Pioneering new website for Henshaws aims to remove barriers for people with sight loss in Lancashire

A new website for a sight loss charity in Lancashire hopes to break down barriers for people with visual impairment and those who support them.

Henshaws, who support people with sight loss and other disabilities across northern England, unveiled its new-look website last month following several months of work and research undertaken by the Fishtank Agency, who designed and developed it.

Accessibility was at the heart of the thinking behind it, with one key feature including a light and dark mode.

Developers made sure the website was fully accessible on all popular screen readers, whilst designers altered colour schemes, added easy-to-read font, and made sure the font sizes were large enough as well as legible line spacing so it could be used by anyone who is visually impaired.

Additionally, the website creators have ensured media content doesn’t automatically play, any text is in plain and easy-to-understand language and has easy-to-read headings and content throughout.

The team at Fishtank Agency had visual impairment awareness training for their initial research when considering how to approach the project.

Helen Donkin, Head of Marketing at Henshaws, says: “We are thrilled with our new website which is the culmination of months of hard work from our fantastic partner, Fishtank Agency, and ourselves, making sure every element of the website is accessible and open to anyone with a visual impairment.

“We strive to continue updating our processes and structures to make sure we are able to reach as many people with sight loss as we can; and modernising, transforming and changing the website is part of that.”

Jacy Davis, Head of Partnerships & Growth at Fishtank Agency, says: “Innovation and accessibility lies at the heart of both Fishtank Agency and Henshaws.

"We are truly honoured to contribute our skills and passion to this project, aiming to help Henshaws achieve their mission of supporting people of all ages with sight loss and other disabilities to go beyond expectations.”