Difference between revisions of "GrowthZone CMS"

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===='''Am I required to make my website accessible?'''====
 
===='''Am I required to make my website accessible?'''====
 
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In the United States, Title III of the [https://www.ada.gov/| Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA)] requires general accessibility to those with disabilities; though not expressly stated, it has been generally held by the courts that websites are included under the requirements of Title III. Therefore, we strongly recommend all sites to be accessible to those with disabilities or impairment such as the blind/visually impaired or deaf/hard of hearing.
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In the United States, Title III of the [https://www.ada.gov/ Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA)] requires general accessibility to those with disabilities; though not expressly stated, it has been generally held by the courts that websites are included under the requirements of Title III. Therefore, we strongly recommend all sites to be accessible to those with disabilities or impairment such as the blind/visually impaired or deaf/hard of hearing.
 
   
 
   
Specific requirements pertaining to US ADA  compliance have not been issues yet. Until then, [https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/| WCAG 2.1] guidelines should be used. Even though the ADA requirements are not yet published, websites are still required to provide a basic level of accessibility.
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Specific requirements pertaining to US ADA  compliance have not been issues yet. Until then, [https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/ WCAG 2.1] guidelines should be used. Even though the ADA requirements are not yet published, websites are still required to provide a basic level of accessibility.
  
 
'''Websites that do not make any attempt at making content accessible risk visitors filing ADA violation complaints with the [https://www.ada.gov/filing_complaint.htm#1| US Office of Civil Rights (OCR)] or other litigation.'''
 
'''Websites that do not make any attempt at making content accessible risk visitors filing ADA violation complaints with the [https://www.ada.gov/filing_complaint.htm#1| US Office of Civil Rights (OCR)] or other litigation.'''

Revision as of 17:31, 28 May 2019

Overview of your GrowthZone CMS

GrowthZone has designed and built hundreds of engaging and compelling association websites, to help enhance your brand and drive increased traffic, engagement, and usage of your most important public-facing asset. A wide variety of themes are available for you to choose from. Click Here to view our website gallery.

GrowthZone Content Management System (CMS) puts you in control of your new website 24/7. Your site is built on the WordPress Platform which provides intuitive content editing tools to make it easy to add and manage web pages, as well as incorporate your Chambermaster/MemberZone content into your site in seconds, all from any web browser.

GrowthZone CMS Training Videos - Getting Started

GrowthZone CMS Dashboard Overview

GrowthZone CMS Page Editor Overview

How to Create and Edit a Menu Page

Add Content, Rows and Saved Rows

How to use Beaver Theme Layouts & edit header/footer

Accessing Links to the Modules for your GrowthZone CMS Website

Several modules from your Chambermaster/MemberZone database can easily be added to your website. You can add the following:

  • Contact Us
  • Communication
  • Events (List View or Calendar View)
  • Groups
  • Hot Deals
  • Job Postings
  • Member Directory
  • Member Login
  • New Member Application

The links have been generated for you and may be accessed through the Message Center in the Customer Service section on the Dashboard of your system.

MZ GZ CMS message center.JPG
MZ Module Links.JPG

Add a Chambermaster/MemberZone Module as a Menu Item to your GrowthZone CMS website

  1. Copy the url(s) from the Module Links you would like to add to your website.
  2. From the database, click Pencil for website.JPG icon in the upper right menu of the database. This will provide an edit mode access to your website.
  3. Hover over the name of your organization in the header bar and click Menus.
    MZ menu.JPG
  4. Click the arrow in the Custom Links section.
    Custom links.JPG
  5. Paste the previously copied Entire Url in the URL box.
  6. Enter the text you would like to appear on the menu for this item in the Link Text box.
  7. Click Add to Menu.
  8. Repeat steps to add as many Menu items as needed.
    • Notice that the Menu Structure will build as you add the items in Custom Links. You are able to click and drag the added items into the order you would like it to be on your website. You are also able to add sub items and create dropdown menus on the header.
    Menu structure.jpg
  9. Click Save menu.JPG to save all the changes to your website.

The menu item(s) for your Chambermaster/MemberZone module have now been added to your main menu structure and viewable on the website.

