Sitemorse | Blog

Make sure you spend all of this year’s budget

6 Dec 2019, 9 a.m.

Budget’s are often tight, so it’s a good idea to not waste an opportunity to invest in your website and the team that run it. If your financial year ends on 31st December, don’t let your 2019-2020 left over budget go to waste.

Accessibility Bulletin Week 49 – website accessibility in retail

5 Dec 2019, 3 p.m.

This week we take a look the progress retailers are making towards their websites being accessible. We also have a tip for making accessible videos and we take a look at online education websites.

The role automation plays in managing brand risk and consistency

4 Dec 2019, 9 a.m.

Brand is a topical area within organisations, and needs to managed appropriately to reduce risks. Find out how automation can play a key role in this.

Technical Service Bulletin Week 49 - Updating Spelling in a Report or SMARTVIEW

2 Dec 2019, 9 a.m.

Spelling is an area that Sitemorse assessments covers. We check the lang attribute within a page to determine which language dictionary to compare that page's words against but you can also add your own words to your dictionary, for example, if your organisation uses a term which isn’t in the dictionary.

Sitemorse and dania software announce collaboration on web accessibility

29 Nov 2019, 2:41 p.m.

We are please to announce a new collaboration agreement with dania software, supporting each other in bringing awareness to and improving web accessibility in the public sector.

How do we compare against the competition?

29 Nov 2019, 9 a.m.

Our services are often compared to our competitors in the market, especially Siteimprove. We’ve put together some information on the areas we get commonly asked about relating to the differences between our services.

Accessibility Bulletin Week 48 – website accessibility remains a hot topic.

28 Nov 2019, 3 p.m.

The latest instalment of our weekly accessibility bulletin is out, and website accessibility remains a hot topic, we’re looking at how UK Police Forces are progressing and advise that has been given to the sector.

Digital accessibility can impact your reputation

27 Nov 2019, 9 a.m.

Digital accessibility compliance is crucial for those with accessibility needs and many organisations are being reported on in the media about the extent of their compliance levels, one of the best known examples of this is the high profile Domino’s case in the US.

UK Police Force Websites, what's happening with Accessibility?

26 Nov 2019, 9 a.m.

This week the results of the UK Police Forces INDEX for 2019 Q4 have been released. How are sites doing, are they meeting the WCAG 2.1 guidelines?

Technical Service Bulletin Week 48 - Setting alternative text for images

25 Nov 2019, 9 a.m.

Alt (alternative) text is used on a webpage to describe the appearance and function of an image and is important for accessibility compliance. This week Helen is looking at setting alt text for images.

Five tips for successful annual appraisals for the digital team

22 Nov 2019, 9 a.m.

Digital teams are often small and specialist (and sometimes are just one person) making the appraisal process challenging, especially if the rest of the organisation doesn’t quite understand what the digital team does. Read our tips for successful annual appraisals for the digital team in your organisation.

Accessibility Bulletin Week 47 – website accessibility is a growing issue

21 Nov 2019, 3 p.m.

Our weekly accessibility bulletin is out, this week we’re look at UK Central Government’s progress, what can be done to make sites compliant and how the UK Public sector in general is doing.

UK Central Government Websites, what's happening with Accessibility?

20 Nov 2019, 1:51 p.m.

The 2019 Q4 UK Central Government INDEX has been released this week. How are sites doing, are they meeting the WCAG 2.1 guidelines?

Everything you do should be accessible

19 Nov 2019, 9 a.m.

Accessibility is a hot topic across all sectors spanning all continents. The WCAG 2.1 Guidelines have been in force for over a year now and there are separate regulations covering various sectors across the globe.

Technical Service Bulletin Week 47 - Images diagnostics

18 Nov 2019, 9 a.m.

Images are used on a website for decorative purposes and to convey information, some even say they can improve User Experience. Images should be used correctly on a website, Helen is this week looking at how actions relating to images are shown within a Sitemorse assessment.

Accessibility Bulletin Week 46 – website accessibility is a global issue

14 Nov 2019, 3 p.m.

We’ve released our weekly accessibility bulletin, we’ve seen the release of the UK Local Government INDEX for Q4, big companies in Australia not meeting the regulations and more on litigation is the US.

Four great web management approaches from Sitemorse clients

13 Nov 2019, 9 a.m.

Our clients include some true digital rockstars who follow good practices to deliver a great online experience for all.

Q4 2019 INDEX - UK Local Government, what's happening with Accessibility?

12 Nov 2019, 9 a.m.

The Q4 2019 INDEX results for the UK Local Government sector has been released this week. How are the authorities doing? Are sites meeting accessibility regulations?

Technical Service Bulletin Week 46 - What are INDEX assessments

11 Nov 2019, 9 a.m.

The Sitemorse INDEX has been running for over 15 years now. This week in our Technical Service Bulletin, Helen will be going through what the INDEX is and how to view the results of the INDEX.

Accessibility Bulletin Week 45 – accessibility compliance isn't going away

7 Nov 2019, 3 p.m.

Our weekly accessibility bulletin is out, we’ve seen the release of the UK & IE Universities INDEX for Q4, ADA cases on the increase and the Haro bicycle case.

