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Old school floppy disk drive data storage

Migration 5: Still Running on Access, FoxPro or an Old Bespoke System? You’re Not Alone

Migration 5: Still Running on Access, FoxPro or an Old Bespoke System? You’re Not Alone You Are in Good Company If you are still running a legacy database system, it can feel as though you are the last organisation on earth still doing it. You are not. Many charities, NGOs, professional bodies, and voluntary organisations across Ireland and the UK are in exactly the same position. These systems were well built for their time. They did the job, and because they did, nobody replaced them. Now the world has moved on, and they have not. Here is a plain-language guide
Old school floppy disk drive data storage

Migration 4: If the Server Dies on Monday, What Happens on Tuesday?

Migration 4: If the Server Dies on Monday, What Happens on Tuesday? The Question Nobody Wants to Answer Ask yourself this: if the system your organisation relies on every day stopped working tomorrow morning – crashed, corrupted, or refusing to start – what would you do? Not in theory. In practice. Who would you call? What would you do for the people who need that data today? How long could your organisation function without it? Most people, when they think it through, do not like the answer. How Legacy Systems Fail Legacy database failures are rarely dramatic. More often than
Old school floppy disk drive data storage

Migration 3: What Happens When Your GDPR Officer Opens Pandora’s Box

Migration 3: What Happens When Your GDPR Officer Opens Pandora’s Box The Audit That Changes Everything More charities and voluntary organisations across Ireland and the UK are now hiring GDPR officers or undergoing external GDPR audits as a condition of funding or accreditation. For most organisations, the day-to-day systems seem fine. The website has a privacy policy. Staff understand the basics of data handling. Email is managed appropriately. And then the auditor looks at the database. What They Typically Find In legacy systems – Access databases, FoxPro, and bespoke systems built in the 1990s or 2000s – GDPR officers often
Old school floppy disk drive data storage

Migration 2: What Does It Cost to Migrate a Legacy Database?

Migration 2: What Does It Cost to Migrate a Legacy Database? Let’s Talk Money First Most people only get to the pricing conversation at the end of a long process, after discovery calls, requirements gathering, and proposals. By that stage, they may have spent hours only to discover the budget does not match the reality. We would rather save everyone from that frustration. So here are some honest ballpark figures. Ballpark Figures Simple system migration:  (Access, FoxPro, Excel, dBase to a modern cloud-hosted web application): from €6,000 ex VAT Larger system: with reports, APIs, integrations, and complex workflows: from €12,000
Old school floppy disk drive data storage

Migration 1: Your Charity’s Oldest Database Might Be Its Biggest Risk

Migration 1: Your Charity’s Oldest Database Might Be Its Biggest Risk You Know the One Every organisation has one. The database that has been there since before most of the current staff joined. The one that only runs on a specific laptop. The one where everyone knows not to click the wrong button. The one built by someone who retired years ago, leaving nobody quite sure how it works. It holds your member records. Your client files. Your financial history. Your grant allocations. In some cases, it holds information about vulnerable people – children, patients, or service users – that
User Experience Accessibility

WCAG Accessibility 8: Summary of Accessibility Improvements for Rainbows Ireland

WCAG Accessibility 8: Summary, Outcomes & Ongoing Commitment  This is the final post in our WCAG Accessibility series, where we summarise the improvements made and outline our ongoing approach to accessibility. View the full WCAG Accessibility Series In this final post in our WCAG accessibility series, we summarise the work carried out on the Rainbows Ireland website and outline our ongoing commitment to accessibility. This series has explored the practical steps taken to improve accessibility across the site, aligning with WCAG 2.2 Level AA standards. In the previous post, we focused on improving image accessibility and ensuring proper use of
User Experience Accessibility

WCAG Accessibility 7: Improving Alt Text and Image Accessibility on a WordPress Website

WCAG Accessibility 7: Images, Alt Text & Media Accessibility In the previous post, we focused on improving screen reader accessibility using semantic HTML and ARIA. In this post, we look at images and media, and how proper use of alt text improves accessibility for screen reader users. Read WCAG Accessibility 6: ARIA & Semantic HTML In this seventh post in our WCAG accessibility series, we focus on images and media — and how they can either support or block accessibility depending on how they are implemented. Images play an important role in communicating content, but without proper alternative text (alt
User Experience Accessibility

WCAG Accessibility 6: Improving Screen Reader Accessibility with ARIA and Semantic HTML

WCAG Accessibility 6: ARIA Roles & Semantic HTML In the previous post, we focused on keyboard navigation and improving focus visibility across the site. In this post, we look at how semantic HTML and ARIA help improve the experience for screen reader users. Read WCAG Accessibility 5: Improving Keyboard Navigation In this sixth post in our WCAG accessibility series, we focus on improving the experience for screen reader users by using semantic HTML and ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) attributes. While visual improvements such as colour contrast and layout are important, accessibility also depends heavily on how content is structured
User Experience Accessibility

WCAG Accessibility 5: Improving Keyboard Navigation on a WordPress Website

WCAG Accessibility 5: Keyboard Navigation & Focus Management  In this fifth post in our WCAG accessibility series, we focus on keyboard accessibility — a critical requirement for users who cannot use a mouse. In the previous post, we focused on improving colour contrast to enhance readability and visual accessibility. In this post, we look at keyboard navigation and how ensuring full keyboard access improves usability for all users. Read WCAG Accessibility 4: Fixing Colour Contrast Issues   Ensuring that a website is fully usable via keyboard is a core part of WCAG 2.2 Level AA compliance. It benefits users who
User Experience Accessibility

WCAG Accessibility 4: Fixing Colour Contrast Issues on a WordPress Website

WCAG Accessibility 4: Fixing Colour Contrast & Visual Accessibility Issues  In the previous post, we focused on improving form accessibility, addressing issues such as missing labels and placeholder misuse. In this post, we turn our attention to colour contrast and how it impacts readability and usability across the Rainbows Ireland website. Read WCAG Accessibility 3: Fixing Form Accessibility Issues   In this fourth post in our WCAG accessibility series, we focus on one of the most common — and most overlooked — accessibility issues: colour contrast. While colour choices are often driven by branding and design preferences, insufficient contrast can
User Experience Accessibility

WCAG Accessibility 3: Fixing Form Accessibility Issues in WordPress

WCAG Accessibility 3: Fixing Form Accessibility Issues in WordPress   In our previous post, we reviewed the accessibility issues identified during our audit of the Rainbows Ireland website. In this post, we focus on resolving one of the most common problem areas — form accessibility. Read WCAG Accessibility 2: Reviewing Accessibility Issues As part of the accessibility work carried out on the Rainbows Ireland website, one of the most important areas to address was form accessibility. Forms are often where accessibility problems become most serious, because they directly affect a user’s ability to log in, make contact, submit information, or
User Experience Accessibility

WCAG Accessibility 2: Reviewing Accessibility Issues Found on a WordPress Website

WCAG Accessibility 2: Fixing WordPress Accessibility Issues (Elementor & Jupiter X)   In our previous post, we conducted a comprehensive accessibility audit of the Rainbows Ireland website using WAVE and manual testing. In this post, we take a closer look at the specific accessibility issues identified during that audit and how they impact usability. Read WCAG Accessibility 1: Auditing a WordPress Website Following the initial WordPress accessibility audit of the Rainbows Ireland website, the next step was to work through the issues highlighted by WAVE and Google Lighthouse and determine which problems were real, which were theme-related, and which were