Codecraft Works Empowers Student Learners through Accessible Online Platform

Leading the next generation of technologists through interactive learning

Codecraft Works is an education technology company that seeks to address this digital divide by teaching valuable technology skills to students online. Through its curriculum, Codecraft Works helps shape the future generation of technologists by equipping them with the skills to understand, design and develop the tools that we all rely on today. 

Codecraft Works can help turn a passion into a lucrative career through building skills in computer science, engineering, cloud automation, software development and even cybersecurity. “Our mission is simply to spark joy, encourage creativity, and inspire futures,” says Shannon Landin, Founder & CEO of Codecraft Works. On the Codecraft Works online platform, anyone can create a free account where you can then view tutorials, create projects and portfolios, attend live lessons, and view and share projects with a community of other learners.

Building an accessible learning platform

A decision to invest in the accessibility of Codecraft Works platform aligned with both their mission as well as their business goals. It was important to leadership that they were not excluding anyone who may want to engage with their platform and purchase their tools and courses through an inaccessible web experience. With this priority in place, Codecraft Works sought the help of Deque to perform an audit on their application to determine their current state of accessibility and where they could make improvements. 

Codecraft Works’ curriculum is consumed by a large network of learners with varying ages, backgrounds and abilities. Addressing accessibility to such a broad audience of learners is both functional and market-responsive. “Through research, we learned that not only are there tons of people out there who would benefit from our tools being accessible, but that we would benefit on so many levels,” explains Landin.

The Codecraft Works Web Projects Screen

An online JavaScript Course offered by Codecraft Works

Performing an Audit with Deque Prioritizes Accessibility in the Long-term

Codecraft Works partnered with Deque to perform a comprehensive Web Accessibility Audit against WCAG 2.0 A and AA guidelines and produced a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) on their online training portal. 

Using axe Auditor and the axe DevTools Browser Extension, Landin and her team worked through the audit report to make improvements to their web application. “The tools that Deque provided really enabled us to do the work ourselves,” says Landin. “I was surprised to see how useful the audit report was and how easy it was to use.” 

Today, Codecraft Works’ development team pays close attention to developing with accessibility in mind. “We don’t put out components that aren’t accessible. We’re much more mindful of accessibility when we’re creating and testing new UI components,” notes Landin.

Accessibility yields benefits to business and relationships

Codecraft Works has improved the relationships with their many partners, such as nonprofits and government institutions, by making their platform accessible. “Showing commitment to accessibility has enabled us to grow our contracts, grow some of our work relationships and earn new business.” 

Additionally, accessibility has helped improve Codecraft Works’ web analytics, such as search engine ranking and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Through better search engine rankings and improved website visibility, more people can discover Codecraft Works and, as a result, buy courses and learn valuable technology skills.

The accessibility project with Deque propels Shannon Landin and her team to continue looking for opportunities to innovate and make learning fun, different, and inclusive to all people. “This work has definitely inspired that and it is something that we were all excited to dig into in the coming years,” she says. “We’re really excited about opportunities to include accessibility in the development environment for students.” 

The Codecraft Works homepage