Website Accessibility Audit – carried out 20th June 2013 by C Roach

	Discussed	Action	Complete	
Review navigation and reorganise website to be more user friendly and self-explanatory 	Needs to be reviewed.	Chloe to recommend new skeleton structure/site map.		
The format of downloads 
Be consistent and have downloads that can be used in conjunction with readers, accessibility plugins. PDFs need to be accessible and text alternatives to be made available	This needs to be looked at in detail.	Chloe to research in detail how PDFs can be made more accessible and how to maximise document accessibility.		
Highlight the ‘Listen’ and ‘Speak your site’ link so those with visual impairments, for example, can see it. The link could be highlighted by making the link larger or adding a colour behind it.	Need to look into this option.	Contact Worship for details.		
The Dixerit screen reader issue needs to be addressed, so it stops vocalising the HTML formatting	Complete.	Complete.	 	
Move Accessibility website features to the banner of the homepage, making it available on every webpage.  	Speak IT plus software is displayed in banner and available on every page.	Could be made more prominent.		
Create an accessibility page with reference and link to built in Dixerit software and statement of inclusion/equalities commitment pages	Pages to be created.	Chloe to create.		
LVSC may wish to channel people via email rather than phone due to resources, however, it would be useful for contact forms to be contextualised in order for LVSC to remain welcoming.	A bit more text is required above the form.	Chloe to drop text in.		
Any event material on the website should include access information, this includes promotional material and booking forms	This is not consistently done.	Chloe to send out info to all staff reminding them of this and check booking form accessibility.		
CAPTCHA 
If using captcha, make sure recaptcha is used for those with visual impairments	Complete	Complete		
Site Load-time Is Reasonable	Usually this seems fine, apart from Civi which is occasionally slow	Complete		
Adequate Text-to-Background Contrast
Eyes and monitors vary wildly, so ensure core copy contrast high. Good, old-fashioned black-on-white is still best most of the time.	Too much text per page but the majority of it is black text on white background.	Complete.		
Font Size/Spacing Is Easy to Read
Opinions vary on the ideal size for text, but err on the side of slightly too big. Poor readability increases frustration, and frustration leads to site abandonment. Also, line spacing needs to be adequate – white space is important.	I think font size is ok and spacing ok. We need to look at consistency of language though and quantity of text per page.	Chloe to review and suggest where changes can be made. 		
Flash & Add-ons Are Used Sparingly
No matter how great your site looks, people won't wait 5 minutes for a plug-in to load. Use new technology efficiently and only when it really enhances your goals. Sticking to standard HTML/CSS is also a plus for search engines.	We don’t use to many add-ons or iframes to youtube etc, so this isn’t so much of a problem but worth considering if we decide to use more of that.	Complete.		
Images Have Appropriate ALT Tags
Not only do sight-impaired visitors use ALT tags, but search engines need them to understand your images. This is especially critical when you use images for key content, such as menu items.	This functionality is currently not incorporated into Umbraco.	Contact Worship to find out the cost of doing so.		
Site Has Custom Not-found/404 Page
If a page on your site doesn't exist, a white page with "404 Not Found" is a good way to lose a customer. Create a custom 404 page, preferably one that guides your visitors to content.	Our website currently contains a Notfound/404 page.	Speak to Worship about the possibility of customising page.		
Company Logo Is Prominently Placed
Put your logo or brand where it's easy to find, and that usually means the upper-left of the screen. People expect it, and they like it when you make their lives easy.	Complete!	Complete!		
Tagline Makes Company's Purpose Clear
Answer "What do you do?" concisely with a descriptive tagline. Avoid marketing jargon and boil your unique value proposition down to a few words. This is also a plus for SEO.	This is important and needs to be addressed.	Chloe to work with team and CEO to come up with this.		
Home-page Is Digestible In 5 Seconds
In usability, we often talk about the 5-second rule. There's some disagreement over just how many seconds you get, but website visitors are a fickle bunch, and they need to get the basic gist of your home-page in just a few moments.	This needs to be looked at. We could do with less content and reducing the banner/menu/slider depth.	Find out from Worship the cost and possibility of this.		
Clear Path to Company Information
The good old "About Us" page may seem boring, but confidence is important on the web, and people need an easy way to learn more about you.	About us page is clear and accessible.	Complete.		
Clear Path to Contact Information
Similarly, visitors want to know that they can get in touch with you if they need to. It's also hard to do business if no one can contact you. Preferably, list your contact information as text (not in an image) - it'll get picked up by search engines, including local searches.	Complete, although could be improved.	Look at tidying homepage content/enlarging ‘contact us’ text.		
