we paused non-essential project work for 2-3 weeks so the build team could focus on their own individual projects; including researching new ideas & technologies, organising neglected repositories, remodelling dated templates and writing helpful guides and documentation. Urgent requests from clients were prioritised over […]
Nine things we learned at #CommsCamp
We like Commscamp. A couple of hundred interesting public sector comms people in a lovely rambling building by the Birmingham & Fazeley canal, run on traditional unconference principles: no fixed agenda before the day, anyone can pitch a 50 min session, and the “law of two feet” applies (i.e. if a session is boring you, […]
Making your online communications more engaging and accessible
The Digital Action Plan learning programme gives participants the skills and confidence to listen, explain and talk with their audiences online. But how can we be sure we’re communicating in ways that are accessible to all? Here are some some tips for making your communications more accessible and engaging. 1. Sharpen your writing Attention spans are short […]