Mangrove Web, a Certified B Corp

As a recent guest on The Nonprofit Show, CEO, Maiya Holliday discussed the importance of website strategic plans for nonprofits, but what else goes into making sure a web project is successful? In the podcast, Maiya shared how it’s important for websites to be accessible to as many people as possible. Including accessibility in your strategy is a key component to success. “Building sites to a higher-level of accessibility helps a very specific audience but there are also fallbacks where it actually helps a much wider audience and creates more inclusivity.” While developing a website to be accessible for those with disabilities is undeniably the right thing to do from a DEI perspective, there is also a rising number of people without disabilities who use tools like large-font sites or subtitles on videos. By taking accessibility measures into account, you can make your content easier to access for anyone. There are also legal and financial factors to consider. It’s important to keep these external factors in mind during your website build as global regulations continue to have a bigger impact in how people interact online. Laws are changing around how accessible websites must be, and organizations receiving government funding need to consider accessibility. Listen to the full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/dvShJNFv #TechLeader #WebDev #Websites #WebProcess

FULCRUM envisions a nation where all children learn to read, ensuring they have access to information and true empowerment. By collaborating with educators, districts, community-based organizations, and departments of education—and by focusing on evidence-based strategies—FULCRUM is driving lasting change to eradicate illiteracy in the U.S. To further their work and impact, they needed their website to clearly define their identity and purpose. Our collaboration with FULCRUM resulted in a refreshed site design that reflects the breadth and depth of their work. The new site clearly articulates their mission and offers a hub for resources, updates, community engagement, and support. Explore the new site and check out the powerful work FULCRUM is doing today! https://lnkd.in/etxFcKFt #WebDevelopment #WebDesign

Your website is almost done. What do you need to know before your web team hands over the proverbial keys? The marketing launch plan is outlined, the quality assurance is in full swing, what else needs to be considered? Being able to effectively use your site is an important step before the site goes live. At Mangrove, we do our best to make sure you have every tool you need to keep your site up to date. As one of the final steps before we’ve finished designing, building, optimizing, and testing your new site, we ensure there’s time before the site’s launch to train your team. When the site is about 75% developed, we start our training process. Our training session and written instruction manual will ensure that your team is easy for your team to manage and update independently as your business evolves. This includes training on how to make edits to your website copy, change images, and add new pages and posts with ease, and more. Your site can only be as successful as your ability to maintain it, so if you’re struggling to keep up with changes to your current site or are in need of something new, we can help. Learn more about our website development process here: https://lnkd.in/e5qhUUmF

“We’re all a work in progress, and no one is going to ‘win’ at accessibility or do it perfectly. Start where you are and keep improving from there.” At Champions Retreat 2024, our CEO & Founder, Maiya Holliday, shared these sentiments in a presentation on digital accessibility strategies and practices alongside two other B Corps—Wandke Accessibility and Briteweb. Like many things in business, you don’t have to wait to be an accessibility expert to get started. Every small step forward creates positive momentum toward building more inclusive digital experiences. To learn more about the work we're doing and the strategies that we and our fellow B Corps are using, check out the article below. And thank you, B Lab U.S. & Canada, for sharing our work! #DigitalAccessibility #BCorp #BusinessForGood

The tech industry needs to be more inclusive. We can help make a difference in the industry this Black Business Month by listening and learning from other people’s lived experiences, and ensuring everyone has a voice that is heard. These are just a few Black-led organizations doing exceptional work in tech. Learn more about what they’re doing and give them a follow. Black Boys Code strives to make the world of computer programming accessible for Black youth through engaging workshops, after-school programs, exciting summer camps, and other initiatives. They currently have 12 chapters across Canada and are expanding into the United States to reach even more youth. Black Women Talk Tech is a collective of Black women tech founders whose mission is to help Black women dream big and build the next billion-dollar tech or scalable company. They offer a variety of programming, including virtual and in-person events, a membership platform, and investor matchmaking. SMASH was one of the first STEM education programs in the United States aimed at preparing students of color for Computer Science college studies. Since launching in 2024, they’ve been empowering their students through intensive education, culturally relevant coursework, and access to resources, aiming to cultivate success in college and careers. #BlackBusinessMonth #TechForGood #STEM

Did you know that, in 2022, around 27% of people in Canada lived with a disability? Or that nearly one in every four people in California currently lives with a disability? Good web design is aesthetically pleasing; great web design is also accessible. Accessibility is an integral step for any organization looking to succeed and meaningfully connect with their audiences online. Mangrove Creative Director, Andrew Boardman has been a longtime advocate for inclusive design and shared his tips to integrate accessibility into web design as part of Manitoba Access Awareness Week’s webinar series. A great way to start employing accessible design practices is by adjusting the typefaces on your website. Select fonts that are easily legible and letterforms that are consistent and balanced, and break up your written content into small, scannable chunks. For more ways to make your web design accessible, take a look at our latest blog post. https://lnkd.in/euwChzjt #AccessibilityMatters #WebDesign #DesignForAll #InclusionMatters

If you care about sustainability, you need to consider the water footprint of artificial intelligence. Here’s why. As it turns out, AI uses a lot of water, mostly to cool data centres and generate the electricity that powers the server farms. And that water usage is only going to rise as AI usage increases. Globally, by 2027, the demand for water for AI could be half of what the United Kingdom uses. Interestingly, the solutions for more sustainable AI may be AI itself. Google's AI subsidiary, DeepMind, has applied machine learning to enhance the efficiency of Google's data centers, achieving a 40% reduction in energy, including indirectly decreasing water use. However, there is currently a lack of public data available around the progress and the efficiency in machine learning for energy efficiency. Greater transparency and accountability are needed if AI is going to be sustainable and ethical. Learn more about ethical and sustainable AI with this article from Mightybytes, a fellow B-Corp: https://lnkd.in/gg9PcWuD #TechForGood #SustainableAI #SustainableTech #GreenTech Photo by Matt Hardy on Unsplash

Congratulations on 20 impactful years, Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors! Thank you for the opportunity to collaborate on building your new website. And for inviting us to be a part of the celebration! 

CAPTCHAs can be found on (almost) every web form on the internet. Why are most of them problematic? Most CAPTCHAs aren’t accessible. They are designed to add a layer of security to web forms, reducing the number of bots that fill out information – and they do that pretty well. But does that matter if you can’t fill out the form? Poorly designed web forms that lack proper labels, keyboard navigation, or alternative text can exclude users with disabilities and those who rely on assistive technologies. CAPTCHAs can be particularly challenging for individuals with visual impairments or cognitive disabilities who rely on screen readers or have difficulty interpreting complex visual cues. When implementing a CAPTCHA, one way to increase accessibility is to avoid applying time limits and ensure that they can be completed whether someone is using a mouse, keyboard, or assistive device. #Accessibility, #DesignForAll, #AccessibilityMatters #WebsiteBestPractices #TechTip

Youth ALIVE! is dedicated to breaking the cycle of violence and healing trauma in the city of Oakland. Their work seeks to empower young leaders, and to educate them to create a more peaceful community. We collaborated closely with Third Slant to redesign and migrate the existing Youth Alive site from WordPress to Cloudcannon, a lighter weight CMS. The goal was to create a modern, easy-to-navigate experience that would help visitors learn about Youth Alive's programs and impact. Equipping the site with multiple embeds—Click n Pay, PayPal, Crypto, and Issuu—helps to enhance functionality and improve the overall user experience. The updates and features of the new site will empower Youth Alive's team to easily manage their content and better communicate their mission. Check out the new site to see how they're making a difference. https://lnkd.in/gCNrDuQZ #WebDesign #WebDevelopment