Client case
Easy-to-read books available in LL-förlaget's online store
The Swedish Agency for Accessible Media came to us because they needed an accessible and easy-to-use e-commerce solution for LL Publishing. Their digital initiative was a natural step in being seen more, making themselves heard to reach a broader audience
What do we want to achieve? “Reading on your own terms!”
The project
It was important for the publisher to convey that there was a clear and shared picture of who they are, what they do and why they exist. LL Publishing works to ensure that everyone has access to literature, information and news based on each person’s circumstances, regardless of reading ability or disability. Another aspect was also to act as a modern authority - to appear in opinion pieces, columns and social media. And to share knowledge about reading, reading comprehension and accessibility
Key points in the project
- Accessibility according to WCAG 2.1 AA
- Appealing and modern appearance
- Responsive and easy-to-use website
- Data and operational security
- Internal pride at the publisher - confirmation that they are doing something good for their readers
How we went about it - Concept
In the initial workshops we worked closely with the LL publisher to both ensure that users' needs were met and to see how the editors could succeed in their daily work.
We established four core pillars that underpinned the project;
Inspire | Find | Pride | Sales
1. Inspire
- Top lists that entice
- Curated book recommendations
2. Find the right type of book
- Quick entry points
- Genres
- Search, filter and sort
3. Internal pride
- Elevate the message
- Design
4. Sell
- Use established e-commerce principles
- Should feel purchasable
Editorial needs
- A flexible homepage that communicates the publisher's purpose and inspires reading.
- Ability to handpick books based on different relevant themes to curate the content.
- Present what Lättläst does in a natural and compelling way.
Digital accessibility
Digital accessibility is about making your website or digital service accessible to everyone, regardless of functional ability. To make the website accessible we ensured that concepts and terms would be easy to read and understand. Body text and menus are left-aligned and words written entirely in uppercase have been avoided to increase readability.
With the right kind of formatting and logical structure we have made it easier for screen readers to interpret the page and the site also becomes more scalable. This also makes it possible for users to tab through a page and thus use only a keyboard.
Users who use screen readers rely on images and graphical content having descriptions. We have therefore ensured that all images and graphical content are described with alt texts. For screen readers to pronounce the content correctly the page's language has been specified in the code according to existing standards. With clear indicators and descriptions when something goes wrong, we have included support for validation so that users understand what needs to be corrected.To make it easier for people with reduced vision we have made it possible to listen to the site using a screen reader. Since modern browsers today offer good built-in customization options we chose not to include a separate feature to adapt the website. Instead, users can use their browser's built-in functions to change the size of the text on the website. In most modern browsers you can also choose which font should be used on the websites you visit or use the built-in zoom function.
Technical solution
- We developed the website in Umbraco, which suited the budget and was an interface the client was already used to working in
- Considerable work was put into connecting the backend to an (outdated) book database containing all the data. We wrote our own API to deliver data to the interface and the site and ensured that the data was cached to achieve short and fast load times for, e.g., listings and searches
- We customized the administrator interface to make it as easy to manage as possible. This included a direct connection to the book database to find and publish books on the site (search with autocomplete)
- Development of e-commerce for purchasing books with integration to the client's distributor
- Accessibility adjustments according to WCAG AA
About the target group
Today more than half a million Swedes have a disability that makes it difficult for them to read written text. This can involve visual impairment or a cognitive disability (for example autism or dyslexia). An even larger portion of the population needs very simple texts in order to take in the content. For example, Swedish may not be their mother tongue or they may have a temporary disability such as aphasia. People with intellectual disabilities also have a need for simple texts.
About the client
LL-förlaget publishes easy-to-read books for adults and young adults and complements the commercial easy-reading market with books for clearly defined target groups. The publisher releases both fiction and non-fiction written directly for the publisher and adapts classics into an easy-to-read format.
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