Designing Seamless Online Systems Like Creative Projects

The Tragedy of Ravelry's Issues with Poor Web Accessibility

In 2008, Ravelry was THE online community for fiber artists to share patterns & knowledge about all things related to the fiberverse. It was the go-to place for knitters, crocheters, rug makers, weavers & spinning enthusiasts. The site contains a massive database of user contributed patterns, which is still revered by many as Ravelry's most valuable resource. 

Then in 2020, the site received a 'design makeover.'  Soon after release of New Ravelry, users began voicing complaints about the design, citing frequent incidents of eye fatigue, headaches, migraines & for some sensitive people, seizures! 

The sordid story of Ravelry's decline is described in more depth below. It's an interesting podcast for anyone who owns or builds websites on how NOT to handle community problems. 

Enjoy the tea.

One would hope so. 

However, Govt sites have higher web standards than most other sites.  Apart from security concerns, Govt sites must perform well under various stress tests— high traffic, low bandwidth, no scripts, no CSS, sporadic or slow internet connectivity, etc.  And they must demonstrate that they are web accessible for ALL users, regardless of device or disability. This includes users with low or no vision, color blindness, photosensitivity, hearing impairments, as well as cognitive/learning or motor disabilities.  Additionally, mobile, hybrid & desktop users interact differently with their devices. Interactive elements should be easy to access via mouse, keyboard or touch screen gestures.

IMO, all sites should be tested with web assistive technologies, like JAWS, to ensure they meet the smell test.  Below is a brief video of a user interacting with an accessible & a non-accessible website using JAWS. If you've never seen this before, it's an eye-opener (pun intended). 😁 

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2, level AA) Checklist

https://www.levelaccess.com/blog/wcag-2-2-aa-summary-and-checklist-for-website-owners/

Building Govt websites isn't in everyone's future. But greater awareness of what the challenges are can lead to better conceived websites for the public & private sectors. And that's a good thing for everyone.  😇

Good luck!