StoryMaps and Accessibility

This week, I am continuing to work on my web project, and I will be adding more content to the site shortly. This content will focus on Wayne County’s Indigenous history. As you browse the site, you may notice some differences in how the site looks from my original mockup. This is because I am also starting to think about web accessibility, which comes in many different forms. For example, as aesthetically pleasing as a serif font looks, sans serif is much easier to read. I am also breaking up longer paragraphs, standardizing headings, and fixing in-text links to increase the usability of my site. These will all hopefully make my website easier and more enjoyable to use on multiple platforms, including mobile. In the upcoming months, I also hope to add alt text to my images, improve how users can engage with quotes from Douglass, and incorporate more interactive features, such as a map using ARCGIS StoryMaps.

Prioritizing web accessibility, while it involves attention to detail, is also rewarding in the web development process. Features such as alt text ensure that my site can be used not only by people with visual impairments but also whenever images are not working so that the visual parts of my site will not be lost. Other features, such as using clear headings and writing in short but clear sentences also make my life easier as an editor: mistakes jump out more when they are only surrounded by three or four rather than eight to ten lines of text. I also have a much better idea of what I’m saying when I force myself to state it clearly and in places where it is readily obvious.  

Most of my resources on web accessibility have come from a new class that I am taking for these next seven weeks, which will teach me how to use and incorporate ArcGIS StoryMaps into my project. I am excited to take this class because I feel that interactive maps could enhance the overall quality of my site. My initial ideas are to either create a local map that shows areas significant to Indigenous history, or a more regional map that traces Wyandot, Shawnee, and Delaware removal. I haven’t decided on which project I want to make for the class, but it would be neat to have both maps up on the site!