Re: Blog platform information request

After speaking with my accessibility contacts at WordPress and at Wix, I'm
sticking with my recommendations earlier in this thread.

I've also read Terrill Thompson's recent review of Squarespace, Wix, and
Weebly <https://terrillthompson.com/1203>. Based on his description of a
high-level accessibility review, I agree with his conclusions: "For
accessibility, avoid Weebly. Both Squarespace and Wix are capable of
creating accessible sites, but the user has to be looking to do so—it isn't
gonna happen by default. Wix seems to be taking accessibility a bit more
seriously than Squarespace"

For the record, there are many other web authoring tools out there... Here
is some relevant research.

   - Funka We4Authors - Main activities and results
   <https://www.funka.com/en/projekt/we4authors/we4authors-main-activities-and-results/>
   - Funka We4Authors - Presentations and results from the workshops
   <https://www.funka.com/en/projekt/we4authors/we4authors-main-activities-and-results/workshops-on-accessible-content-management-systems/workshops/>


Actual experience of people with disabilities will always be more important
than anything else I've shared here.

Mitchell Evan
+1 (510) 375-6104
mtchllvn@gmail.com
Twitter: @mitchellrevan
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitchellrevan/


On Fri, Mar 13, 2020 at 7:41 PM Mitchell Evan <mtchllvn@gmail.com> wrote:

