CommunityShare
Accessibility Audit
Role: Lead UI/UX Designer
Duration: 3 months
Tools: Google Sheets, Figma, FigJam
The Challenge
When CommunityShare started, it had limited resources and so was not optimized to meet WCAG standards. However, as a mission-driven organization, we knew we needed to make our online platform more accessible and therefore more inclusive, so that all of our community members could feel empowered to form meaningful connections.
The Process
First, I defined the goal and scope of the audit to clearly communicate the value that accessibility improvements could provide to our communities. This was not only for my own benefit but also for other stakeholders such as our product manager, developer, and founder.
WCAG 2.1 categories cover 5 main areas, summed up in the list to the right.
(A quick shoutout: Raghavendra Satish Peri over at Digital A11y has a great guide on performing an accessibility audit. Thanks!)
A screenshot of the 5 WCAG 2.1 areas of accessibility: perceivable, operable, understandable, robust, and conformance
This checklist from Hubspot also came in handy as a rubric to decide whether components complied with WCAG standards or not.
A screenshot of the Hubspot website accessibility checklist
I created an issue tracker using Google Sheets, comparing the desktop and mobile versions of the online platform. Each issue was also assigned a priority ranking based on its impact on usability.
A screenshot of our a11y audit issue tracker made with Google Sheets
One of the most minor, though arguably one of the most impactful changes made was swapping out our previous blue, #3187CE, for a subtly darker shade, #2D78BE.
Previous shade of blue #3182CE:
New shade of blue #2D78BE:
Color contrast checker: Foreground Hex #FFFFFF, Background Hex #2D78BE
New blue shade's WCAG contrast ratings
Looking back at the experience, I would have re-worked our design system starting with the subatomic components if we had had the time and budget with our small team.
CommunityShare was founded to connect students who had become disengaged from their communities. Making CommunityShare's online platform more inclusive means making communities more inclusive, and more inclusive communities are more resilient in the face of today's social and political landscape.
Thank you for reading!