Mary Whiteside
I work with content designers across government, making training, sharing skills and building communities.
Activity
-
@RajithaR there's info on this page https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/images and there's some information on internal govt channels too.
-
Hi @ChrisCain , that's a good point, but the problem with adding it to all images is that some images are decorative and adding in the alt text would be distracting from the main point. The other reason to not include alt text is because some people can't access images but don't use screensoftware either. In that case they wouldn't be able to access the...
-
@RajithaR thanks for sharing - I'm not sure what page this is on, but images on gov.uk usually don't include alt text and the information is provided in the text of the content. This is so that everyone can access the information even if they can't access the image (and don't use a screenreader).
-
A common issue! I found the best way to convince internal stakeholders was by showing them users trying to find information (and not managing). A recording of a real user is very powerful and has helped me convince internal stakeholders before.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Diane Bullock
@DianeBullock Sorry it's not worked for you - you shouldn't have to download any software at all for this task, you should be taken to a new page (padlet board) which you can upload an image to. Or you could do the task without uploading anything and look at other's examples instead.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Chris Cain
That's it @ChrisCain and you'll see examples from others to get ideas. But there's not another task.
-
thanks for sharing @HelenGräwert - you're right that the page you've linked to doesn't have alt text for the images. The one I was looking at was another page which had a blog about the development of the scale https://userresearch.blog.gov.uk/2019/02/22/reflecting-on-how-we-developed-the-digital-inclusion-scale/
This one has the full alt text with the... -
Hi @RajithaR , you can access the alt text on the images in the blog by right clicking and choosing inspect element. The alt text is there for screenreaders to provide the visual information and isn't visible on the page.
-
Good idea Louisa, a good way to learn a lot.
-
Yes, good idea Jessica, forums are good and I usually look at Twitter and Facebook too to understand the communities better.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Debbie Rooskov
Hi Debbie, welcome to the course. The sounds like a really interesting job, I hope you'll find and share lots of ideas in the course.
-
Welcome to the course! Glad to have you with us.
-
@PatriciaLester glad you could continue ok.
-
Good question @IvanEdwards - those are fair observations. In the context of creating content, the point of acceptance criteria is to flesh out what will and won't be included as part of a story - a definition of when the story is 'done'. They define borders - they're not really for describing a sequential process. It might be useful to have a look at the full...
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Chris Cain
Good point @ChrisCain - I think the survey should now return people to this page and next time I'll also put a note in the text to say why it's the same window and to suggest using right click to open a new tab. There's more about accessibility later in the course but the guidelines which cover this are the WCAG guidelines...
-
you should just have the questions Patricia - maybe try on a different browser?
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Chris Cain
Thanks @ChrisCain for picking this up - the link opens on the same page for accessibility reasons. It's best practice for links to open on the same tab, as it's less disorientating for individuals who use screenreaders or mobile phones. It's part of the accessibility regulations. We'll be talking more about accessibility later in the course. For the pictures -...
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Lauren Conheeney
Welcome Lauren!
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Susyn Stecchi
Welcome to you in the USA! I hope you enjoy the course.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Diane Bullock
Hi Diane, hopefully you'll pick up lots of tips on the course over the next few weeks. Welcome!
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Björn L
yes, it's there :) If you click on the link to it again you'll see it. The board is using our account so you don't need to create one.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Rachael Edwards
Fixed now Rachael, thanks for flagging this.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Siobhan Golby
Sorry Siobhan, I've fixed the padlet, you should be able to use it without having to sign up for anything.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Sarah E
That works too Sarah. You don't need to sign up to use Padlet, that's only if you want to make your own.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Roland O
Thanks for being so adaptable! (the padlet should also work now too).
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Charlotte Wainwright
Sorry Charlotte, I've changed one of the settings and you should be able to use it now.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Julia Silva
Glad you've joined us Julia and I hope you enjoy the course.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Maria Watkins
Hi Maria, glad you can join us, and I hope you can also share your tips and expertise with us too.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to [Learner left FutureLearn]
Hi, welcome to the course :)
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Roland O
Good tip Roland about looking for a previous example of how something has been used.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Liz Shoesmith
I’ve found it very useful to show users navigating and using content. Seeing users confused and unable to find what they need can be a real eye opener, especially for experts who are used to talking to other experts about their specialist topic.
-
@LeeHowell As long as you are consistent there are different styles for different sites and organisations. I always find it very difficult for things which are different across organisations.