Bloomreach and Sitemorse Partnership, bringing real-time digital experience reporting

7 Nov 2019, 10 a.m.

Bloomreach and Sitemorse have announced their strategic technology partnership that will enable Bloomreach customers to leverage the power of Sitemorse from within the Bloomreach Digital Experience Platform, brX.

Five reasons why improving accessibility is a strategic investment

6 Nov 2019, 9 a.m.

Accessibility is a key topic within digital teams. Although we often hear improving accessibility will only benefit those with disabilities, however, this isn’t true. Improving accessibility improves User Experience for all and is an opportunity to educate your digital team.

Q4 2019 INDEX - UK & IE Universities, what's happening with Accessibility?

5 Nov 2019, 9 a.m.

The Q4 2019 INDEX results for UK & IE Universities has been released this week. How are the Universities doing? Are sites meeting accessibility regulations?

Technical Service Bulletin Week 45 - What are Key Pages

4 Nov 2019, 9 a.m.

Key pages form part of our daily assessments for our DIGITALCONFIDENCE service, they can be set to any page of your site and run every day to assess your most important pages compliance. In this week’s technical service bulletin, Helen is look at what Key Pages are and how to configure them.

Bracknell Forest Council online for all - demonstrating accessibility excellence

1 Nov 2019, 9 a.m.

The Digital Services Team at Bracknell Forest Council have been leading the charge on accessibility be it from the internal education to external excellence online. Find out more about how the authority have improved.

Accessibility Bulletin Week 44 – website accessibility is a global issue.

31 Oct 2019, 3 p.m.

This week’s accessibility bulletin is out, we’ve seen articles that are discussing the need to make websites accessible and shows that this is a topic that applies across multiple sectors and geographies.

Eight characteristics of Digital Rockstars

30 Oct 2019, 9 a.m.

Digital rockstars are people that make things happen and get things done, creating and managing websites that deliver great content and excellent customer experiences that are fully compliant with the law, often on a relatively low budget.

Technical Service Bulletin Week 44 - Social media site assessments

28 Oct 2019, 9 a.m.

As part of our daily assessments Sitemorse can run your social media pages, find out how this service works in our technical service bulletin this week.

Accessibility Bulletin Week 43 – focus on making websites accessible

24 Oct 2019, 3 p.m.

This week’s accessibility bulletin is out, and lots has been talked about this week, but in a different way. There is a focus on making websites accessible rather than just litigation cases.

Eight good practices for a web content audit

23 Oct 2019, 9 a.m.

We recently wrote about websites suffering from digital bloat. This week we’re looking at best practices around content audits.

Accessibility Across UK & IE Universities and Higher Education Establishments

22 Oct 2019, 9 a.m.

Public Sector Bodies are legally responsible for their website meeting accessibility requirements, even if they have outsourced their website to a supplier. Sitemorse have published a State of the Nation report that assesses the progress that the UK Higher Education Sector are making to ensure that their websites are accessible.

Technical Service Bulletin Week 43 - Page titles and metadata

21 Oct 2019, 9 a.m.

Page titles and metadata are used by search engines to rank pages in search results. Find out more about them in our technical service bulletin this week.

State of the Nation Report on Accessibility Across UK Local Authorities

18 Oct 2019, 9 a.m.

In collaboration with Socitm, we have published a State of the Nation report that assesses the progress that UK Local Authorities are making to ensure that their websites are accessible. Public Sector Bodies are legally responsible for their website meeting accessibility requirements, even if they have outsourced their website to a supplier.

Accessibility Bulletin Week 42 – Domino’s Pizza non-ruling, and more.

17 Oct 2019, 3 p.m.

This week’s accessibility bulletin is out, and lots has been talked about this week. More on the Domino’s Pizza case, UK Central Government compliance levels and best practices for accessibility.

Accessibility Across UK Central Government

17 Oct 2019, 9 a.m.

We’re publishing a State of the Nation report that assesses the progress that UK Central Government organisations are making to ensure that their websites are accessible. Public Sector Bodies are legally responsible for their website meeting accessibility requirements, even if they have outsourced their website to a supplier.

Act now to prevent mixed content on your website being blocked by Chrome

16 Oct 2019, 9 a.m.

Google is changing it's security settings in their Chrome browser would automatically block mixed content. Find out how Sitemorse can help identify pages with mixed content.

Technical Service Bulletin Week 42 - Downloading Heartbeat Monitoring History

15 Oct 2019, 9 a.m.

Heartbeat is the uptime and availability monitoring system from Sitemorse. This week in our technical service bulletin, we’re looking at how to download the monitoring history data.

We are having a new CMS... - so what, visitors don't know this - actions now drive improvement.

9 Oct 2019, 9:50 a.m.

There are almost always improvements you can make to your website and its content that are not wholly dependent on your CMS. Use Sitemorse to focus on a programme of continuous improvement. We are having a new CMS...-so what, visitors don't know this-actions now drive improvement.

Clarity, knowledge and engagement: Working with your digital team

9 Oct 2019, 9 a.m.

Digital teams rely on their members to deliver strong digital experiences including content is of high quality and fully compliant with the law. So what can digital teams do to make sure they are able to fulfil their roles?

