Summary and highlights.
- We’re committed to Accessibility and User Experience for all our users
- Accessibility is a Vercara Core Value and crucial to our users and our business
- Our journey to bring accessibility to our time-tested products is ongoing with exciting progress
- We know accessibility is a journey, not a destination
- We value and incorporate feedback based on user experiences
Introduction.
At Vercara, we’re committed to creating an environment that’s nimble, flexible, and accessible. It’s not only one of our core values, but it’s also our commitment to ensure everyone can navigate the digital world with ease and security. This means accessibility is not an afterthought; it is a fundamental part of what we do.
When we say ‘accessibility’, we’re talking about designing products that are usable by all, regardless of physical or cognitive abilities. But let’s be clear, we’re not just ticking a box. We are committed to making our products usable, enabling everyone to derive the maximum benefit from them.
In this article, we’ll expand on our commitment to accessibility, share our journey so far, and give you a preview of what’s in the works.
What we mean when we say accessibility.
When we talk about “accessibility,” we’re referring to an ongoing commitment rather than a singular goal. We’re not simply aiming for ADA/508 compliance. It’s true that these standards provide essential guidelines, but accessibility is much more than a checklist to us.
The landscape of technology is dynamic and evolving, as are the needs and abilities of our diverse user base. This fluidity means that what may be considered “accessible” today might not be adequate tomorrow. As new technologies emerge, both in terms of our services and assistive tools, the concept of accessibility evolves along with them.
So, for us, accessibility is about embracing this evolution. It’s about continually learning, improving, and innovating to ensure our services are accessible to the broadest range of users possible. It’s about recognizing that our users have unique needs and that our job is to make our technology fit the user, not the other way around.
We see accessibility as a journey, a process of refinement, and a pledge to continually adapt our services. It’s a process of empathetic design — thinking and learning about how users experience our services and making the necessary adjustments to improve that experience. This dedication means our work to enhance accessibility never really ends.
Vercara’s accessibility journey so far.
Our suite of services at Vercara has a rich history. UltraDNS and UltraDDoS Protect have been securing the digital landscape for so long, they were first introduced when accessibility wasn’t a widespread consideration in product development. However, our belief in continuous evolution and improvement has allowed us to progressively address this important aspect of our services over time
In the past several years, a renewed focus on and commitment to User Experience has directed our attention even more to the issues surrounding accessibility.. We started adapting our service portals from data-driven, complex, expert interfaces to accessible, user-focused services. Over a series of releases, we revised and updated our service portals, incorporating features designed to improve their accessibility based on evolving standards and user feedback
The process of enhancing accessibility in our services has been an enlightening journey of constant learning, adaptation, and improvement. By making our services more accessible, we see first-hand the power of a digital world that truly includes everyone.
But it’s important to remember that this is a journey, not a destination. Our mission is far from over. As our understanding of accessibility deepens and technology continues to advance, we’ll continue to improve our services, fostering an inclusive environment for all our users.
Our current efforts.
We have several initiatives underway to ensure our services continue to serve all users effectively and inclusively.
Education and Culture: We believe that building an accessible digital world begins with awareness and understanding. We are actively investing in education for our team, sharing the why and the how of creating accessible digital services. This includes regular training discussions, workshops, and knowledge sharing. We strive to create a culture where accessibility is seen as a shared responsibility and a vital part of our development process.
Component library and accessible design system: One of our key initiatives is the development of a comprehensive component library and accessible design system. These resources ensure consistent application of design and accessibility standards across our product range. They allow our teams to quickly implement best practices, reducing the time to develop accessible features and improving the overall user experience. A great example of this is the color palette chosen for our rebranded services which was intentionally designed with compliant contrast ratios. And over the next several months, users will see the expansion of the new Vercara Design System rolling out to all our core services with a focus on accessibility, responsiveness, and greatly enhanced overall user experience.
Internal and third party reviews: To ensure we’re meeting and surpassing accessibility standards, we conduct internal reviews of our services. Additionally, we engage third-party experts and resources to evaluate our efforts and provide impartial feedback. These reviews not only identify areas where we can improve, but also highlight successes that we can build upon.
Integrating accessibility checking in our QA process: We understand that accessibility isn’t a one-and-done deal. It’s a continuous process that should be integrated into all stages of product development, including testing and Quality Assurance (QA). We’ve made it a priority to incorporate accessibility checks into our regular QA process, ensuring that accessibility considerations are addressed consistently and early on.
User feedback and remediation: Our users are our best accessibility testers. They use our service in real-world scenarios and can provide invaluable feedback. We’re committed to not only listening to this feedback, but also acting on it promptly. This user-led approach allows us to rectify issues swiftly, and continuously refine our services to better meet our users’ needs. (As a side note: If you have an accessibility concern or question about one of our services, please reach out to our User Experience team and share your experience. We’d love to hear from you you.
Wrapping up.
At Vercara, our commitment to accessibility is unwavering. We recognize that this is a journey of continuous improvement, not a final destination. Through our ongoing initiatives, we are not just striving to meet standards, but to surpass them, ensuring our services are usable and beneficial for all.
We believe in creating a digital world that everyone can navigate safely and with ease. A world where technology empowers, not hinders. A world where diversity is not just recognized but celebrated. We are excited about the path ahead and are committed to making our part of the digital world accessible to all.
Thank you for joining us on this journey towards a more inclusive digital world. Your support and feedback are invaluable to us. Here’s to a future where everyone can navigate the digital world with ease and confident security.