> > Can I ask what kind of worries you have with regards to plug-ins (or
> even what *kind* of plug-ins to worry about)?
>
> <https://wordpress.org/plugins/>
> Last I heard, WordPress plug-ins <https://wordpress.org/plugins/> are not
> routinely reviewed for accessibility. Carefully test or avoid plug-ins
> which add content or change the format of your website for your visitors.
> Some plug-ins, such as analytics, are safer because they only affect you as
> an author (that is, until you or a co-author has a disability).
>
> > If anyone should have any advice about Wix specifically
>
> Based on the fairly impressive Wix Editor help for accessibility
> <https://support.wix.com/en/the-wix-editor/accessibility>, I'm
> tentatively upgrading Wix from "less bad" to "could be quite good" if you
> stick with features where they've already worked on accessibility. If
> anybody here has gone down this path recently, please share. Otherwise I'd
> say sign up, try building a website, and file support tickets
> <https://support.wix.com/en/article/contacting-wix-support> if anything
> doesn't seem right.
>
> Thank you again for your attention and diligence. Accessibility is
> important, and I realize I'm acting like the geographer in The Little
> Prince
> <https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/little-prince/geographer> by asking
> others to do the exploration on this one.
>
> Mitchell Evan
> +1 (510) 375-6104
> mtchllvn@gmail.com
> Twitter: @mitchellrevan
> https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitchellrevan/
>
> On Fri, Mar 13, 2020, 3:23 PM Kieran de Leon-Horton <
> krdeleon.peralta@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi Mitchell,
>>
>> Thanks for this rundown! Your succinct description of my conundrum as an
>> architecture decision exactly sums up my issue.
>>
>> If I may, I had a few follow up questions/clarifications that might help
>> in this inquiry:
>>
>>> Be wary of WordPress plug-ins
>>
>> Can I ask what kind of worries you have with regards to plug-ins (or even
>> what *kind* of plug-ins to worry about)? Again, total noob with web
>> design here so I wasn't even 100% what a plug-in meant in this instance,
>> much less what to avoid.
>>
>> You mentioned "blog" and also a more open-ended "web presence."
>>
>> Yeah, that may be an overly grand description at this time. Literally I
>> have an instagram I've been tentatively posting to but (being a production
>> coordinator in my regular job) I've been making a spreadsheet of how I plan
>> to expand this project from types of social media posts, a blog for columns
>> and interviews I've been doing outreach for, etc. assuming (of course) any
>> of this takes off.
>>
>> If you must launch tonight instead of next week, then we're talking about
>>> a "site builder", and the best you're likely to get for accessibility is
>>> "less bad" (and mostly not fixable, unless the company fixes it for
>>> everyone).
>>
>> I don't have plans to put up the blog et al imminently but I have been
>> looking into this since before the holidays and this forum is probably the
>> first advice giving me traction for the web aspect of all this. The "less
>> bad" aspect was what I've been worried about so I at least appreciate that
>> it's not an unwarranted impression.
>>
>> Wix started investing in accessibility in 2018, a reasonable choice if
>>> your time is extremely limited.
>>
>> I was also looking into Wix just as a company recommended by WireCutter
>> for starting a website. It is gratifying to know they're making strides
>> towards accessibility as with the below post:
>>
>> https://support.wix.com/en/article/checklist-for-improving-your-sites-accessibility
>>
>> If anyone should have any advice about Wix specifically but again with my
>> general question in mind it would, as always, be very much appreciated.
>>
>> In the meantime, thanks again for the advice already given! This is
>> already so much better than the understanding I've been able to reach by my
>> inexperienced lonesome.
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Kieran
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Mar 12, 2020 at 11:08 PM Mitchell Evan <mtchllvn@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Kieran,
>>>
>>> Your questions are excellent. The work of the W3C aims to be practical
>>> and achievable, but as you noticed it is weighted toward bespoke
>>> development.
>>>
>>> Your time is limited, and you're looking for a first step that you won't
>>> later regret. We webby folks would call this an "architecture" decision. A
>>> good responsible choice is indeed WordPress with one of its accessible
>>> themes (marked as such in the catalog). Be wary of WordPress plug-ins. What
>>> you create on this platform will not be perfect the first time, but with
>>> some attention to detail (which you've already demonstrated), the result
>>> will be good and any remaining problems will be fixable.
>>>
>>> You mentioned "blog" and also a more open-ended "web presence." If you
>>> must launch tonight instead of next week, then we're talking about a "site
>>> builder", and the best you're likely to get for accessibility is "less bad"
>>> (and mostly not fixable, unless the company fixes it for everyone). Wix
>>> started investing in accessibility in 2018, a reasonable choice if your
>>> time is extremely limited.
>>>
>>> To the accessibility SMEs here: I've written these recommendations
>>> hoping that (1) others here can correct me and (2) this conversation will
>>> help a thousand other people with authoring tool needs like Kieran's.
>>>
>>> Mitchell Evan
>>> +1 (510) 375-6104
>>> mtchllvn@gmail.com
>>> Twitter: @mitchellrevan
>>> https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitchellrevan/
>>>
>>> On Thu, Mar 12, 2020, 4:05 PM Kieran de Leon-Horton <
>>> krdeleon.peralta@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hello,
>>>>
>>>> Apologies if I'm not requesting properly, this is my first email to the
>>>> list.
>>>>
>>>> I'm a documentary filmmaker based in LA starting a very small project
>>>> centered around food and food security. As part of that I was starting to
>>>> anticipate the growth of the project and think about its web presence.
>>>>
>>>> Towards that end, I've been going through W3C as best I'm able but find
>>>> myself a bit overwhelmed and wondering if I'm asking the right questions
>>>> much less how to find the right answers. Among other things I'm planning to
>>>> work through the 5 module online course but also was wondering if anyone
>>>> can answer this question:
>>>>
>>>> Does anyone have any pointers or recommendations for any off-the-shelf
>>>> blogging platforms that are more accessibility compliant than others?
>>>>
>>>> I found this thread
>>>> <https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-ig/2017AprJun/0100.html>
>>>> from 2017 about WordPress specifically but was wondering if WordPress is
>>>> the only game in town or if there are other, better alternatives?
>>>>
>>>> I understand the best option would probably be a bespoke website but as
>>>> mentioned, this is the very beginning of what's currently a no-budget
>>>> project and I'm hoping to do what I can with what's available at the
>>>> moment. I'm very new to the idea of any web presence, much less one with
>>>> requirements largely new to me so any guidance and/or resources is much
>>>> appreciated.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks!
>>>>
>>>> Kieran dLH
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>