WordCamp Vancouver, The Studio/ Blogsite Studio

Top 10 Web Accessibility Plugins and Tools to Make WordPress Inclusive

January 17, 2020September 23, 2019 by Mari Kane

TOP 10 WEB ACCESSIBILITY PLUGINS AND TOOLS TO MAKE WORDPRESS INCLUSIVE

Web Accessibility is not only good for the soul, it’s a boost for traffic! Here are 10 top tools and plugins to make your website accessible.

Making Your WordPress Website Accessible is a Ramp to Higher Traffic

February 6, 2020August 20, 2019 by Mari Kane

hands on web accessibility

When you make your website accessible, it gets more traffic, which translates into more sales. Web accessibility is just good business.

WordCamp Vancouver on Track for October 13, 2018

December 31, 2018September 26, 2018 by Mari Kane

wordcamp vancouver 2018

WordCamp Vancouver is happening at a good time, coming as it does in advance of the release of WordPress Version 5 – Gutenberg – the biggest innovation to WordPress since the development of nested menus.

WordCamp Vancouver 2013 Coming August 17

January 17, 2020August 3, 2013 by Mari Kane

wordcamp-vancouver, blogsitestudio.com

The world-famous geekout that is WordCamp Vancouver is coming back on August 17 and this year it will be held at the centrally-located BCIT Downtown Campus. And, again this year, I will be presenting.

Top 10 Web Accessibility Plugins and Tools to Make WordPress Inclusive
September 23, 2019
Web Accessibility is not only good for the soul, it’s a boost for traffic! Here are 10 top tools and…
Making Your WordPress Website Accessible is a Ramp to Higher Traffic
August 20, 2019
When you make your website accessible, it gets more traffic, which translates into more sales. Web accessibility is just good…
WordPress 5.0 Gutenberg is Also Named for Bebo Valdes
January 29, 2019
Amid all the hubbub of the WordPress 5.0 release, did anyone notice that this milestone version was named for a…
A Look Back at Blogsite Studio’s Top Posts of 2018
January 4, 2019
Looking back on our top-viewed stories of 2018, it's clear that Gutenberg loomed large in users minds as did the…
If you love the planet and fear climate change – stop travel blogging!
November 28, 2018
The greatest irony about travel blogging is that transportation-induced climate change is now threatening the destinations people want to visit.

I was in the process of creating my website and needed help, Mari Kane came to the rescue and got us up and running. She was quick to respond to what needed to be done. Mari’s extensive knowledge with WordPress and creative abilities were easily recognized, and her intuitive and calm nature was a delight to work with. Thank you Mari for all your help and always being available to answer questions when needed.

Joeqyna Bolirinno, Owner, Illuminaté Restorante

http://illuminaterestorante.com

09/12/2019

I was in the process of creating my website and needed help, Mari Kane came to the rescue and got us up and running. She was quick to respond to what needed to be done. Mari’s extensive knowledge with WordPress and creative abilities were easily recognized, and her intuitive and calm nature was a delight to work with. Thank you Mari for all your help and always being available to answer questions when needed.

Joeqyna Bolirinno, Owner, Illuminaté Restorante

http://illuminaterestorante.com

09/12/2019

Working with Mari Kane at The Studio was phenomenal. I appreciated her ability to find solutions for unique requirements. She is skilled with plug-ins and WordPress and so was a perfect choice for the site build. Mari never let me down; she is flexible with timing, willing to work to a deadline and has many talents to offer. I've already recommended Mari and The Studio to others.

Dee Moore, Pearl Media BC

https://illuminaterestorante.com/

09/12/2019

In February 2016 Derby Reach/Brae Island Parks Association (DRBIP) wanted a new web site, one which was handsome, but simple (no glitz!) and easy to navigate. Once the initial design was established the real work began. Without Mari’s assistance, expertise and incredible patience, the site would never have gotten off the ground. By June, drbipa.org was online. It was a pleasure to work with Mari throughout the whole process and beyond. We have achieved what we set out to do and DRBIP would be extremely happy to work with her again.

Joan Martin, DRBIP

02/11/2019

Mari is exceptionally knowledgeable about Wordpress. I was able to rely on her familiarity with all aspects of web design and I knew that her technical knowledge would result in a reliable and useful presence online.

Valerie Adolph

https://www.vadolph.com/

02/15/2019

It has been a great pleasure working with Mari. She is patient, knowledgeable, professional, and extremely responsive! Our old web host was going out of business. Mari not only helped build a brand new website for us, but she also took the stress of finding a new web host away from us. Thanks Mari. We would not have been able to do it without you!!

Dr. Tigerson Young, Diversity and Emotional Wellness Centre

https://diversitycentre.net

04/19/2019

When we realized that our site needed a total makeover we contacted Mari. She had some great ideas on how to implement that, starting with migrating the site from an old, overpriced hosting account to a modernized, cost-effective web host. She then restructured the content, edited old web copy into fresh text, and revamped our whole blog. We especially like how she converted content from old pdfs into modern accordion displays. She made our membership list searchable and filterable for users, and easier for me to update. There are so many aspects of the new site that we just love. And Mari was a pleasure to work with the whole time. Thank you Mari!