Technical Service Bulletin Week 41 - Sharing reports with other users

7 Oct 2019, 9 a.m.

Reports from Sitemorse can be shared with different users or organisations. This week’s technical service bulletin goes into the detail of how to share a report.

Accessibility Bulletin Week 40 – how can website accessibility best be addressed?

5 Oct 2019, 8:05 a.m.

This week’s accessibility bulletin is out, and lots has been talked about this week. Are UK Local Government authorities meeting accessibility standards? How website accessibility affects your online business and more.

Accessibility Across UK Local Authorities

4 Oct 2019, 4:48 p.m.

Public Sector Bodies are legally responsible for their website meeting accessibility requirements, even if they have outsourced their website to a supplier. Sitemorse, in collaboration with Socitm, are publishing a State of the Nation report that assesses the progress that UK Local Authorities are making to ensure that their websites are accessible.

How to reduce digital bloat on your website

2 Oct 2019, 9 a.m.

Out-of-date pages, ancient PDFs, old news items, microsites from long-expired campaigns and newsletters that nobody reads leads to extreme “digital bloat”, so how do you tackle this?

Technical Service Bulletin Week 40 - Benefits of Sitemorse CMS Integration (SCI)

30 Sep 2019, 9 a.m.

INCMS enables seamless publishing control from within your CMS provider. This week Helen Grimbly, is looking at how INCMS works and the benefits.

Accessibility Bulletin Week 39 – Beyoncé, Accessibility Statements and Priorities

26 Sep 2019, 3 p.m.

This week’s accessibility bulletin is out, and lots has been talked about this week. The deadline has come for UK Public Sector bodies to publish an accessibility statement, Hotels INDEX results have been published and the Beyonce case has been looked into.

Hotels – Is Accessibility the top of their to do list?

25 Sep 2019, 1:22 p.m.

The results of the Q3 2019 Hotels INDEX have been released. Have sites improved, can we sites making progress towards accessibility compliance?

Technical Service Bulletin Week 39 - Assessing pages in an Intranet or behind a firewall

23 Sep 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse isn’t just limited to assessing live content available to the public, we can also assess pages behind a firewall or in an Intranet. Find out more in this weeks technical service bulletin.

Global Top 250 Retailers / UK Retail 500 scoring poorly for accessibility

20 Sep 2019, 9 a.m.

The results of both the 2019 Q3 Global Top 250 Retailers INDEX and UK Retail 500 INDEX have been released this week. We’re summarising the results of both sectors this week to see how the retailers are fairing in terms of accessibility.

Accessibility Bulletin Week 38 – court cases continue in the US and a new service in the UK

19 Sep 2019, 3 p.m.

This week’s accessibility bulletin is out, and with more talk of cases in the US should organisations be taking note and getting themselves compliant? We’re looking at these cases aswell as a new service launching in the UK.

Our new and shiny email category

17 Sep 2019, 9 a.m.

We’ve released the first of our updated assessment category summary pages. The first to be released is Email, find out more about the updates that have taken place and the unique features in the email category.

Technical Service Bulletin Week 38 - Running assessments from the dashboard

16 Sep 2019, 9 a.m.

The Sitemorse dashboard allows managers to have a quick overview of their digital footprint, but it also has other features too. This week in our technical service bulletin, Helen will be at how to run assessments from the dashboard.

UK London-listed PLCs - are they taking accessibility seriously?

13 Sep 2019, 9 a.m.

The results of the Q3 2019 UK London-listed PLCs INDEX were published this week. Are sites improving? Has the site at the top changed since last quarter and are sites meeting the Web Content #Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)?

Accessibility Bulletin Week 37 – What is your level of risk?

12 Sep 2019, 3 p.m.

We’re again looking at the interesting website accessibility references for this week. We’re focusing on risk this week.

Confusion Around Accessibility in the UK Public Sector

11 Sep 2019, 9 a.m.

In a recent interview with Sitemorse CEO Lawrence Shaw, he explained the confusion around digital compliance and gave some pointers on a pragmatic way forward with accessibility in the UK Public Sector.

Technical Service Bulletin Week 37 - How to search a site for a word or phrase

9 Sep 2019, 9 a.m.

Looking for a word or phrase on your site? In this weeks technical service bulletin, Helen looks at how you can do this from the Sitemorse interface.

Establishing Brand Consistency across Websites

6 Sep 2019, 9 a.m.

Content on websites should be clearly written, well-structured, easy to understand and accessible to all. Sitemorse works with clients to review brand, style, and publishing guidelines to ensure content is meeting organisations regulations.

Accessibility Bulletin Week 36 – Risk, Regulations and Truth

5 Sep 2019, 3 p.m.

More of the most interesting website accessibility articles for this week. This week, we’re focusing on Risk, Regulations and Truth.

Understanding digital management efficiencies and cost savings

4 Sep 2019, 9 a.m.

We frequently see digital teams who have the right objectives but sometimes with a focus on the wrong process or approach, this leads to them wasting time and money. Read about four ways we often see digital teams doing just this.

Are UK Police Forces catering well enough for citizens with disabilities?

