Our new website goes live!
The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) is proud to reveal our brand new website (30 June 2016). It is a mobile responsive site so the new design and content structure will enable more organisations to access information in an easier way on more devices. It will also assist disabled people to find contacts and support on how to more active. After working with the designers, Tictoc, and supported by AbilityNet, we are delighted to share the result.
We treated this project as an ideal opportunity to analyse our user journeys and popular pages as well as limit the number of clicks to find information. The challenge was to transfer a content-rich hub into a more user and device-friendly site.
We launched our last site in 2012, but with crucial accessibility and technology requirements, we needed to rebuild our most important information portal. It has been an ideal time to give the site a much-needed makeover.
For providers, as well as the regular news features, the site offers pages on our programmes, research and resources. For disabled people and their networks, the site offers activity listings, local contacts and information on our IFI Mark accredited facilities. As a charity, we also wanted to improve our fundraising features.
Sarah Marl, Marketing and Communications Manager at EFDS, who looked after the project, said:
“Over the last year we have worked hard to design and deliver this fantastic new site. As our most important information source, we wanted to lead by example in many areas. We embraced the chance to review and refresh the wealth of support we offer on this digital platform.
“We hope you enjoy the new site, find the right support and opportunities. We also welcome providers to use our site to promote their own activities and resources.”
EFDS champions inclusive and accessible communications. As well as the successful Inclusive Communications Guide, last year we released a helpful animation film on the key principles. It was important for us to bring in experts in the field for this project.
We called upon the support from charity AbilityNet, whose team of consultants and testers help businesses, charities and public bodies to design and maintain accessible websites, Apps and other digital tools. We used their services at the design and testing stages. Their final evaluation reported the website meets WCAG 2.0, conformance level AA. It continued:
"The website was found to have been developed and implemented with a high degree of skill, functionality and regard to accessibility and must be commended."
Marl continued:
“Responsive web design supports many more users, especially those who have impairments that limits their web viewing. Mobile devices like Apple’s iPhone and iPad, as well as Google-powered Android smartphones and tablets, have accessible browsers and support accessible features and assistive technology. Well-designed websites can be responsive to a user’s device as well as to a user’s needs.”
