Accessibility

My work prioritizes accessibility, which also improves usability and search engine optimization. Contact me if your organization needs help with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) compliance. My WCAG (Level AA) Accessibility Evaluations start at $800 per site.

Scholarships to Support Spokane Student Education

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Spokane nonprofit retired teachers association website

A new WordPress-powered website for Spokane Area Retired Educator’s Association (SAREA), a member organization of Washington State School Retirees Association.

This Spokane nonprofit association lost access to their domain registrar and host, after a key stakeholder passed away. After a new domain name was secured,  site content was manually migrated into a WordPress CMS for more intuitive content editing. The new site incorporates an online application for scholarships and mini-grants awarded each fall.

Scope of Work

  • Content Migration
  • Performance Optimization
  • Search Engine Optimization
  • Security Hardening
  • Visual Layout & Design
  • WordPress Theme Development
  • WordPress Training & Consulting

Performance

Page load speed is excellent with overall page size, 273 Kb, 88% below the median homepage size. Accessibility benchmarks are also superb.

Performance MetricNew WordPress Website
Google Lighthouse: Accessibility100/100
Google Lighthouse: Best Practices100/100
Google Lighthouse: Mobile Speed70/100
Google Lighthouse: Desktop Speed91/100
Google Lighthouse: Search Engine Optimization93/100
WebPageTest Speed Index1.795
Total Homepage File Size273 Kb (218 Kb Images + 9 Kb Scripts + 45Kb CSS + 8Kb HTML)
Total Web Server Requests18 (5 Images + 4 Scripts + 8 CSS + 1 HTML)
Estimated Mobile Homepage Load Time~1.8 seconds

WebPageTest Speed Index: median = ~3.591; top 10% = <1.388
In 2022, the average page size = ~2.4 Mb and median page size = ~2.1 Mb.
Database-driven websites, like WordPress, are more performance optimized when server requests are < 40 – 60.

Site Credits

WordPress Design + Development: Scott Marlow

Building WordPress Websites, Online Forms, and Marcom Confidence

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Habitat for Humanity website screenshot

A website redesign and rebuild for Habitat for Humanity of Kitsap County. This new custom-branded WordPress website replaces a 2017 volunteer-built static HTML site, which was not mobile-friendly, despite a significant amount of site visits from mobile devices.

The WordPress CMS with a Block Editor-integrated Theme enables the new marcom staff to intuitively edit content, as well as create rich, modern layouts. Google Lighthouse benchmarks across the board were significantly improved.

Scope of Work

  • Accessibility Consulting
  • Branding & Visual Design
  • Content Migration
  • Performance Optimization
  • Search Engine Optimization
  • Security Hardening
  • WordPress Theme Development
  • WordPress Training & Consulting

Performance

Page load speed improved considerably by reducing overall page size 96% from 15.4 Mb to 618 Kb, 1/4th the median homepage size.

Before & After Performance Comparison

Performance MetricOld Website
New Website
Google Lighthouse: Accessibility41/10098/100
Google Lighthouse: Best Practices83/100100/100
Google Lighthouse: Mobile Speed58/10070/100
Google Lighthouse: Desktop Speed53/10098/100
Google Lighthouse: Search Engine Optimization50/10093/100
WebPageTest Speed Index11.3843.422
Total Homepage File Size15.336 Mb (14.6 Mb Images + 933Kb Scripts)618 Kb (148 Kb Images + 290 Kb Scripts + 133 Kb CSS + 49 Kb Fonts + 11 Kb HTML)
Total Web Server Requests40 (16 Images + 9 Scripts + 2 CSS + 8Other + 5 HTML)41 (7 Images + 15 Scripts + 15 CSS + 2 Fonts + 1 HTML)
Estimated Mobile Homepage Load Time~11.4 seconds~3.4 seconds

WebPageTest Speed Index: median = ~3.591; top 10% = <1.388
In 2022, the average page size = ~2.4 Mb and median page size = ~2.1 Mb.
Database-driven websites, like WordPress, are more performance optimized when server requests are < 40 – 60.