3 Sep 2019, 9 a.m.

The results of the Q3 2019 UK Police Forces INDEX were published this week. Are sites improving? Are they meeting the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)?

Technical Service Bulletin Week 36 - How to view all site email addresses

2 Sep 2019, 9 a.m.

As part of a Sitemorse assessment we record and test all the email addresses we find. This week in our technical service bulletin, Helen will take you through how to view these.

Accessibility Bulletin Week 35 – Social Media, Education Establishments and Car Dealerships

29 Aug 2019, 3 p.m.

More of the most interesting website accessibility articles for this week. This week, there were none on Dominos but the Education sector has had a lot of light.

Bringing governance to your social media footprint

27 Aug 2019, 9 a.m.

Social media is major component of most organisation’s digital footprint and it shouldn’t be forgotten about when it comes to compliance. Find out how automation can help ensure consistency and compliance across these channels.

Technical Service Bulletin Week 35 - Using Aria to improve Accessibility

26 Aug 2019, 9 a.m.

ARIA should be used on top of HTML features rather than a replacement. This week in our technical service bulletin, Helen is looking at examples of when ARIA should be used.

Accessibility Bulletin Week 34 – Increasing lawsuits, UK Central Government, What can you do...

22 Aug 2019, 3 p.m.

More of the most interesting website accessibility articles for this week. This week we look at the increasing lawsuits, UK Central Government, What can you do to address the issue.

The advantages of aligning internal and external digital channels

21 Aug 2019, 9 a.m.

It’s widely argued that customer and employee experience are inextricably linked. We’re looking at the benefits of investing in both for your organisation and the implications this can have on digital teams.

Central Government seems to be failing users with disabilities

20 Aug 2019, 9 a.m.

The results of the 2019 Q3 UK Central Government #INDEX have been released. How are organisations doing, are they on track to meet the EU directive on accessibility? Are they optimising User Experience with a compliant website?

Technical Service Bulletin Week 34 - Improving accessibility helps everyone

19 Aug 2019, 9 a.m.

Web accessibility is often in the news now with litigation cases and legislation. In this weeks technical service bulletin, Helen is looking at the benefits improving accessibility brings to all.

Accessibility Bulletin Week 33 – Financial Institutions, UK Local Government. Risk and more.

15 Aug 2019, 3 p.m.

We’re constantly seeing new articles around website accessibility, every week we summarise some interesting articles we’ve seen this week. This week we look at cases involving Financial Institutions, the UK Local Government Q3 2019 INDEX results,. Risk and more.

SMARTVIEW - helping call centre employees report website feedback

14 Aug 2019, 9 a.m.

SMARTVIEW is the in-browser tool from Sitemorse that allows you to assess any page at any time. SMARTVIEW can be used in many organisations to benefit digital teams and the wider business. We’re looking at how SMARTVIEW could be used in a call centre.

Will Local Governments regret their inaction on website accessibility?

13 Aug 2019, 9 a.m.

The INDEX results for Q3 2019 for Local Government are out, how has the sector done, are there improvements across the board or is there still a long way to go in terms of digital compliance for local authorities. View the results to see how organisations are doing in terms of accessibility, function and more.

Week 33 Technical Service Bulletin - What PDF tests does Sitemorse carry out?

12 Aug 2019, 9 a.m.

PDFs are often used on a website when users need to download documents, however, they have their problems and need to be included as part of your website assessment. This week in our technical service bulletin, we’re looking at what tests Sitemorse can carry out on PDFs.

Is the Higher Education Sector doing enough for students with disabilities?

9 Aug 2019, 9 a.m.

The results of the Q3 2019 UK & IE Universities and Higher Education INDEX were published this week. Are sites improving? Are they meeting the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)?

Accessibility Bulletin Week 32 – Dominos, Higher Ed and more

8 Aug 2019, 4:04 p.m.

We’re constantly seeing new articles around website accessibility, every week we summarise some interesting articles we’ve seen this week. This week we look at the well documented Domino’s case, the UK & IE Universities and Higher Education Sector and many more.

Week 32 Technical Service Bulletin - Run a one page assessment using SMARTVIEW

5 Aug 2019, 9 a.m.

SMARTVIEW is an inbrowser tool that allows you to run an assessment of any live public web page that is open in your browser, at anytime. In this week’s technical service bulletin, Helen is outlining how a one page assessment can be run using SMARTVIEW.

Why investing in digital employee experience is key

2 Aug 2019, 9 a.m.

Employee experience is generally regarded as the holistic, overall experience of work for each employee In the past couple of years employee experience has been a recurrent theme for HR functions and internal communications teams, with a particular focus on the contribution of digital channels such as intranets, employee portals and internal social networks.

Week 31 Technical Service Bulletin - How to view previous Reports

29 Jul 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse keeps a record of your assessments for up to seven years. Find out how to view previous reports within Sitemorse from the Digital Properties and the Dashboard view.

How can you drive excellent commerce experience?

26 Jul 2019, 9 a.m.

A bad commerce experience such as a slowly loading page or a confusing user journey can have a massive impact on whether a lead converts to a transaction or a visitor returns for repeat purchases. To be able to design the best commerce experience possible it is essential to know what customers want and expect.

