This is one in a series of posts that will look at the performance and #a11y metrics of the websites for the currently declared 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. Yeah, all of them! For more background on what I’m doing and how I’m doing it check read this.
![Homepage of julianforthefuture.com](https://i0.wp.com/www.damofknowledge.com/wp-content/uploads/www.julianforthefuture.com_.png?resize=640%2C311&ssl=1)
Google Lighthouse
![Lighthouse scores for julianforthefuture.com](https://i0.wp.com/www.damofknowledge.com/wp-content/uploads/Lighthouse-juliancastro.png?resize=640%2C128&ssl=1)
Performance: 94 out of 100
Super nice! There are opportunities to use next-gen formats for the images and lazy load offscreen images and iframes until they are visible, but otherwise this is the best performance score I’ve seen to date.
Accessibility: 93 out of 100
- Several links on the page use generic “Read More” labels and could be more descriptive.
- The white text on the Castro blue background fails to meet the WCAG AA contrast ratio standard, but it is ever so close.
- Navigating via keyboard gives both :focus styles on interactive elements that match the :hover design, and a focus ring outline. Using both is very useful for visual wayfinding.
Best Practices: 93 out of 100
Just one warning for the use of an old jQuery version, commonly found in this type of WordPress install.
SEO: 100 out of 100
No issues found.
Network
- HTTPS: yes
- 20 Requests
- 974 KB resources
- Largest asset is a 190 KB jpg.
Platform
- WordPress, custom CFTF theme.
Notes
Quite a well developed site. Seeing any homepage that weighs in under a megabyte feels like seeing a unicorn these days. The little touches of motion design make the theme feel bespoke to the candidate. Noteworthy that this is one of the first homepages of a candidate that doesn’t immediately pop up an inaccessible modal asking for donations or your contact information.