Website Goals & Credits
The Occasional Teachers’ Bargaining Unit District 12 (OTBU D12) website provides support to occasional teachers by offering resources on bargaining, resolving issues, professional development, and defending their rights. In an approachable tone, it provides updates on job opportunities, contract terms, collective bargaining activities, and administrative details, such as pay, pensions, and required training.
Visitors can subscribe to receive updates and explore various sections of the site. The website expands its reach through a mobile-friendly public blog that can populate a newsletter and social media automatically. Document management is under discussion.
Goals
- Be an easy-to-use and accessible resource
- Highlight member benefits and announcements
- Build visibility in the sector
- Influence workplace and policy discussions
- Attract new members
Web Consultant Matthew Burpee of Maze Solutions helped create this website, focusing on user experience, accessibility, and content strategy. The content came from the previous website. Where applicable, file names and descriptions credit stock photography from Unsplash. Matthew prepared the site for review in late May 2025 with a feedback survey. An error on the old .com site hastened the implementation of this new version.
Presentation
The homepage engages visitors with a clear headline and announcements highlighting the site’s purpose and staying informed. Simple and clear navigation, introductions, and calls to action are essential for usability because they help all users, including those with disabilities, easily understand and interact with a website. These elements reduce cognitive load, improve compatibility with assistive technologies, and provide clear pathways for finding information or taking action. By prioritizing simplicity, the website ensures a more inclusive and engaging experience for diverse audiences.
The colour palette features calm navy, pale blue, and gold, complementing the logo branding.
The site uses Google Fonts for typography: Verdana, an easy to read sans-serif for body copy, and Archivo Narrow, which was designed by Omnibus-Type for highlights and headlines. Dave Gandy’s icons, licensed under CC BY 3.0, are used throughout the site to improve visual clarity and comprehension. While attribution is not required, we acknowledge and appreciate his contributions to open-source design.
The website’s contents are licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
Website Technology & Standards
The website runs on WordPress, a widely used, open-source content management system powering over 43% of websites globally. It features the fast-loading Kadence theme and utilizes extensions such as GTranslate, Jetpack, and Rank Math. The site complies with web standards, including HTML5, CSS4, JavaScript, and WCAG 2.0 AA, as outlined in the Accessibility Statement. Regular testing with tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, Accessibility Checker, WAVE, and the W3C Markup Validator ensures adherence to these standards and identifies any issues.
These details are part of our Guidelines.