Accessible Website Design
Overview
Starting at $11,750
When a brand new website or re-do is needed, it is critical to consider accessibility early on and monitor as the project moves along. There is nothing more awful (in our opinion) than building a new website and then, after the money is gone, finding out that some information is inaccessible to people using a keyboard to navigate (instead of a mouse) or to assistive technology (like screen-readers that read web pages out loud to those who cannot see).
When you choose us as your accessible website partner, you rely on our experience and expertise to make good choices on your behalf.
Website build phases with payment schedule
Website design and build projects follow this map:
A non-refundable 50% deposit is required for Phase 1 (approximately $1,250 to $1,750), this is due at the time of workshop scheduling. The remainder is due at the delivery of a development roadmap.
Phase 2 requires a 10% of estimated project total to start, and then invoices are delivered on the 1st of the month and due in 14 days.
The process = 8+ weeks. There are many moving parts so we’ll determine a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) with you, and stick to a timeline as much as possible. The average build time we see is 12-16 weeks.
Beginning Total = $11,750
Phase 1 – Discovery
Starts at $2,500
Stakeholder and key team members workshop, plus research, and reports, leads to development roadmap.
Phase 2 – Onboard
Starts at $500
Initiate project in Basecamp (our project managing software of choice). Confirm key POC’s and begin communications. Whir-up WordPress.
Phase 3 – Design and development
Starts at $7,000
Navigation, header, footer, page layouts, templates, content creation, fleshing out.
Phase 4 – Bring it to life
Starts at $1,750
Pre-Launch, launch, post-launch activities, and move to maintenance (Website Care Plan).
Consider extras
Videos, PDFs and other website elements need special attention for accessibility. We’ll look at assets in the discovery phase but if they exist, and need to be kept, a separate plan must be created for them (even if it’s removing some of them!)
Writing not included
For a new website — when there is no website that came before, and therefore no content to repurpose — we will assign writing tasks to the writer/s of your choice. Keep in mind:
- Your writer is likely going to be your in-house expert/s on the topic. If they do not have experience with accessible writing practices we can guide them to resources, or we can add some time to the project for one-to-one coaching.
- If you don’t have a writer in mind we can help you find one.
- There is a difference between technical writing for a specific audience, and writing engaging content in a brand voice for non-experts. You might need a mix of writers, and we’ll find this out during the Discovery phase.
- As text comes in, we may suggest tweaks to “webify” what is being communicated (make it bite–sized, and make it “sticky”).
Please note: Branding (logo and palette) and stock image research are included only on request.
Option: Accessible Design Coaching
Accessible Design Coaching takes place during key development stages of the project We suggest a minimum of 5 hours coaching. See website design coaching prices.
Important! Not to put the cart before the horse… but to avoid any lumpiness, we have one stipulation of doing business together: If we build it, we must maintain it.
When we deliver a WCAG conforming website, we want more than anyone for it to have the best chance at success. Your website works 24/7 on your behalf — it’s an employee — engaging customers and telling your story. Years of experience has shown us what happens when someone tries to care for a WordPress website when it is not their expertise. On–screen things get messy, or ugly… usually both; behind the browser, the developer gets the blame, the owner feels cheated, and the customers are left feeling blah.
Remember, a website is a boat–load of code — it’s a machine.
We want to give you all the knowledge and tools you need to get in the boat and speed off into the sunset collecting fans on the way, but we need to keep that boat performing. A puttering boat is not sexy. We hope you catch our drift 🙂