Top Wedding Industry Marketing Consultant Pioneers Website Accessibility for Disabled Communities

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Also co-authoring a new book on revolutionary web design and SEO strategies

TEANECK, N.J., Aug. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Wedding industry educator, author, and website consultant Brian Lawrence now offers solutions for companies looking to improve website accessibility for disabled users. This new service also helps protect businesses from discrimination lawsuits from failing to comply with the American Disabilities Act.

Lawrence developed this latest service for his web design and SEO agency out of a personal desire to make businesses more aware of disabled communities and their website needs. He started with his website, BrianLawrence.com. Through rigorous research, design, and testing, Lawrence and his team have recreated his website to be fully accessible to WCAG 2.2 AA standards, which comply with the American Disabilities Act requirements.

Learning and advocating for website disability access

"Being an advocate for accessibility resonated with me as my dad and a close cousin both had disabilities, and I was their caretaker at different stages of my life for many years," remembers Lawrence. As Lawrence watched the wedding industry evolve to embrace the goal of inclusivity, he became acutely aware of how disabled communities were often overlooked when it came to website accessibility.

Lawrence believes accessibility in digital spaces often gets overlooked from a lack of awareness. "People with disabilities can face unintentional barriers that make navigating websites difficult, from shopping online to learning about services like those provided by wedding vendors," offers Lawrence. "This gap in accommodation can lead to a subpar experience and, in some cases, legal repercussions for businesses."

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Understanding website disability access

To offer accessibility solutions to his clients, Lawrence became a "student of disability" by conducting extensive research, plug-in testing, and working with several accessibility experts who also had a disability. "I discovered," says Lawrence, "some conflicting information and claims from companies that offered accessible solutions actual feedback from disabled users. Ideally, accessible sites are designed to make the user experience as good as possible for individuals with sight impairment, hearing impairment, dyslexia, epilepsy, or ADHD."

Lawrence found a plug-in he was comfortable working with and began testing it on his site and the sites of clients who came to him regarding ADA compliance. A user himself, once he received feedback about the plug-in's limitations to full accessibility, he proceeded to make his company's website totally accessible, enlisting the assistance and guidance of well-known accessibility expert Sol Escobar. A case study on the Brian Lawrence website transition is available here.

Finding solutions for true accessibility

In testing accessibility improvements for his website, Lawrence found a complex and labor-intensive process—particularly for an existing website. "It seems that in some cases, creating a new site from scratch is more feasible than retrofitting an old one to meet accessibility standards," notes Lawrence. "To verify compliance, rigorous testing needs to be conducted against standards set through the American Disabilities Act. These tests simulate the actual user experience of a website from the vantage point of different disabilities."

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Now that his company's website has been thoroughly tested, meets ADA standards, and provides a quality experience for those with disabilities, he will continue to train his designers in accessibility and offer extensive site design services. In the interim, he will continue to offer the plug-in to prospective businesses as a positive first step towards accessibility, understanding that the path to full accessibility is an ongoing process.

About Brian Lawrence

In addition to owning a boutique web design and SEO agency, Lawrence is a respected speaker. He frequently appears on industry-related podcasts and at Wedding MBA. His blog is an authoritative resource on topics such as website design, technology, SEO, and website accessibility for disabled communities.

Brian Lawrence is in collaboration with well-known wedding industry consultant, author, and speaker Alan Berg on a comprehensive book that covers all aspects of website design, SEO, and user experience. It will also include insights on the importance of disability access and website design. Their publication will be released at the November 2024 Wedding MBA Conference in Las Vegas.

To learn more about improving website disability access, call/text (201) 244-5969 or email [email protected].

SOURCE BrianLawrence.com
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