Week 30 Technical Service Bulletin - What is a site's Inventory?

22 Jul 2019, 9 a.m.

Every time a Sitemorse assessment runs, an inventory of the site is produced. Find out more in this week’s technical service bulletin about what this includes.

The five critical elements of continuous digital improvement

19 Jul 2019, 9 a.m.

One of the main reasons that introducing continuous improvement can be hard is because it means changing the way you and your team operate. We’re looking at the five elements of successful continuous improvement.

Week 29 Technical Service Bulletin - Sitemorse and caching

15 Jul 2019, 10:56 a.m.

We’re often asked about how aching affects our reports. This week in our technical service bulletin we’re looking at this.

How to navigate the tensions between global and local digital teams

12 Jul 2019, 2:37 p.m.

Organisations often have a central delivery team who are responsible for the main corporate site white separate smaller teams managing local sites. We’re taking a look at the challenges such teams have and some tactics and approaches which may help.

Week 28 Technical Service Bulletin - Adding custom dictionaries and importing spelling lists

10 Jul 2019, 8:46 a.m.

Dictionaries are using within the Sitemorse service to assess spellings. Read about how you can customise your service by adding custom dictionaries and importing spelling lists into Sitemorse.

Helping digital teams avoid PDF pitfalls

5 Jul 2019, 9 a.m.

PDFs are commonplace on websites where visitors need to download documents, however they don’t come without their challenges. Sitemorse can help your digital team avoid PDF pitfalls with automated assessments and LiveARCHIVE.

Week 27 Technical Service Bulletin - Incorrect use of close tags can causes Accessibility issues

2 Jul 2019, 9 a.m.

This week in our technical service bulletin we’re looking at diagnostics related to close tags and how this impacts accessibility compliance.

Embracing a “design system”?

28 Jun 2019, 9 a.m.

Design system are frequently used by organisations to ensure their digital channels are consistent, compliant and optimised for user experience. Read about how Sitemorse can help ensure these guidelines are met.

Interactive Academy | Accessibility - Page Title is incorrect, please fix

26 Jun 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse provides just-in-time training within our service, providing instant training for users. We’re looking at the accessibility action ‘Page Title is incorrect, please fix' this week.

July Higher Education and Universities INDEX and Pragmatic Accessibility Webinars

25 Jun 2019, 9 a.m.

To help drive improvement across the Further & Higher Education sector across July we will be running regular webinars on the INDEX results and also a pragmatic approach to Accessibility.

Week 26 Technical Service Bulletin - How to action error status codes (4xx, 5xx)

24 Jun 2019, 9 a.m.

Status codes are issued by a server in response to a request made to the server. The returned codes indicate whether a the request has been successfully completed or not. This week in our technical service bulletin, we’re looking at the reporting of these within Sitemorse.

Interactive Academy | Accessibility - Add label to form field

19 Jun 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse provides just-in-time training within our service, providing instant training for users. We’re looking at the accessibility action ‘Add label to form field' this week.

Week 25 Technical Service Bulletin - Defining the DOCTYPE in a webpage

17 Jun 2019, 9 a.m.

The document type in a webpage, is an instruction to the web browser about what version of HTML the page is written in. This week in our technical service bulletin, we’re looking into why this is important and giving some example <!DOCTYPE>.

Interactive Academy | Accessibility - Change Page Headings Ordering

12 Jun 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse provides just-in-time training within our service, providing instant training for users. We’re looking at the accessibility action ‘Change Page Headings Ordering' this week.

Universities & Higher Education INDEX - Update

11 Jun 2019, 9 a.m.

From Q3 we’re making some updates to the Universities and Higher Education INDEX by adding in a number of new sites, extending the INDEX to cover the key Universities in the Republic of Ireland ‘Eire’.

Week 24 Technical Service Bulletin - How to assess a PDF

10 Jun 2019, 9 a.m.

PDFs are frequently used on websites, however, they have their problems. They can often be poor in terms of accessibility and difficult to navigate. As PDFs form part of your digital footprint they should not be excluded from your compliance checking, this is why with Sitemorse PDFs can be run as well. This week in our technical service bulletin, we’re looking at how to run an assessment on them.

Interactive Academy | Accessibility - Add title to iframe

7 Jun 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse provides just-in-time training within our service, providing instant training for users. We’re looking at the accessibility action ‘Add title to iframe' this week.

LIVEARCHIVE - continually recording web and social content with search

4 Jun 2019, 9 a.m.

Do you need find a specific piece of content on your site? Are you wondering when a reference to a specific product or service was made on your site? Live search from Sitemorse enables digital teams to find such content, along with where the content was found and you can even view the page when we found it.

Week 23 Technical Service Bulletin - How to be notified when my site is back up and running

3 Jun 2019, 9 a.m.

It is not unheard of for a website to go down or be slower than expected, which is why as part of some of services we include a Heartbeat Monitor. In this week’s technical service bulletin, we’re looking at how to ensure the settings for Heartbeat are correct and sending notifications when a site is back up and running.

Week 22 Technical Service Bulletin - Why has content from another site been included in my site assessment?