Site Credits

WordPress Theme Development: Scott Marlow

The Web Developer for People of All Races

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screenshot for El Centro de la Raza

Another performance-optimized website rebuild from a ThemeForest template Theme to an open source WordPress Theme.

El Centro de la Raza provides 43 programs and services in 9 different service areas for children, youth, families and seniors around King County. The website features a new events calendar, language translation, and more dynamic program content in a more accessible Theme. The Gutenberg Block Editor provides more streamlined editing, with a plethora of layout and design options for content contributors.

Scope of Work

  • Accessibility Consulting
  • Branding & Visual Design
  • Content Migration
  • Performance Optimization
  • Search Engine Optimization
  • Security Hardening
  • WordPress Theme Development
  • WordPress Training & Consulting

Performance

Page load speed significantly improved since 2022. By reducing overall page size 88%, from 11.5 Mb to 1.4 Mb, and reducing web server requests 19% from 64 to 52, average mobile page loads have improved from ~11 to ~3 seconds.

Before & After Performance Comparison

Performance MetricOld Website
New Website
Google Lighthouse: Accessibility88/10098/100
Google Lighthouse: Best Practices92/10092/100
Google Lighthouse: Mobile Speed39/10087/100
Google Lighthouse: Desktop Speed54/10099/100
Google Lighthouse: Search Engine Optimization79/10077/100
WebPageTest Speed Index10.7293.024
Total Homepage File Size11.5 Mb (10.1 Mb Images + 853 Kb Scripts + 136 Kb CSS + 31 Kb Other + 42 Kb Fonts + 42 Kb HTML)1.366 Mb (1 Mb Images + 239 Kb Scripts + 123 Kb CSS + 22 Kb HTML)
Total Web Server Requests64 (18 Images + 18 Scripts + 14 CSS + 10 Other + 4 HTML)52 (13 Images + 14 Scripts + 22 CSS + 1 Other + 2 HTML)
Estimated Mobile Homepage Load Time~11 seconds~3 seconds

WebPageTest Speed Index: median = ~3.591; top 10% = <1.388
In 2022, the average page size = ~2.4 Mb and median page size = ~2.1 Mb.
Database-driven websites, like WordPress, are more performance optimized when server requests are < 40 – 60.

Site Credits

Visual Design: Pixel Lighthouse
WordPress Theme Development: Scott Marlow

Identifying Usability Problems. Developing Effective Websites.

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Henry M Jackson nonprofit foundation website screenshot

A recently redesigned website for Henry M Jackson Foundation, a Seattle-based nonprofit diversifying and democratizing  public policy by broadening access to public policy graduate study programs; and encouraging young legislators to build relationships across party lines through cross-partisan dialogue, debate, and action.

Despite using a WordPress-approved Theme, the foundation’s previous mobile site speed was sluggish, primarily due too excessive number of Plugins and associated Javascript. Our goal was to improve benchmark performance, while modernizing the brand identity and improving ease of use.

Scope of Work

  • Accessibility Consulting
  • Performance Optimization
  • Visual Design
  • WordPress Theme Development
  • WordPress Training & Consulting

Performance

Mobile page load speed was improved significantly by reducing web server requests 66%, from 102 to 35 and by reducing overall page size 54%, from 1.196 Mb to 551 Kb.

Accessibility

Improvements include higher contrast colors to better adhere to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) color contrast ratio guidelines; increased font sizes; increased vertical rhythm; a navigation skip link; and text links with 2 visual indicators.

