Part 2 with Michael Dowden and it’s all about accessibility. Michael Dowden is co-author of “Approachable Accessibility: Planning for Success” available now on
Amazon.com. https://www.amazon.com/Approachable-Accessibility-Planning-Martine-Dowden/dp/1484248805
Today on Luckygirl: A Bite-sized Podcast for Solopreneurs he discusses the importance of accessibility, how users use assistive devices to help them navigate websites, and tips you can use right now to take an audit of your own website.
Tips for auditing your website:
Push the mouse to the side and just use keystrokes.
Can users still access key information?
Keyboard access is important.
Are their pop-ups that are obstructing the view?
Consider transcripts for your podcasts.
Consider captions on your videos.
Screen readers are assistive devices that take the text on the page and they interpret the structure of the page. So you must name common elements like navigation, content, sidebar content, to identify the areas for screen readers.
Make sure the heading levels are in order.
An image must have an alt text to describe the rest of the text around it.
Color Contrast to help users who may have color blindness, as an example. Make sure the information can be processed and read to differentiate the contrast between the elements on the screen.
Make sure the background is not too noisy Google has a materials design library that can be used for resources
Follow
@mrdowden on twitter
andromeda16.com
Buy the book
https://www.amazon.com/Approachable-Accessibility-Planning-Martine-Dowden/dp/1484248805
While he always thought he would work for himself, Cory House took a financially conservative route to becoming a solopreneur. He is a dad of 3 children and the ebb and flow of income was too risky for him. So he made the decision to live conservatively and stay with him employer until he had a comfortable enough nest egg to weather the ebb and flow of entrepreneurship. The response to his recent independence was met with unequaled support. Cory double-majored in marketing and advertising so everything he has built around his brand is focused around 4 pillars:
1. product
2. price
3. place
4. promotion
When he tweeted about his independence on Twitter, companies jumped at the opportunity to work with him. His advice for anyone thinking of starting a consultancy:
Diversify your brand through various media instead of getting work from just one lead source
Networking is not a dirty word. Instead of "networking" try making friends and good things will happen for your business, too.
Follow Cory on twitter at @housecor If you're a developer, check out his courses on PluralSight.com
If you're looking for React training, visit
https://www.reactjsconsulting.com/
Cory House has been writing JavaScript since the days of Netscape. He has specialized in React since shortly after it was launched and has partnered with teams around the globe to ship dozens of significant React projects. He authored multiple courses on React and JavaScript that have been viewed by over 500,000 developers worldwide. He has trained over 10,000 developers in person while leading 100's of sessions at businesses and conferences across the USA and internationally.
Christina Aldan is the CEO/founder of LG Designs (lgdesigns.co) and a digital media marketer who travels the world speaking to tech industry folks, entrepreneurs, and female business owners
Christina Aldan is the CEO/founder of LG Designs (lgdesigns.co) and a digital media marketer who travels the world speaking to tech industry folks, entrepreneurs, and female business owners
From a young age, Michael Dowden had an entrepreneurial spirit. Doing odd jobs when he was young, to building his own consulting agency, to managing a successful startup, means he has lots of experience to share with small business owners.
As a software architect Michael focuses on the K.I.S.S. principle, keeping systems as simple as possible (but no simpler). Michael is passionate about lightweight frameworks in both Java and JavaScript ecosystems, often pointing out that Java is to JavaScript as Car is to Carrot. Since 1992 he has provided full-stack technology expertise to deliver usable, scalable, and secure web-based solutions to more than 60 companies, from startups to the Fortune 100.
As an MBA Michael focuses on solutions that provide true business value and always works to improve collaboration and communication between teams. He has been an entrepreneur his entire life, operating several businesses and founding 5 startups. He loves working with and advising other entrepreneurs and is always working on developing new ideas.
His book, "Programming Languages ABC++" has worked its way into the lives of my own children, and he continues to influence technologists with his new book on web accessibility. We recently met on an adventure mastermind experience in Antarctica (see www. AntarctiConf.com) and he shared his journey in entrepreneurship and how he and his family create their own luck by designing a business and a lifestyle that meets their needs.
Michael would be happy to:
• Help your company capture additional revenue from their unused parking
• Speak at your next conference or event
• Coach your software development team
• Develop a prototype web or mobile application for your startup
• Autograph your copy of Programming Languages ABC++
Learn more at www.andromeda16.com
Christina Aldan is the CEO/founder of LG Designs (lgdesigns.co) and a digital media marketer who travels the world speaking to tech industry folks, entrepreneurs, and female business owners