Insight
Rebuilding manyone.com to prioritize accessibility and sustainability
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Practicing what we preach
How we redesigned and rebuilt our website to be better for people and the planet.
Article quick-read:
The new manyone.com was rebuilt with a dual focus on accessibility and sustainability
A full audit helped us identify the biggest issues – from autoplaying videos to poor color contrasts
Lightweight animations, semantic structure, and inclusive design principles helped us reduce our carbon footprint while improving usability
This is just the start – the journey to a more accessible and sustainable digital presence continues
Redesigning with responsibility
With the new European Accessibility Act and rising awareness around digital sustainability, we turned the spotlight inward. We wanted our own site to demonstrate what’s possible when you put people and planet first, without sacrificing a great user experience.
1/4
people in Europe live with a disability
3.7%
of global emissions come from cloud computing
It starts with an honest audit
Before jumping into a redesign, we needed clarity. How accessible were we, really? How big was our digital footprint?
For climate reporting, we utilized Ecograder to help us understand our current impact on the environment.
For accessibility, we leaned on our internal expertise and created a detailed report – much more in-depth than what automated tools typically offer. This revealed both technical and user-centred issues that needed attention.
Slides from the accessibility report conducted on the former manyone.com
Prepare for some hard truths
The audit results weren’t easy to swallow. Our old site, like many others, was designed to be visually engaging – but this came at a cost.
01
Autoplaying videos consume a lot of data
While engaging, autoplaying videos require much more energy than images or text. We discovered they were the largest source of energy consumption because there wasn’t an option for the visitor to pause them.
Our previous digital carbon rating. You can test your own website at ecograder.com
02
Missing accessibility features exclude potential customers
ARIA landmarks, alt text for images, keyboard shortcuts, and more features designed to help those with visual, auditory, and motor impairments were not fully functional.
Furthermore, certain color combinations of our brand colors were deemed to have a low contrast ratio, meaning that colorblind visitors may struggle to read text.
An accessible user experience that helps visitors quickly find content relevant to them means happier visitors, fewer page loads, and ultimately, a lower carbon footprint.
Daniel Ridgway
Digital Design Director
Manyone16%
The percentage of visitors that read web pages word-by-word
03
Prioritizing visual design over the fundamentals can cost you business
Our previous site had a very freeform structure. While great on paper, this freedom leads to pages using improper heading tags. This impacts search engine rankings and can make it harder for visitors using screen readers to navigate the site properly.
In addition, a lack of clear page hierarchy in general makes it difficult to scan your site effectively, and one study found 79% of users scan webpages.
Rethinking what's possible
All these requirements can feel overwhelming at first. Balancing the needs of the business and the brand against the needs of the planet and people can feel insurmountable. But if you view these needs not as opposing, but complimentary, you can unlock new creativity as you begin to solve old challenges in new ways.
We implemented a pause option for all videos set to autoplay to reduce energy consumption
A greener, more accessible site doesn't have to be dull
We applied the same creative mindset to accessibility. That meant improving color contrast, supporting keyboard navigation, and embracing a clear visual hierarchy throughout the site.
The result is a site that's more intuitive for everyone, regardless of their physical ability or device. And as designers, we know that accessible-first design doesn't mean compromising on creativity – it just makes the final product stronger.
We learned that it’s important to provide visitors with a way to get an overview and jump to sections.
Building better, bit by bit
Designers are constantly looking to innovate, and to challenge convention. But we can't forget the fundamentals: progress starts with getting the basics right.
As we keep learning, and as the digital landscape continues to evolve, so will our ambition to shape a web that works better for people and the planet – expanding on what modern websites are capable of.
Want to know more?
Are you interested in Manyone's approach to accessible and sustainable design and development, what we've done for other clients, and how we might help your business? Reach out and book a free consultation today.
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