27 May 2019, 9 a.m.

Wondering why an external site appears in your Sitemorse assessment? Take a look at our technical service bulletin this week to find out more.

Week 21 Technical Service Bulletin - C22: Using CSS to control visual presentation of text

20 May 2019, 9 a.m.

Text is often required to be a certain colour, size and font to meet an organisations brand and style guidelines. The WCAG 2.1 C22 technique is all around using CSS to control visual aspects of text such as colour, size and font. We explain more in our technical service bulletin this week.

Are some of Britain’s leading brands failing with online user experience?

14 May 2019, 9 a.m.

The Sitemorse INDEX is an independent benchmark for websites based on elements such as accessibility compliance, performance and broken links. We’re taking a deeper look at the results of the Q2 2019 UK London-listed PLCs INDEX.

Week 20 Technical Service Bulletin - Indicating that a link opens in a new window

13 May 2019, 9 a.m.

Often a link on a website is set to open in a new window. Some use this so that links to external sites open in a new window believing this will help to keep users from leaving the website. This technique is all around informing users that a link will open in a new window, before it they open it. This week we’re looking at how to improve the accessibility compliance of such links.

Digital Compliance - what progress is the UK Local Government sector making?

7 May 2019, 2:37 p.m.

The results of the latest UK Local Government INDEX are now available, so how much progress has the sector made? Are local authorities meeting their legal and ethical duties when it comes to accessibility? Read more about the Q2 results.

Week 19 Technical Service Bulletin - Why can different pages be assessed for same size audits of the same site?

6 May 2019, 9 a.m.

Ever wondered how Sitemorse finds pages? We often get asked about how our crawler works, how it finds pages and how it knows where to go. This week in out technical bulletin, we’re looking at how the assessments work.

Accessibility - are UK local councils burying their heads in the sand?

2 May 2019, 9 a.m.

Accessibility means more than putting things online. It means making your content and design clear and simple enough so that most people can use it without needing to adapt it, while supporting those who do. So how is the local government sector performing?

Higher Education, focus on the basics - time to deliver better value for money

30 Apr 2019, 9 a.m.

University websites should be focused on digital improvement and excelling in areas such as accessibility compliance. But with these big budgets being spent are they achieving compliance?

Celebrating Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) 2019

26 Apr 2019, 4:04 p.m.

Thursday 16th May is the 8th Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). Join in the celebrations with the annual ONE MILLION page giveaway, and the new online sessions, a pragmatic approach to accessibility compliance.

What ‘Sitemorse’ sees as it assesses your site

25 Apr 2019, 9 a.m.

Are you having to do the boring, time consuming task of checking each individual page on your site one by one? This manual task is eliminated with Sitemorse, giving you to get on with improving user experience.

Week 17 Technical Service Bulletin - Number of pages with accessibility issues affects accessibility score

24 Apr 2019, 12:01 p.m.

Websites should be designed, developed and maintainted in a way that allows all users equal access to information and functionality. Having an accessible site is not just a nice to have anymore, it's becoming the law. By conforming to accessibility guidelines, not only will your site be available to those with accessibility needs but also improves SEO and user experience for all.

Considering Sitemorse as an investment not an overhead

23 Apr 2019, 9 a.m.

Are you struggling to get buy-in for from those who hold the purse strings? Sitemorse is a highly cost-effective way of ensuring compliance and minimising risk. Read about how Sitemorse is a great way to invest in your digital footprint.

Week 16 Technical Service Bulletin - Factors affecting Performance result for a site

17 Apr 2019, 9 a.m.

Is your website taking more than 3 seconds to load? If so, do you know you’re at risk of loosing 40% of your visitors? Read more in our tech bulletin this week on how to understand what affects your performance score in Sitemorse and therefore what is impacting your loading speeds.

How do you manage your brand across a reseller, partner, agent or affiliate network?

16 Apr 2019, 9 a.m.

Are you concerned about how your partner or reseller represents your brand online? With Sitemorse automation you can assess content and ensure changes are actioned.

The Golden Hour – Deploying Sitemorse & having a Coffee

12 Apr 2019, 11:40 a.m.

Introducing Sitemorse isn’t a laborious task, it takes less than an hour and you’ve even got time for a coffee. By introducing Sitemorse you can be confident that the content you're producing is being reviewed on a page by page basis.

Week 15 Technical Service Bulletin - H44 Using label elements to associate text labels with form controls

11 Apr 2019, 12:48 p.m.

Form fields should be labelled so that a screen reader can read back to the user what is required for each field, ensuring they can understand, navigate and fill them in correctly. In this week’s update, we’re looking at why they are important for accessibility compliance and how to make them compliant.

Interactive Academy | Accessibility - Image is missing its alt text

4 Apr 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse provides just-in-time training within our service, providing instant training for users. We’re looking at the accessibility action ‘Image is missing its alt text. Please add' this week.

Orientation Sessions – W/C 08/04/2019

1 Apr 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse holds regular orientation sessions to enable users to learn more about our service. We hold general introduction orientation sessions and specific modular sessions on a weekly basis. Next week we have our introduction sessions and one on our Function module.

Interactive Academy | Accessibility - Please add descriptive labels to form fields.

