Farmshare Austin Website Redesign

Accessibility Internet Rally | August–November 2024

Project Overview

Farmshare Austin is a nonprofit committed to food equity, education, and sustainable farming. Their previous website lacked accessible design, intuitive navigation, and clear content hierarchy — which limited usability for users with disabilities and created confusion for site visitors. Our challenge was to redesign their website to improve accessibility and user experience, ensuring the site was WCAG-compliant and represented Farmshare’s mission in a clear, user-friendly way.

My Role

• Team Lead & UX Designer
• Client Communication
• Front-End Development

Goals

• Redesign the website to be accessible to all users, including screen reader users and those with cognitive or visual impairments.
• Improve navigation and content hierarchy to allow users to find programs, donation info, and events easily.
• Maintain visual consistency with Farmshare’s branding while enhancing usability.
• Build the site in WordPress, allowing staff to manage content long-term.

Research & Discovery

We began with a content audit of Farmshare’s existing site to identify key content areas and outdated info. We also spoke with a Farmshare representative to understand their goals and reviewed WCAG 2.1 guidelines to shape our design and development. While we didn’t conduct formal interviews, client and mentor feedback helped us prioritize key improvements.

Design & Development

• Reorganized homepage and simplified navigation structure
• Used semantic HTML, accessible forms, and high contrast color palettes
• Ensured keyboard accessibility and added ARIA labels where necessary
• Created reusable WordPress templates and styled them with custom CSS

Challenges

• Balancing the client’s visual preferences with accessibility needs
• Learning WordPress templating under a short timeline
• Communicating effectively across a multi-role team

Outcome

The final website passed WCAG accessibility checks and improved the experience for Farmshare’s community. It featured streamlined content, easier navigation, and an inclusive design approach. The site was successfully submitted and recognized by Knowbility as a compliant AIR project.

Reflection

This project taught me that accessibility is not just about compliance but about designing for real people with diverse needs. It also strengthened my skills in leading a team, managing a real nonprofit project, and building ethically conscious digital spaces.

Final Design