Choosing a Vendor:
Many companies are starting to realize that promoting 508 compliances within their organizations is advantageous for business communications. It allows reaching a larger audience AND avoids potential legal complications. Selecting a vendor is a critical step. Here are a few helpful suggestions for a starting point.
Deciding that your organization can and should be compliant is the first step in the right direction. The next step is most likely going to be making decisions on HOW to accomplish the task. An overall evaluation, which includes looking at items such as company documents, videos or other information that is available to the public is a good starting point.
Typically, if becoming 508 compliant is a relatively new decision, companies will almost immediately realize they may not have personnel with enough expertise in the subject, or the proper tools to work with. In many instances, contracting a vendor is going the be the best solution for timeliness and productivity sake.
DON’T WAIT! Please do not wait until a project is finished and then assess accessibility. Consulting with your chosen vendor is going to be far more productive. Your development consultant can help you select the correct tools to use and how to build the project with accessibility in mind from the beginning, rather than just fixing the finished product, which may or may not work. This will save you a lot of time, stress and money!
Here are a few other tips for evaluating a vendor and what to expect:
- Visit vendor Social Media sites like Linked-In, Pinterest, or Facebook. Is anyone raising issues, sharing information or discussing solutions? Note the “tone” of the discussion- is it hostile or friendly and helpful?
- Look for the same in industry communities or group pages.
- Ask for a demo or a training webinar. This will give a better idea of what the company can do for your department or organization.
- Look for posts or articles-has the company written about best practices or are they sharing helpful hints? How do they handle testing? Technology changes constantly-look for a vendor that understands and embraces this.
- Finally, ask if they offer post-support, (within reason). If a question arises or a minor problem occurs-is there someone available you can contact by phone or email to help you?
For more information please contact Dee Moradi at dmoradi@pinsourcing.com or visit our website.