28 Mar 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse provides just-in-time training within our service, providing instant training for users. We’re looking at the accessibility action ‘Please add descriptive labels to form fields’ this week.

How do you achieve regulatory compliance with your digital footprint?

28 Mar 2019, 9 a.m.

Keeping your content compliant across different aspects such as accessibility, your own brand rules and regulatory compliance is hard, but it’s also very important. Taking an automated approach is the only realistic option for busy digital teams with devolved publishing models.

Tech Update - Ad hoc assessment tips

27 Mar 2019, 9 a.m.

When an “/“ is added on the end of a URL, this can reduce the scope for the pages assessed. In this weeks tech update we’re looking at this topic to help educate our clients and the market on website structure.

Orientation Sessions – W/C 01/04/2019

25 Mar 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse holds regular orientation sessions to enable users to learn more about our service. We hold general introduction orientation sessions and specific modular sessions on a weekly basis. Next week we have our introduction sessions and one on our brand module.

Interactive Academy | Accessibility - Add meaningful link text

21 Mar 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse provides just-in-time training within our service, providing instant training for users. We’re looking at the accessibility action ‘Add meaningful link text’ this week.

Tech Update - How to use the LIVEARCHIVE functionality from the dashboard

20 Mar 2019, 9 a.m.

The Sitemorse dashboard has our unique LIVEARCHIVE facility which allows for the recording of content, allowing change management to be recorded and demonstrated.

How automation drives digital compliance for local government websites

19 Mar 2019, 9 a.m.

Automation is by far the most efficient way of carrying out the scale of checks and tests required to assess and achieve digital compliance. Sitemorse provides services to organisations in both public and private sectors including many local government authorities which enables them to achieve higher levels of digital compliance.

Orientation Sessions – W/C 25/03/2019

18 Mar 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse holds regular orientation sessions to enable users to learn more about our service. We hold general introduction orientation sessions and specific modular sessions on a weekly basis. Next week we have our introduction sessions and one on our digital dashboard which is included as part of our Digital Confidence service.

Landmark vote on European Accessibility Act

15 Mar 2019, 9 a.m.

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) has this week been passed meaning key products and services including smartphones, computers, tablets, TV sets, ATMs, ticketing machines, e-books, e-readers, e-commerce websites, mobile apps and banking services will have to be more accessible to the elderly and disabled.

Interactive Academy | Accessibility - Don’t use automatic page change

14 Mar 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse provides just-in-time training within our service, providing instant training for users. We’re looking at the accessibility action ‘Don’t use automatic page change’ this week.

Tech Update - Resolving the Accessibility checks G134, G192, H75 and H88

13 Mar 2019, 8:11 a.m.

This week in tech update, we’re looking at four particular accessibility A checks - G134, G192, H75 and H88.

Orientation Sessions – W/C 18/03/2019

11 Mar 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse holds regular orientation sessions to enable users to learn more about our service. We hold general introduction orientation sessions and specific modular sessions on a weekly basis. Next week we have our introduction sessions and one on accessibility

Interactive Academy | Accessibility - Add description for an image used as a link

7 Mar 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse provides just-in-time training within our service, providing instant training for users. We’re looking at the accessibility action ‘Add description for an image used as a link’ this week.

Tech Update - Spring-clean your Monitor Settings

6 Mar 2019, 12:30 p.m.

Heartbeat is the uptime and availability monitoring service from Sitemorse. In this weeks tech update Helen is looking at checks you can do to ensure you’re getting the most out of this side of the service.

Orientation Sessions – W/C 11/03/2019

4 Mar 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse holds regular orientation sessions to enable users to learn more about our service. We hold general introduction orientation sessions and specific modular sessions on a weekly basis. Next week we have our introduction sessions and one on code quality.

Interactive Academy | Accessibility - Don’t use automatic page refresh

28 Feb 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse provides just-in-time training within our service, providing instant training for users. We’re looking at the accessibility action ‘Don’t use automatic page refresh’ this week.

Tech Update - What web addresses are included in an assessment

27 Feb 2019, 9 a.m.

In tech update this week we are looking at what is included in Sitemorse assessments and what can be configured for your assessments.

Orientation Sessions – W/C 04/03/2019

25 Feb 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse holds regular orientation sessions to enable users to learn more about our service. We hold general introduction orientation sessions and specific modular sessions on a weekly basis. Next week we have our introduction sessions and one on our function module.

Interactive Academy | Accessibility - Make current alt text meaningful

21 Feb 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse provides just-in-time training within our service, providing instant training for users. We’re looking at the accessibility action ‘Make Current Alt Text Meaningful’ this week.

Tech Update - A shortened on-site URL should be a temporary redirect

20 Feb 2019, 9 a.m.

URLs are sometimes shortened for reasons such as to make the URL more friendly, memorable and take up less space. In tech update this week, Helen is looking at why they are used and why they should be set as a temporary redirect.

We’re hiring for Marketing and Development Positions

19 Feb 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse are looking to expand our team with a Content Marketing Manager and a Python Full Stack Developer. Read more about the positions we’re hiring for.