-
Mary Whiteside made a comment
.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Lisa Sophie King
Welcome to the course and good luck for your new job!
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Katerine Guzman
Welcome to the course :)
-
I miss shared walls too, especially ones from other teams where I can learn something new or have an interesting idea from walking past.
-
@ChristopherHowett that isn’t a public course at the moment, that’s why you can’t find it.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Keith Symonds
Sorry, it looks like the comment length has changed recently. You can do the formatting on your own documents and add comments or questions here rather than the whole text. The most useful things is to think about how you’d structure it and why.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Liz Shoesmith
@LizShoesmith thanks Liz, we’ll change this for next time to make sure it’s more useful.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Liz Shoesmith
Thanks everyone, we’ll update this quiz for the next course. :)
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Catherine Russell
@KazRussell good point - it can be incredibly time consuming and costly to make changes to a site to make it accessible. The most efficient and cost effective way to make sites and content accessible is to have accessibility included at the very beginning of development where possible, and if not, for any future changes. For example, colour contrast is...
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Samantha Slater
What isn’t working? I’ll see if I can help.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Liz Hare
Sorry Liz, what’s happening with the padlet? I’m able to access it, are you having problems with it?
-
I agree Keith, I’m very impressed every time I travel on a motorway.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Gavin Wray
Thanks for sharing Gavin, very useful links.
-
Thanks for sharing your experience and advice Georgia.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Catherine Russell
There are lots of things that can be done to make sites and pages more accessible, for example changing the colours on a page to make the contrast better. It’s generally cheaper and more efficient to think about this at the beginning of building any pages but you can do it later.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Vanessa S
Alternative text, or alt text, is read out by screen readers or displayed if an image does not load or if images have been switched off. When you publish images to webpages you add the description to the system.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Doug Yule
Thanks for sharing this Doug, it's a really clear example as you've identified things that would impact on your users ability to access content online, things like having to use a mobile screen, plus some limited reading skills.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to John Hardy
Thanks for joining John, it's good to have you on the course.
-
Welcome to the course Motunrayo, I hope you enjoy the course!
-
Hi Vicente, thanks for joining us. endless curiosity is a very good reason to be here!
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Vanessa S
very good point Vanessa, and this is part of accessibility legislation to make sure everyone can access content. Thanks for raising it.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Sarah E
Thanks for joining us Sarah. If you’re interested in moving into this field then use the links above to learn more about content design in government, and also there are a lot of content designers on twitter - so definitely a good place to learn more. Also if you’re looking for content design jobs in government there’s a civil service jobs page...
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Carisse Hewer
Thanks Carisse, I think we'll definitely look at the terminology we've used and how to make it more useful. Thanks for taking part and thanks for taking the time to feedback too :)
-
Mary Whiteside replied to John-Henry Barac
Thanks John-Henry, and everyone on the course for commenting and taking part. I've learnt lots of new things too!
-
Yes Martin, I find you need to put a lot of work into the into the discussion prompts to make sure you are getting feedback that you need, but not directing people to a particular viewpoint or answer.
-
I've seen HotJar and it looks good - but I've never actually used it. I've also used User Brain and it was really eyeopening. In User brain you give users a task and they do a screenrecording of them using your site to complete the task. They also say what they are thinking so you get the audio of their thoughts. It can be painful listening to something...
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Claire Rooney
Thanks Claire! I always like to learn new tricks :)
-
Hi Richard, there's an audio recording - does it not work for you?
-
that's interesting Catherine - what do you think might be a possible reason?
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Kate Fenton
@KateFenton As @ChristianScott says it makes a difference for accessibility. When you're using a screenreader it might skip to the links and it means the link would be out of context without the paragraph around it. More information or read here wouldn't be clear enough in this case for someone to know what it was about.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Louise Sarow
Hi Louise,. you don't need to register to use the Padlet board. Click on the link in the step for the board, then, if you are on a browser version you usually see a plus sign in the bottom right hand corner to make a post. Click that, and then on the post it gives options of linking or of uploading. You can upload an image (screenshot or picture for...
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Susan Rowe
Hi Susan, create a post and you should have an option to upload a file on the post. There’s some info on this page https://padlet.com/support/padlets_howtopost
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Jennifer McColgan
I’ll try to help Jennifer - what’s the problem?
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Sarah Downes
I’m sorry Sarah, that sounds very frustrating. What version of IE are you using? Do you have another browser installed you could use?