Headers added.JPG

Website Accessibility


A Practical Guide to Implementing ADA Compliance


The Practical Guide has been created to outline some of the most critical areas of focus for WCAG/ADA compliance, along with practical steps to take to ensure greater compliance so you can provide all of your visitors with the best experience possible. Click HERE to download the guide for review.

Website Accessibility FAQ's


What is Website Accessibility?>


Web accessibility refers to ensuring that people with disabilities or impairments can perceive, understand, navigate, interact with and contribute to websites.

Am I required to make my website accessible?


In the United States, Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA) requires general accessibility to those with disabilities; though not expressly stated, it has been generally held by the courts that websites are included under the requirements of Title III. Therefore, we strongly recommend all sites to be accessible to those with disabilities or impairment such as the blind/visually impaired or deaf/hard of hearing.

Specific requirements pertaining to US ADA compliance have not been issues yet. Until then, WCAG 2.1 guidelines should be used. Even though the ADA requirements are not yet published, websites are still required to provide a basic level of accessibility.

Websites that do not make any attempt at making content accessible risk visitors filing ADA violation complaints with the US Office of Civil Rights (OCR) or other litigation.

Is my website "accessible"?


Growth Zone is continually addressing the changes surrounding WCAG 2.1 and ADA compliance in order to ensure that our SmartCMS and GrowthZone CMS websites follow best practices for web accessibility. This ongoing initiative aims to ensure the systems not only incorporate these accessibility requirements, but our customers are informed and trained regarding best practices. We strive to ensure our customers’ sites are compliant when they are first launched, but after the site is launched it is up to the site owner (our customer) to maintain and ensure ADA compliance of their site.

LiveEdit Aurora customers should refer to LiveEdit's documentation regarding accessibility and ADA compliance.

Are there Web Accessibility Guidelines?


Yes. The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) develops guidelines and techniques to use for websites that are considered to be the international standard with WCAG 2.1 being the most current published standard for web content accessibility.

Do I need to do anything while maintaining my website for it to be accessible?


Yes. It is important to note that even though a website may be accessible and ADA compliant at launch, it can quickly fall into non-compliant status if accessibility guidelines and best practices are not followed. Since content is added and maintained by you, our customers, we want to share some common pitfalls where sites that were once accessible fall out of compliance.

Accessibility Approach and Alternative Formats

While not expressly stated in the requirements, it is generally considered to be a good idea to add a page regarding accessibility and alternative formats for content; this page can go a long way in avoiding a complaint or litigation in case non-accessible content is discovered. A link to this page should appear somewhere on your landing/home page (often in the footer) so that it can be easily found by someone using a screen reader. This page covers:

  • Your commitment to making your content accessible to the visually impaired/ADA compliant including contact info for who should be contacted if a visually impaired visitor has trouble accessing content on the site
  • How a visitor can access content in other formats (location on the site or contact us)

Text Alternatives

Provide text alternatives for any non-text content. For images, the text will be read aloud describing the content for the visually impaired. In the case of video, closed captions should be available for the deaf and hard of hearing. Depending on which CMS platform and which module you are using for inserting images, there is a always a text field available to place ‘alt text’ or ‘alternative text’ for the image.


Alternative Document Formats

Pdfs are great but are not readable by many screen readers. Make sure you are able to provide the document in another format such as Microsoft Word or html


Colors and Contrast

Avoid using colors in text and background that are similar. The visually impaired and those with certain types of color blindness will have difficulty distinguishing the text from the background. Always attempt to use text colors that stand out from the background. Never use flashing/strobing text or images or other items whose quick movement makes them difficult to read or understand.


Navigation

Accessibility requirements regarding site navigation and menus will be handled when your site is created, yet you may wish to add or remove navigation and menu options later on. Try to keep any menus simple without many layers of bump-outs and dropdowns. Also, avoid having several menus on a single page or mixed in wither other content in the body such as text and images.


Do I have to make the MIC/Hub accessible?

No. The accessibility requirements for the MIC/Hub and backoffice are handled by GrowthZone as part of the software.


Checking Your Site

There are several online tools that you can use to check your site. A word of caution, however, as most perform their checks at the highest levels of "accessibility", resulting in flags on areas of your site that do, in fact, meet accessibility requirements. Therefore, they should be used as informative tools only. Web Accessibility Check


Want to learn more? Click the links below