Main Navigation Is Easily Identifiable
Almost every site on the web has had a main menu since the first browsers came on the market. Make your main navigation easy to find, read, and use. If you have two or more navigation areas, make it clear why they're different.	Need to look into making the left hand subheadings clearer and easier to navigate.	Chloe to come up with recommendations of how this can be done.		
Navigation Labels Are Clear & Concise
Don't say "Communicate Online With Our Team" when "Contact Us" will do just fine. Your main navigation should be short, to the point, and easy for mere mortals to grasp.	I think we are fairly good on this although there are probably some subheaders that need reviewing AND navigation.	Chloe to review labels.		
Number of Buttons/Links Is Reasonable
Psychologists like to argue about how many pieces of information we can process, but if you start to get past 7-or-so menu items, think hard about whether you need them. 	Submenu needs reviewing.	Chloe to review submenu.		
Company Logo Is Linked to Home-page
This may sound minor, but people expect logos to link to home-pages, and when they don't, confusion follows. 	Complete.	Complete.		
Links Are Consistent & Easy to Identify
The underlined, blue link is a staple of the web. A little artistic license is ok, but consider at least making your links either blue or underlined. Links should stand out, and you should use them sparingly enough that they don't disrupt your content.	Ours our blue and stand out. 	Complete		
Site Search Is Easy to Access
If you have a site search, make sure it's prominent. Usability guidelines tend to prefer the upper-right corner of the page. Keep the button simple and clear - "Search" still works best for most sites.	We have a site search, but its functionality is poor. 	Contact Worship to ask for a fix.		
Major Headings Are Clear & Descriptive
Most people don't read online, they skim. Use headings (major and minor) to set content apart and keep it organized. Headings should be clear, and for SEO benefit, using heading tags (<H1>, <H2>, etc.).	Headings need to be consistent.	Chloe to remind staff on the standard LVSC layout for each webpage.		
Critical Content Is Above The Fold
The "fold" is that imaginary line where the bottom of your screen cuts off a page. Content can fall below the fold, but anything critical to understanding who you are or what you do (especially on the home-page) should fit on that first screen. Average screen resolution these days is about 1024x768, depending on your audience.	Ours goes way beyond this. Part of the problem with this is the large banner, menu, slider and then, bizarrely, second boxed text menu. It’s very confusing.	This is something which needs to be addressed. Chloe to put together a proposal for how the home page can be altered and what the implications of this would be.		
Styles & Colours Are Consistent
Make sure people know they're still on your site by being consistent - confuse them and you'll lose them. Layout, headings, and styles should be consistent site-wide, and colours should usually have the same meaning. Don't use red headers on one page, red links on another, and red text somewhere else.	Whilst the LVSC website itself is consistent, we now have other subsites, such as VCS assist, YVYC, PEACe, Civi etc.	This is something organisation needs to look at as a whole.		
Emphasis (bold, etc.) Is Used Sparingly
It's a fact of human cognition: try to draw attention to everything and you'll effectively draw attention to nothing. We've all seen that site, the one with a red, blinking, underlined "NEW!" next to everything. Don't be that person.	I think we are fairly good in this department.	Complete.		
Ensure Ads & Pop-ups Are Unobtrusive
Ads are a fact of life, but integrate them nicely into your site. Don't try to force ads and pop-ups down peoples' throats. Also keep ads clear. If you blur the line between ads and content too much, your content may suffer.	Generally I would say this is clear but there are a few ads which could be confused with funders etc.	Chloe to look into layout and placement of ads and make suggestion of how to proceed. 		
Main Copy Is Concise & Explanatory
This isn't a lesson in copywriting, but look at your home-page - can you say the same thing in half as many words? Try to be concrete and descriptive and avoid jargon.	We need to look into this.	Chloe to schedule in some time to review the webpage.		
URLs Are Meaningful & User-friendly
This is a point of some debate, but meaningful keyword-based URLs are generally good for both visitors and search engines. You don't have to re-engineer an entire site just to get new URLs, but do what you can to make them descriptive and friendly.	URLs are userfriendly although due navigation can be long and info not located in obvious place.	Complete.		
HTML Page Titles Are Explanatory
More importantly, your page titles (in the <TITLE> tag) should be descriptive, unique, and not jammed full of keywords. Page titles are the first thing search-engine visitors see, and if those titles don't make sense or look spammy, they'll move on to the next result.	Again, feel LVSC does this reasonably well.	Complete.