Accessibility is at the heart of a website redesign for a group focused on the disabled

Website accessibility is an underreported issue, but a significant one. As more and more news, information, and resources are accessible primarily through the Web, millions of people with disabilities find it impossible or, at best, difficult to avail themselves of this channel.

The problem extends even to organizations formed to aid the disabled, like Inglis, a 137-year-old institution founded to assist people with disabilities in the greater Philadelphia area. Focusing on two standards—the Rehabilitation Act of 1977 and the World Wide Web Consortium’s accessibility standards—Inglis opted to focus on the back end, making it easier for developers with disabilities to serve as site administrators while also ensuring front-end development of accessible content was easier.

The result is a website that looks great, serves the needs of all its stakeholders, and is accessible without showing the nuts and bolts that make it accessible. Increased visits, reduced bounce rates, and increased donations made through the site testify to the effectiveness of this substantial upgrade, which takes the prize for Best Website in PR Daily’s 2014 Nonprofit PR Awards.

We congratulate Gary Bramnick, Eliot Spindel, and King Design for their noteworthy efforts.

Want to get recognized for your hard work? Find out about Ragan and PR Daily’s award programs here: http://www.ragan.com/Awards/RaganAwardsPrograms.aspx.