Helen Keller Services

A Brand (and Website) Built on Accessibility.

Scope

Project Overview

When Helen Keller Services approached Vital, their website’s content management system (CMS) was both challenging to manage on the back end and difficult to navigate on the front end. Considering their audience, this was unacceptable — HKS is a nonprofit that provides assistance to individuals who are blind, DeafBlind, have low vision, or combined vision and hearing loss, enabling them to thrive in their communities. For HKS to continue to deliver their essential services, a new digital experience was in order, ASAP.

New Century, New Brand

While we design all our websites to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), accessibility was the highest priority for this project. HKS also required updated branding to bring them out of the ‘90s into the 2020s, a project we undertook enthusiastically.

Removing Barriers Left and Right

First, Vital transferred all content out of the client’s old CMS into WordPress, to make it easier for the HKS team to make updates moving forward.

We thoroughly audited the new site using Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools (WAVE), screen readers, and color contrast checkers, ensuring all content met the 23 criteria for AAA accessibility.

Connecting Site Visitors to Essential Services

The new Helen Keller Services site works exceptionally well on multiple levels. Not only does the new branding breathe fresh life into the site, but the updated accessibility measures ensure every site visitor finds exactly what they’re searching for, be that educational opportunities, technology resources, or early intervention services for children with specific needs.