Some organisations place accessibility at the heart of everything they do.
This includes our new client NorthLink Ferries, which operates passenger and vehicle ferries, as well as a freight service, between mainland Scotland and the Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland.
Quite simply, accessibility is at the top of NorthLink Ferries’ agenda.
NorthLink Ferries have been built with accessibility in mind. The company launched its current fleet in 2001/02, and all vessels were built from the ground up to allow passengers with disabilities to get on-board more easily.
But NorthLink Ferries didn’t stop there and it is constantly refining its offering and improving accessibility for all of its passengers.
For example, the company has made changes to its terminals such as installing lower level check-in desks, hearing loops and Braille signage.
It has also started to look at how it can make the terminals more accessible to people with autism.
Recently we caught up with Magnus Dixon, NorthLink Ferries’ E-Marketing Manager, to find out how the company has benefited from adding Recite Me’s web accessibility and language software to its website.
He said: “When it came to our website upgrade, we knew we wanted to make it accessible to as many people as possible.
“When we were redeveloping the website we chose WordPress as our content management system (CMS).
“While it has many advantages as a CMS, it strips out all the alt-tags applied to images and graphics unless you specify them or find the right plug-in.
“Our old website had been accessible, so this was frustrating for us.”
But the company then had a demonstration of the Recite Me web accessibility and language toolbar and everything fell into place.
One tool (Recite Me) solved all NorthLink Ferries’ accessibility issues with WordPress.
And the company is now telling its customers about Recite Me through variety of marketing communications.
Magnus went on to explain how easy and straight-forward it was to get Recite Me added to the company’s website.
“We would have had to source any number of individual plug-ins to achieve the same functionality that Recite Me offers.
“Recite Me was so quick to implement, it was amazing!
The company’s booking system is run by another provider, so the next step is getting Recite Me added there too and rolling out the language options in the future.
Overall, NorthLink Ferries is very happy with the level of digital accessibility that Recite Me offers its customers when they visit its website.
And the company loves the range of features that Recite Me has and the total web accessibility solution it provides.
Magnus added: “I couldn’t be more thrilled with Recite Me.
“One tool has revolutionised our website for us and made it accessible for those that need it.
“From a web designer’s point of view, Recite Me is an elegant solution and I’d happily recommend it to other organisations that want to make their services as accessible as possible.”
100’s of organisations already use Recite Me to make their websites more accessible for people who have disabilities and people who don’t speak English as their first language…call 0191 4328092 to find out more or book your free demo now. Additionally, try our accessibility checker today to see how compliant your website is.
