Client Overview

Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is a queer theatre company started in 1979. They are based out of Toronto, Ontario and work to “promote queer theatrical expression”. The theatre offers programming that includes queer theatre events, festivals, artists in residence, and training and education initiatives.

Services Provided

  • Website Accessibility Audit
  • Website Accessibility Remediation
  • The Challenge and Goals

    The Buddies website had accessibility issues that needed to be identified and remediated. In the over 30 years since it opened, the theatre grew its presence in Toronto and the international community to be a leading theatre company. Their website wasn't fully compliant and although they continued to improve on their accessibility compliance in a variety of areas, they needed some professional help to identify the key issues and remediate them to continue on their mission to be inclusive.

    Our Process & Approach

    Audit
    Our process began with an initial meeting to determine the accessibility needs of the organization. A thorough website audit was conducted on a select number of pages with automated and manual testing completed against the WCAG guidelines. A written report was presented to the client with the findings from the audit.

    Remediation
    Upon completion of the audit we worked with the Buddies team to develop an action plan for select remediation fixes and then corrected those fixes based on the client's priority items and budget.

    Website screenshot mockup showing some remediation fixes for the Buddies in Bad Times theatre website accessibility audit and remediation project.
    Collage mockup with examples of work completed for the Buddies in Bad Times Theatre website accessibility audit and remediation project.
    Mockup of the Buddies in Bad Times Website Accessibility playbook created for their theatre website accessibility audit and remediation.

    The Solution

    We completed the following remediation fixes on the site:

  • Corrected navigation tabbing issues
  • Added search functionality to the website header that allows users to get to content through multiple pathways
  • Fixed select colour contrast issues
  • Added alt text to all images
  • Corrected descriptive links for select pages
  • Fixed form fixes from audit results
  • Created a custom website accessibility best practices guide for their web content team
  • Key Results

    With the improved accessibility enhancements, the Buddies team was pleased with improvements that allow them to continue to be inclusive and provide a good and equal user experience for their website visitors.