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When Vancouver Coastal Health, one of British Columbia’s six health authorities, needed to publish their annual performance report online, they wanted to take it a step beyond “brochureware” and ensure it reflected their commitment to accessibility. They came to Raised Eyebrow for our expertise in building websites with disabled users in mind, and we rose to the challenge, delivering a site that embodies best practices in accessible web design, without sacrificing style (or, for that matter, substance).

For example, each graph and chart in the site features a long description — a hidden link to a page describing the graphic's contents — that can be read by screen readers. Where text is set in graphics, anyone using a text browser, or with images turned off, will see the relevant text instead of an image. All acronyms and abbreviations are coded to help screen readers and other devices understand their meaning. And of course, the code is valid XHTML and CSS that rates high by accessibility standards.

All that may sound pretty geeky, but we think it's an awfully good-looking site, to boot. It just happens to have a lot going on under its very attractive surface. Kudos to VCH for setting a standard that we'd like to see more websites — and public health sites in particular — embrace.