Firecats Build Site for Neighborhood Association

As part of Firecat Studio's sponsorship of and participation in the Accessibility Internet Rally - San Antonio, we spent all day Saturday building an accessible website for our nonprofit partner, the Terrell Heights Neighborhood Association.

Special thanks to  Danielle Cunningham for a lovely and effective online brand and design, Daniella Matutes for setting up a content management system, Chris McDermott for technical recommendations and setup, Leslie Provence for content and project management, and Debbie Curtis for organizational support.

The event raises awareness about the issue of Web Accessibility, and offers training to designers and developers in building websites that people who are blind, deaf, or mobility-impaired can use. There are some great side benefits, including:

• Improved search engine optimization (SEO). Google and other search indexers are blind and deaf, too.
• Improved browser compatibility, including for devices such as cell phones.
• Tapping into the huge market of people who need accessible websites, who otherwise aren't able to buy a company's products or services. That segment is bigger than the blind and deaf populations; think older folks who need the text enlarged, or people with temporary disabilities like carpal tunnel syndrome or a sprained wrist.

We can't yet share the site itself, but here's what it looks like:

Some of us had participated in AIR events before, but we always learn something new. Thanks to Knowbility for sponsoring the event.