Ford and Lincoln Accessibility

Since joining GTB in May of 2018, I have served as the company’s subject-matter expert (SME) on copy-related matters of web accessibility in the ongoing effort to keep Ford and Lincoln webpages inline with WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative) standards of making the internet accessible to users with disabilities. Responsibilities of this role have primarily consisted of creating aria-labels, which are designed to announce a particular webpage component’s content to screen reading software in order to assist the visually impaired. As the SME, I wrote aria-labels for virtually all Ford as well as some Lincoln webpages, across both U.S. and Canada during the 2019 and 2020 vehicle model years. Accessibility and aria-labels, in particular, are a burgeoning but vital part of modern web development; while aria-labels are implemented and often written by developers, GTB and Ford wanted to provide aria labels that were as clear and communicative as possible. As a result, I strove to write aria labels designed to make the Ford and Lincoln website experience a pleasant experience for all users, and keep the Ford and Lincoln family of websites accessible to all. I have also assisted in the creation of a great deal of alt text for Ford and Lincoln, designed to describe images on various webpages to visually-impaired users through the aforementioned screen-reading software. For more information on aria labels or alt text, feel free to contact me at jrubenfire@gmail.com.