23rd Jul 2024
It’s Green Hosting clients appreciation time and finally the sun has arrived in the UK. Let’s see what these rays of sunshine have to offer…
Sustainable & Social
A curated and trusted platform for the sustainably curious.
sustainableandsocial.com
Conservation Through Public Health
Enabling people, wildlife and livestock to coexist in and around Africa's protected areas.
ctph.org
Redbridge IASS
Information, advice and support for special educational needs and disability.
redbridgeiass.org.uk
Fuzzfox
Ethical video production that won’t break the bank.
fuzzfox.com
Kathleen Moss
Accounting services for charities.
kathleenmossacma.co.uk
Caitlin Job
Copywriter & French to English translation and content for conscious businesses.
caitlinjob.com
Alliance for Mediterranean Nature & Culture
NGOs working to promote and sustain Mediterranean cultural landscapes.
mednatureculture.org
Rebecca Nestor
Support for those facing the climate crisis.
rebeccanestor.co.uk
Kinetic Coast
A kinetic sculpture trail art project.
kineticcoast.co.uk
Army Ornithological Society
The organisation for military birders
armybirding.org.uk
Real Life PR
PR for artists, events and brands.
reallifepr.com
Borrowed Time
Enabling people to support each other through climate grief.
borrowedtime.earth
YouByYou Books
Life story writing and local history publishing
youbyyou.co.uk
Photo copyright – The individuals and organisations listed in this post
5th Jul 2024
Making your website as accessible to as many people as possible is an aim many website owners want to achieve but may feel that implementation is too technical. So here's a breakdown of what website accessibility is, why it is important and steps website owners can take without any web design knowledge or experience.
What is website accessibility?Website accessibility means having a website that can be visited and used by as many people as possible, including disabled people - People who have motor difficulties or vision, cognitive or hearing impairment, who are blind or deaf or have a learning disability for example. In reality it covers a vast range of diverse people and the devices they use.
Just like accessibility of any other service, product or environment it is about creating an inclusive and equitable space where people who have disabilities can access the same or similar information as everyone else.
According to the disability equality organisation Scope, there are 16 million disabled people in the UK. That is almost a quarter of the population. Aside from the ethical considerations, why would we want to potentially exclude a quarter of prospective visitors from our websites?
Website accessibility regulations came into force in 2018 for public bodies and all UK websites are required to make 'reasonable adjustments' to make their websites accessible under the 2010 Equality Act. There is more in-depth information about legal requirements for UK websites at the .Gov website.
This is not an exhaustive list but it describes the main, non-technical actions you can take as a website owner.
Start with your visual branding.
This can happen before your website even exists. Having a visual brand that uses accessible colours will have a knock on effect across all of your marketing materials, not just your website. If you're hiring a brand designer to create this for you then make sure they understand the issues, especially colour contrast. Low contrasting text colours are a very common item that will fail accessibility checks. Simply speaking, if the text doesn't contrast strongly enough against its background then some people will not be able to see or read it. Are My Colours Accessible is a great tool where you can test this or experiment to help you to understand contrast ratios.
Choosing your wording
Keep your language simple and straightforward. Unless your website contains technical information for a very specific audience, there is no need to over complicate it. Write for people first, rather than for search engines.
Take care with your photos and images.
Never use text in images to convey important information (such as a picture of a poster containing event information or contact details). People using text reader software to access your website content cannot 'see' text in images. If you do put informative text inside an image, add this as actual text too.
Always add alternative text to describe the image for people who cannot see the image visually.
Transcripts and descriptions for audio and video is essential.
Videos are great and who doesn't love a podcast? If you are using these types of media remember to provide subtitles, a transcript and/or written description for deaf or hearing impaired people or users who cannot hear the video/audio content. Provide audio descriptions for people who are blind, have a vision impairment or cannot see the video for another reason.
Headings are not decoration
Use headings to separate and structure your content, not to style your page. Headings used appropriately (i.e. heading 1 first, followed by heading 2s and so on) are useful for non-visual users to skip through your content quickly to find what they need.
Text for links provides useful information
Put link text in context. For example, instead of creating a link to another page using just the word ‘here’, add the link to more descriptive text such as ‘our calendar of events here’. Consider, would the text of the link make sense if it stood alone?
Remember the interactive parts of your website
The complexity of this varies depending on the function or feature and this where you may need a professional web developer's expertise. For example a more complex feature may be your website's forms which need to be properly structured, labelled correctly and consistent. A more simple feature may be a button, which should be large enough to click/tap and far enough away from other interactive elements that very fine and precise movement isn't required to hit it.