Tara Good, Vice President WineAmerica

https://wineamerica.org/

01/27/2020

"As we are on the move a lot, traveling and busy with clients, Mari supported creating and building our website on a new platform. The new site is fresh and more of who we are and what we offer in the world. Thank you, Mari !"

– Patricia and Bill Clum, Evolution of the Heart

https://www.evolutionoftheheart.com/

05/23/2017

"We couldn’t be happier with the job Mari did of redesigning the BCHF website. Throughout the process she was accessible and responsive to our concerns and has provided great follow up service. We’ve received fantastic response to the site and it has been an effective source for outreach, donations, and ticket sales. We would definitely recommend her for website projects in the future."

Alan Sacks, Executive Director, BC Hospitality Foundation

https://bchospitalityfoundation.com/

10/11/2016

"After going through two other people that unfortunately did not come through for me with a great website, I finally found Mari! Mari is brilliant, knowledgeable about so many things about websites and also about blogging. Mari came through with so many suggestions and hints and feedback on things and I didn't have to ask her about these things, she just offered the information because bottom line she cares about her clients! Whenever I had issues or problems with my website, she was right there helping me all the way. I've asked her advice about so many things such as good scheduling programs, webinar systems, member login in pages, so many things! And she came through every time without charging me an extra cent! Mari has a big fat heart LOL when it comes to helping her clients. I love Mari. She is my go-to person and guru of so many things regarding social media and I would never change her in for anyone else ever! Thank you Mari!"

Laura Haskell, Evolution Healing Center

http://evolutionhealingcenter.com/

04/22/2016

“Mari changed the look of my website from “homemade” to professional in no time at all. She has an excellent working knowledge of WordPress and was able to tweak the little things on my website to make it look and function seamlessly. However, the best aspect of working with Mari was her ability to explain the complex intricacies of working with WordPress at a level that a new user such as myself could understand. I would not hesitate to recommend Mari to anyone who needs help learning how to use WordPress or wants to update their website.”

Mark Sekela, Author

http://marksekela.com

10/31/2013

"Mari Kane did an excellent job at helping me get my website up and online.She is very adept with Word Press and gave me numerous options while creating the site. Once we knew what direction we were taking she offered several inventive ideas. Mari is a good problem solver and came up with quick and clever expedients. I’d definitely recommend her services."

Howie Moscovitch, Producer, H2M Sound

http://howiemoscovitch.com

10/24/2013

"Mari Kane’s help has been indispensable in upgrading my online presence. You can put up a website and start a Twitter account and a facebook page, but then what? Mari understands how these platforms work and how to use them to their best advantage. All the details that will improve your search engine rankings and web crawl. How Twitter REALLY works. The difference that one word can make on your homepage. Discovering these things on my own would be either impossible or an incredible drain of my valuable time. Well worth it."

Bill Wertzberger, Winemaker, Wertzberger Wine

http://wertzbergerwine.com

04/13/2011

I love my new updated look and it is a big hit with our readers . Within the first week of launching the new MyVanCity.ca our site visits were up almost 5%. Page views are up and the bounce rate is down! The new look of MyVanCity.ca is everything I asked for and I love how it looks. The new design gives the website both a classic and current look that will serve me well into the future. I can’t thank you enough for everything you have done to create the new MyVanCity.ca website and making my WordPress easier to use. You have really upped our game with this new look!

Valerie van der Gracht, Publisher, My VanCity

https://myvancity.ca/

01/11/2019

“Mari has helped several of our park partner groups create new websites. She’s great at explaining technical stuff in layman’s terms. She’s efficient, responsive, helpful – and very patient working with people who don’t have expertise in website design!”

Jeff Rotin, Metro Vancouver Regional Parks

https://keeps.org

02/06/2019

"The way Mari Kane laid out our site, made it accessible, and showed technophobic members how easy it was to communicate with each other has made our group more cohesive. She then converted our old HTML public site to mirror the members-only site, so we have a public site and a private site that share the right information between them. Additionally, hooking both sites to Facebook, Twitter and Paypal has streamlined our promotional efforts and our revenue management. Mari has brought our 23 year-old writers group into the 21st Century and I would recommend her to anyone who wants to effect a similar change."

Pat Evans, Secretary/Co-Chair, West End Writers Workshop

http://wewriters.org/wp2

07/24/2012

"Mari designed a beautiful site that graphically represents the travel experience using a theme that allows us to showcase our photography. She listened closely and found the solutions we needed to present the information the way we wanted it. Additionally, thanks to Mari’s thorough training skills, our members are now able to design and create their own profile pages as well as post to their heart’s content. I would whole-heartedly recommend Mari for both designing sites as well as training users on WordPress."

Karoline Cullen, Treasurer, British Columbia Association of Travel Writers

http://bcatw.org

09/22/2012