Topic: Hearing Colors: A journey through accessible website development
Johnny Thompson has more than 20 years of web and application development experience, successfully launching and maintaining countless sites and utilities in industries ranging from defense to banking. He has called UNT Health Science Center home since 2011 as the Executive Director of Digital Outreach and Web Services for the Office of Brand and Communications.
How did you get involved in WordPress?
I created my first blog back in 2005 after getting fed up with the limitations of Typepad for a personal website. My first commercial application of WP was for an agency website in 2008. Fast forward to 2015 and for the last 3 years we have used a multisite installation of WP for our institution’s web presence of some 60+ departments, 15,000+ pages and a half-million visits a month.
What has your experience with the WordPress community been like?
Arguably the best part of the WP platform is the fact that it is open and that active developers are are so easily accessible to help solve problems or even incorporate enhancements with their plugins or themes based on your feedback.
Why did you want to speak at WordCamp DFW?
Two reasons. 1) Our journey in addressing the accessibility needs of our school was fascinating and I genuinely felt others could benefit from our experience., 2) as part of my own leadership development plan, I am trying to be more active in the speaking community in an effort to help others and give back to an industry that has been so good to me
What do you hope the audience gets from your talk?
An appreciation for what people with disabilities go through to interact with your average website. Also, how addressing accessibility issues can benefit YOU with better site performance, search performance and user experiences in general.