Skip to main content

Reducing the Barriers to Legal and Mediation Services: Making our Website Accessible to All

By
Guest post by Kristyn Stoia:

Unless you’ve ever faced barriers while using a website, Web Accessibility is probably something that you’ve likely never heard of. However, there are numerous hurdles those with various impairments face when using the web, especially since the vast majority of sites aren’t designed with these needs in mind.

A website is regarded to be Accessible when measures have been taken to make certain that obstacles are removed to give equal access to the user. It also means that regardless of someone's physical, mental, or cognitive condition that they are able to freely use a website to obtain information and services.

Userway App Screenshot from Skylark WebsiteHere at Skylark Law & Mediation, PC, we took numerous steps to ensure Accessibility for each and every one of our users. We strived to adhere to the WCAG Outlines for Accessibility which means creating a site that was perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. In doing this, we took some specific measures:

We began by adding the Userway Plugin, which can be found in the upper right-hand corner of the website and this blog. This simple widget can really pack a punch in its capabilities and benefits for our users. It allows for keyboard navigation, cursor enlargement, color contrast, text enlargement, desaturation, link highlighting, legible fonts, as well as the ability to have the page read aloud to you. All these features are huge game changers in terms of the user experience. Best of all, it will remember the settings you chose, so each time you visit the Skylark website it will be ready to go.

On more of the tech side of the equation, there were many alterations that were done deep within the site. We added alternative text captions for each and every one of our images so that they could be read by screen readers,title attributes were removed in order to prevent a reductant experience from auditory software that would read out loud more content on the site than was necessary, and Skiplinks were added to allow for further navigation on the site. These are just a few of the adjustments we made in the pursuit of creating a far more accessible website.

Implementing Accessibility into our website was one simple way to be certain that all users on the Skylark website have equal access to the same user experience. Achieving a more Accessible site benefits all users regardless of their disabilities. Not only does the site now accommodate various disabilities but it also incorporates a fluid user interface for visitors. Legal services and information should be attainable by whoever seeks them, so by improving our site; we are fulfilling our role in leveling the playing field for all of our potential clients. All in all, accessibility is a huge issue that needs to be considered in order to welcome everyone to use the services or experience the content you're putting on the web.

For more information read the Accessibility Statement on our site.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines (2021): Big Changes, Little Changes, Typos & some Unexpected Results

By
UPDATE: The court has released a web calculating version of the 2021 MA Child Support Guidelines Worksheet .  It resolves some of the typos referred to below, but the unexpected calculations still apply. Every four years, per federal mandate, the Massachusetts Probate & Family Court revisits the Child Support Guidelines through the work of a Task Force appointed by the Chief Justice.  The 2021 Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines were recently posted.  They take effect on October 4, 2021.    If you are interested in a training on all of these changes to the new Child Support Guidelines: DMTA Presents the 2021 MA Child Support Guidelines Update  – Attend this event to learn the key updates you need to know for your mediation clients. Presented by Justin Kelsey of  Divorce Mediation Training Associates  and  Skylark Law & Mediation, PC . For a full comparison of all the  tracked changes between the 2018 and 2021 Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines you can download a pdf sho
Post a Comment
Read more

What is the purpose of the Divorce Nisi waiting period?

By
In Massachusetts the statutory waiting period after a Judgment of Divorce and before the divorce becomes final (or absolute) is called the Nisi period. After a divorce case settles or goes to trial, a Judgment of Divorce Nisi will issue and it will become Absolute after a further ninety (90) days. This waiting period serves the purpose of allowing parties to change their mind before the divorce becomes final. If the Judgment of Divorce Nisi has issued but not become final yet, and you and your spouse decide you don't want to get divorced, then you can file a Motion to Dismiss and the Judgment will be undone. Although many of my clients who are getting divorced think the idea of getting back together with their ex sounds crazy, I have had cases where this happened. In addition to offering a grace period to change your mind, the Nisi period has three other legal effects: 1. The most obvious effect of the waiting period is that you cannot remarry during the Nisi period, be
76 comments
Read more

Online Tool for Creating Parenting Plans

By
It is our hope that all families find a way to resolve conflict peacefully.  This is especially true when children are involved.  Divorced or separated parenting has many complications and the first is just deciding how to share time with a child from two separate households.  Developing a schedule can result in a lot of tension, especially if parents have trouble picturing how this new schedule will interact with their work schedules and the schedules of their children. To help make this easier, we've created an online tool for creating parenting plans that is simple and easy to use: We encourage parents, regardless of the process they are using to divorce, to use this form to assist in evaluating and settling custody disputes. The form allows you to choose between the Model Parenting Plan proposals or customize your parenting plan over a four week period by clicking directly on the form.  When you click on a section of the calendar it switches between Mom and Dad, an
Post a Comment
Read more