Week 17: Improve Speed, Accessibility and Trust

This week in plain English

ObjectiveAudit a website for speed, readability, accessibility and trust.

Why this mattersCommercial websites need to feel fast, trustworthy and easy to use.

What she will makeA website improvement checklist and upgraded trust sections.

What “done” looks likeThe chosen website has better headings, alt text, clearer buttons, trust blocks and smaller assets.

At the end, she should be able to say:
“Optimisation means improving how fast, clear, trustworthy and usable a website feels.”

Fortnight project: Commercial Project 9 starts: Performance + Trust Upgrade.

Skills: performance basics, accessibility basics, alt text, trust sections, readability

Suggested session structure: 10 minutes objective, 10 minutes ChatGPT planning, 25 minutes building, 10 minutes testing, 5 minutes recap.

Commercial objective for Weeks 17–18

Two-week commercial outcome: Take one existing project and upgrade it so it feels more trustworthy, readable and ready to launch.

Step-by-step

Choose one previous project.
Check every heading.
Add alt text to images.
Make buttons clear.
Add trust sections: process, FAQs, safety notes or guarantees.
Remove unnecessary text.
Check mobile layout.
Write a list of improvements made.

ChatGPT audit prompt

Prompt:
Please audit this beginner website for clarity, trust, accessibility and mobile usability. Give me a simple checklist of improvements. Keep the suggestions realistic for an 11-year-old learning HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

Trust section example

<section class="trust-section">
  <h2>How this works</h2>
  <ol>
    <li>Read the guide.</li>
    <li>Use the calculator or quiz.</li>
    <li>Review the result with a parent.</li>
  </ol>
</section>

Accessibility basics

Use clear headings in order.
Use readable text size.
Buttons should say what they do.
Images need alt text.
Colour contrast should be easy to read.
Forms need labels.