Orientation Sessions – W/C 25/02/2019

18 Feb 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse holds regular orientation sessions to enable users to learn more about our service. We hold general introduction orientation sessions and specific modular sessions on a weekly basis. Next week we have our introduction sessions and one on our customisable brand module.

Benchmark your website using the Sitemorse INDEX

15 Feb 2019, 1 p.m.

The Sitemorse INDEX is the only recognised independent sector benchmark. We can benchmark on all the different areas Sitemorse covers, from accessibility to code quality to SEO to site performance and brand compliance.

Tech Update - Archiving old content that cannot be updated

13 Feb 2019, 9 a.m.

Websites sometimes contain lots of rarely viewed historical PDF documents. This week in tech update, Helen Grimbly, Support Lead at Sitemorse has been looking at best practices for archiving PDF documents.

Orientation Sessions – W/C 18/02/2019

11 Feb 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse holds regular orientation sessions to enable users to learn more about our service. We hold general introduction orientation sessions and specific modular sessions on a weekly basis. Next week we have our introduction sessions and one on our digital dashboard.

UK organisations with a .eu website need to act now

8 Feb 2019, 9 a.m.

The .eu domain is designed for entities that are registered in a country that is a member of the European Economic Area. When the UK leaves the EU, UK companies will no longer have the right to operate with an .eu domain.

Orientation Sessions – W/C 11/02/2019

4 Feb 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse holds regular orientation sessions to enable users to learn more about our service. We hold general introduction orientation sessions and specific modular sessions on a weekly basis. Next week we have our introduction sessions and one on our accessibility module.

The power of integrating Sitemorse with your CMS

1 Feb 2019, 9 a.m.

By using Sitemorse inCMS you're upgrading your CMS by adding automated improvement and assessment capabilities, targeted notifications to the people who need to make improvements and a range of other features.

Tech Update - Titles in PDF documents

30 Jan 2019, 9 a.m.

Titles on both webpages and PDFs are used by screen readers to work out what the page is about. This week in tech update, Helen will be look at the importance of using titles in PDF documents and how it impacts those with accessibility needs.

Orientation Sessions – W/C 04/02/2019

28 Jan 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse holds regular orientation sessions to enable users to learn more about our service. We hold general introduction orientation sessions and specific modular sessions on a weekly basis. Next week we have our introduction sessions and one on our code quality module.

Stop wasting time continually assessing your whole website

25 Jan 2019, 11:26 a.m.

Sitemorse doesn’t assess all the pages of a website every time we run an assessment like some of our competitors. We don’t run our QA assessment across every page of a website because it’s a waste of time. Testing so extensively and so often does NOT lead to digital improvement and can even do more harm than good.

Sitemorse Orientation Sessions – W/C 28/01/2019

21 Jan 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse holds regular orientation sessions to enable users to learn more about our service. We hold general introduction orientation sessions and specific modular sessions on a weekly basis. Next week we have our introduction sessions and one on function.

Leverages the power of prioritisation to return time.

18 Jan 2019, 9:11 a.m.

All about returning time, more time to focus on great content to drive a great experience. Importance of system based prioritisation.

Sitemorse Orientation Sessions – W/C 21/01/2019

14 Jan 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse holds regular orientation sessions to enable users to learn more about our service. We hold general introduction orientation sessions and specific modular sessions on a weekly basis. Next week we have our introduction sessions and one on brand.

Tech Update - Setting up the correct Status Code such as 404 for Error Pages

10 Jan 2019, 11:30 a.m.

Every web page visited returns a status code which provides the browser with additional information about that page. This week in tech update we're look at what they and their importance.

How the Sitemorse Academy delivers just-in-time learning

7 Jan 2019, 9:33 a.m.

Sitemorse Academy new just-in-time learning - bringing focus on great content, faster from digital teams

Sitemorse Orientation Sessions – W/C 14/01/2019

7 Jan 2019, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse holds regular orientation sessions to enable users to learn more about our service. We hold general introduction orientation sessions and specific modular sessions on a weekly basis. Next week we have our introduction sessions and one on our digital dashboard.

Establishing Brand Consistency for your Government Website

3 Jan 2019, 4:07 p.m.

Content on government sites must be clearly written, well-structured, easy to understand and accessible to all. Sitemorse works with clients to review brand, style, and publishing guidelines to ensure content is meeting organisations regulations.

Sitemorse Orientation Sessions – W/C 07/01/2019

31 Dec 2018, 9 a.m.

Sitemorse holds regular orientation sessions to enable users to learn more about our service. We hold general introduction orientation sessions and specific modular sessions on a weekly basis. Next week we have our introduction sessions and one on accessibility

Socitm and Sitemorse partner for BetterConnected+

12 Dec 2018, 10:07 a.m.

Sitemorse has led the way in benchmarking digital across public sectors. In order to support local authorities in achieving compliance, Socitm and Sitemorse have entered into a partnership to deliver automated assessments.

Sitemorse Orientation Sessions – W/C 17/12/2018

11 Dec 2018, 2:57 p.m.

Sitemorse holds regular orientation sessions to enable users to learn more about our service. We hold general introduction orientation sessions and specific modular sessions on a weekly basis. Next week we have our introduction sessions and one on code quality.