Before & After Performance Comparison

Performance Metricold websiteNew Website
Google Lighthouse: Accessibility94/100100/100
Google Lighthouse: Best Practices83/10092/100
Google Lighthouse: Mobile Speed56/10088/100
Google Lighthouse: Desktop Speed97/10098/100
Google Lighthouse: Search Engine Optimization93/10092/100
WebPageTest Speed Index4.0363.318
Total Homepage File Size1.196 Mb (636 Kb Images + 253 Kb Scripts + 145 Kb CSS + 177 Kb Fonts + 13 Kb HTML)551 Kb (317 Kb Images + 113 Kb Scripts + 106 Kb CSS + 16 Kb Fonts + 12 Kb HTML)
Total Web Server Requests102 (7 Images + 47 Scripts + 41 CSS + 4 Font + 2 Other + 1 HTML)35 (5 Images + 11 Scripts + 14 CSS + 2 Fonts + 2 Other + 1 HTML)
Estimated Mobile Homepage Load Time~4 seconds~3.3 seconds

WebPage Test Speed Index: median = ~3.591; top 10% = <1.388
In 2022, the average page size = ~2.4 Mb and median page size = ~2.1 Mb.
Database-driven websites, like WordPress, are more performance optimized when server requests are < 40 – 60.

Site Credits

Visual Design: Erik Fadiman
WordPress Theme Development: Scott Marlow

Sitecore to WordPress CMS Migration

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Seattle Foundation WordPress website

Committed to Accessible WordPress Websites for Nonprofits

This project involved cloning the existing Seattle Foundation visual layout and design from a website powered by Sitecore into a new more accessible, performance-optimized site powered by a WordPress Content Management System.

Foundation staff wanted a CMS that was simpler and easier to maintain. Project challenges included poorly structured Sitecore-exported XML data files, a low contrast color palette, and a short timeline. Content management was the primary dependency for the new website launch, since hundreds of posts needed to be migrated.

The site is working great! We love it and you did a fantastic job.
Jason Jystad, IT Operations Director

Scope of Work

  • Accessibility Consulting
  • Database Content Migration
  • Performance Optimization
  • WordPress Theme Development

Performance

Mobile speed index improved 69%, from ~9.5 to 2.5 seconds [source: WebPageTest]. This was achieved by reducing overall homepage size 89% – from 5.7 Mb to 639 Kb, and significantly reducing Javascript 95% – from 2.2 Mb to 112 Kb. Overall, web server requests, the primary contributor to slow page loads, decreased 49%. Finally, DNS management was moved to a Cloudflare CDN for better performance, redundancy and security.

Accessibility

Improvements include higher contrast colors to better adhere to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG); increased font sizes; a navigation skip link; and removal of auto-rotating content sliders.

Before & After Performance Comparison

Performance Metricformer Sitecore CMS homepage (Nov 2022)
New WordPress homepage (December 2022)
Google Lighthouse: Accessibility87/100100/100
Google Lighthouse: Best Practices75/10092/100
Google Lighthouse: Mobile Speed46/10079/100
Google Lighthouse: Desktop Speed60/10099/100
Google Lighthouse: Search Engine Optimization83/10093/100
WebPageTest Speed Index9.4682.473
Total Homepage File Size5.733 Mb (3.01 Mb Images + 2.2 Mb Scripts + 398Kb CSS + 162 Kb Fonts + 67 Kb HTML)639 Kb (302 Kb Images + 112 Kb Scripts + 69 Kb CSS + 150 Kb Fonts + 21 Kb HTML)
Total Web Server Requests59 (24 Images + 19 Scripts + 8 CSS + 7 Other + 1 HTML)30 (8 Images + 3 Scripts + 9 CSS + 3 Other + 1 HTML)
Approximate Homepage Load Time (mobile)~9.5 seconds~2.5 seconds

WebPage Test Speed Index: median = ~3.591; top 10% = <1.388
In 2021, the average page size = ~2.4 Mb and median page size = ~2.1 Mb.
Database-driven websites, like WordPress, are more performance optimized when server requests are < 40 – 60.

Seattle Foundation manages over $1 billion in philanthropic investments. 2022 marks the 1-year anniversary of the Foundation’s REPAIR initiative (Racially Equitable Philanthropy Aimed at Initiating Relationships), with a minimum investment of $25 million to Black-led organizations around Seattle; and its Center for Community Partnerships striving to achieve greater racial and economic equity in the region. The Foundation also incubated SkillUp Washington – a workforce funders collaborative connecting employers, post-secondary training and low-income adults.

WordPress Theme Development: Scott Marlow