PDFs count too
In most circumstances your PDFs also need to meet accessibility standards. There are some exceptions, especially for non-essential documents created before September 2018.
Design for multiple devices
Your website should be equally usable on the small screen of a mobile phone and other size screens, through to a large desktop screen. This is website responsiveness and is built into the design and coding of your site. If you're not sure, check with your web designer that your website is responsive.
The technical details
There are more technical aspects to creating an accessible website and even if you are not developing the website yourself, it is empowering to understand them. Talk this over with your web developer and ask them how they build accessibility into their websites and how they conduct accessibility testing.
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) - pages about website accessibility
The Web Accessibility Initiative
UK Government guidance on understanding website accessibility requirements
UK Government guidance on doing a basic accessibility check
Are My Colours Accessible? tool
28th Jun 2024
It’s Green Hosting clients appreciation time. Let’s see what the first bunch of the summer have in store…
Where Does it Come From
Award winning social enterprise that creates clothing and textiles that are kind
wheredoesitcomefrom.co.uk
Thoughts Make Things
Illustrator, art director and designer, bringing play and wonder to every project
thoughtsmakethings.com
The Ethical Copywriter
Copywriting for ethical businesses. Change the world, with words.
theethicalcopywriter.com
Natural Elements
Tai Chi and wellbeing for everyone
naturalelementsgroup.co.uk
Climate Action Lewisham
A local group working to support and generate climate action initiatives
climateactionlewisham.org
Reed Words
Making brands and businesses stronger through language
reedwords.com
Mellow Grove
Regenerative smallholding providing natural burials and carrying out nature-friendly farming
mellowgrove.org.uk
Cocoon Comms
A digital marketing communications agency for sustainable and eco-friendly brands
cocooncommunications.co.uk
Orbis Marketing
Sustainable marketing, business set up & coaching
orbis-marketing.com
ArtsMix
Pop-up markets for original artists, crafters, designers and creative food producers
artsmix.co.uk
The Abdication
An independent micropub specialising in good beer for 10 years
theabdication.co.uk
Ruislip Artists
Supporting member artists with meetings, events and exhibitions
ruislipartists.co.uk
Planetary Collective
A creative organization dedicated to worldview interruption
weareplanetary.com
Image descriptions:
A grid of images showing Rachel from Ethical Copywriter, Paul from Natural Elements leading a Tai Chi class, Katie from Cocoon Communications, Jo from Where Does it Come From?
Photo copyright – The individuals and organisations listed in this post
19th Jun 2024
To celebrate our 20th business anniversary and to say thank you for your custom we are excited to offer you the opportunity to win a year of free website hosting.
It’s simple to enter:
You must be a current Green Hosting client to take part.
Any clients who have already sent their memories or messages are already entered into the draw.
The deadline is 30th September, so if you’re not already a Green Hosting client, there’s time to purchase one of our plans and take part.
We'd love to hear from you!
Take a look at our ther wonderful Green Hosting clients to see who is powering their websites with 100% renewable energy.
31st May 2024
It’s Green Hosting clients appreciation time. There may be something wonderful to see here (see what I did there?). Find out more …
Black Skies Blue
Supporting businesses to adopt sustainable business models.
blackskiesblue.com
LiLi Kathleen Bright
Writer, ecopoet and nature experiences and workshop facilitator.
brightlyk.com
Highland Eco
Small scale hydro power designers.
highlandeco.com
Curiously Conscious
Lifestyle blog, documenting kinder ways to live and dress.
curiouslyconscious.com
South Pennines Digital Towns
Supporting community-minded organisations to explore digital and technology
southpenninesdigitaltowns.org.uk
Holly Rose
Writer, soil advocate, and environmentalist sharing tales and information through multimedia projects
hollyrose.eco
Greens Mill
A restored 19th century working windmill and science centre
greensmill.org.uk
Angels Community Enterprises
Care and domestic services and personal assistants.
angelscommunityenterprises.co.uk
Anja Lobert
Interior designer and craftswoman, delivering women’s DIY workshops
anjalobert.co.uk
The Masbro Centre
An Urban Partnership Group enterprise whose aim is to improve the health, wealth and wellbeing of the local community.
upg.org.uk
Maribru
Timeless and unique knitwear and accessories handmade with undyed British wool
maribru.co.uk
Paddy Piano
An inspirational piano teacher in London
paddypiano.co.uk
Youthquake Now
Campaigning for young people’s issues with Quaker values of peace, equality, simplicity and truth
youthquakenow.com
A grid of images showing of the team at Black Skies Blue, LiLi Kathleen Bright, Besma Whayeb from Curiously Conscious and Jamie Wallace from Highland Eco
Photo copyright – The individuals and organisations listed in this post
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