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Izzy Johnson
Sorry Izzy, I haven’t done this on IE but there might be some info here https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/devtools-guide-chromium/ie-mode
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Reena Reeves
Hi Reena, you can open hyperlinks in a new tab by holding control or command while clicking on the link. The links are designed not to open in new tabs automatically for accessibility reasons - there’s more info here https://futurelearn.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115008275987-Why-we-don-t-open-links-in-a-new-tab
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Colette Harris
It also depends on what your users use - the majority of traffic on the web is mobile, so it makes sense to design for that first. But you might find your users tend to use desktops, in which case you might design for that.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Louise Sarow
Sorry it didn’t work Louise. Padlet usually works for most browsers - what one were you using?
-
We've only put the image here of the topi of the page, but if you look at the live page you can scroll down to see upcoming and previous bank holidays too https://www.gov.uk/bank-holidays
-
well spotted! I've changed it so it now has the wrong version. A bit strange to update a mistake!
-
That sounds really useful Claire. Listening to users and the call centre staff must give a lot of insights.
-
yes, here’s the information from FutureLearn https://futurelearn.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115008275987-Why-we-don-t-open-links-in-a-new-tab
-
Short and to the point is good!
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Alysia Annett
Absolutely, the most powerful argument is often user testing, or experiencing things yourself. There are things you can do to test without specialist equipment, for example switching off all sound, using inbuilt accessibility features or removing a mouse. It won’t show all the challenges but can be a useful awareness raising activity for those building pages...
-
Mary Whiteside replied to John Womack
Thanks James, I think it depends on what the needs are. A lot of features originally designed for accessibility are useful for everyone - I think subtitles and voice searches came about from specific needs, but in fact are useful for everyone. Making things accessible can often make them better for everyone.
-
Definitely - searches change all the time as concepts change and times change. You can use something like google trends to see what people are searching for and how this changes over time. Also if you capture search terms on a website that can help you see if you’re using the language your users are.
-
Thanks Phillips and very useful to think about having content in two languages.
-
Yes, it’s not always possible to work out what isn’t essential unless you know the background or topic well.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Tom Fern
Thanks for sharing this Tom
-
Mary Whiteside replied to John Womack
Good point John, I think that supports the argument you should always design for accessibility and that way it can reach as many as possible. And, like you say, many with hidden disabilities will find it more accessible too.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Grace Akinlotan
Welcome to the course Grace, I hope you enjoy the course :)
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Bethany Johnson
Welcome Bethany, I love the beach in St Andrews too!
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Nikita Jaiswal
Welcome Nikita, it’s good to have you with us.
-
I really like the Citizens Advice website - thanks for sharing as it ‘s always good to see examples where things are in place :)
-
Good point Patrick, it’s not easy to meet all these, but I think the first aim is to identify what’s not there and then to prioritise what will have the biggest impact. It’ll also depend on what you are working on as your users may have specific needs which are a priority.
-
That sounds very frustrating Sarah. You might find it useful to talk about the legislation to help prioritise the fixes. The next step talks a bit more about that.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to J P
Hi JP, if you’re not sure what content design is about I think you’ve come to the right place! I hope you enjoy the course :)
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Geoff Power
Hi Geoff, what’s a drill press?
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Phil Lewin
Hi Phil, I’m very jealous!
-
Mary Whiteside replied to [Learner left FutureLearn]
Hi Helen, welcome to the course. Arran is a beautiful place, I wish I was there now!
-
Welcome to the course Maitha!
-
@EvieM yes good point about the specialist topics. If you work in very specialist areas or on a variety of topics you’ll need to rely on subject matter experts. We often do pair writing, where a subject matter expert works on the content with the content designer. It’s a good way to help combine the expertise with content design skills without becoming an...
-
Hi Gretchen, welcome to you from New York City. Brooklyn Bridge Park sounds like a very special place to visit.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Jo Orange
Welcome Jo! It sounds like you are in the right place. We’ll be doing more about accessibility in week 2, I hope you find it useful.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Claire CL
Welcome to the course Claire, thanks for joining.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Akori Babra
Welcome Babra, thanks for joining us!
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Sarah Agnes
Welcome back to content design Sarah, it’ll also be great to hear your experience and knowledge as we go through the course.
-
Mary Whiteside replied to Shane Pritchard
Welcome Shane! It’s good to have you with us.
