Libre Galaxy Unveils Rebuilt Websites with Focus on Future-Ready Code, Accessibility, and User Experience
Libre Galaxy is thrilled to announce the launch of two rebuilt websites: the Libre Galaxy home site and Libre Galaxy Games. This update brings meaningful improvements to accessibility, user experience, and future-ready code across our projects.
Monorepo Architecture for Clear Separation of Projects
The most significant shift for most website visitors is the complete decoupling of Libre Galaxy Games (LGG), our gaming division, from the main website, Libre Galaxy.
The key drivers were the need to separate the main project from the gaming division to clarify LGG as a subproject and address temporary back-end workarounds; the need to refactor the codebase to support the latest version of Astro, the web framework we use; and the need for shared components and styling to deduplicate code for current and future website projects.
The best solution we identified was a monorepo: a version control strategy that stores code for multiple distinct projects—such as frontend sites, backend services, and shared libraries—in a single repository.
Both websites are now built with Astro version 7 (previously 5), bringing major performance and security improvements. A new Content Security Policy (CSP) has also been implemented to provide strong security for all visitors. A CSP is a security rulebook that tells browsers which websites and scripts are allowed to load, helping protect visitors from code injection attacks.
Inclusivity Through Accessibility
Libre Galaxy is furthering its commitment to accessibility because everyone deserves a positive experience on our platforms.
First, additional alternative text, ARIA labels, and keyboard navigation have been added to improve context and navigation. These improvements apply most to our images, link cards, 3D panorama viewer, and navigation panel.
Second, the font used throughout both websites has changed to Atkinson Hyperlegible. Created by the Braille Institute, this openly licensed typeface was designed to help readers with low vision by making similar letters and numbers easier to distinguish.
Third, using the WebAIM contrast checker, our rebuilt websites were adjusted where possible to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Level AAA contrast standard. This means a minimum contrast ratio of 7:1 for normal text and 4.5:1 for large text, ensuring content visibility.
The text from our combination mark, the image with the logo and Libre Galaxy brand text, has been detached from the image where applicable. Pages throughout our site now use a branding component that includes a new SVG alongside real HTML text. These changes make the logo more visually appealing and keep the text legible to screen readers.
Broad User Experience Improvements
Libre Galaxy aims to provide users with the best possible experience by hosting valuable information, offering clear navigation, and providing pleasing visuals.
To further this goal, the following changes were made:
- Refreshed the overall stylesheet to deliver a sleek, modern, and beautiful interface.
- Upgraded all icons with crisp, scalable alternatives from the Lucide and MDI sets.
- Increased whitespace along the margins of articles and other page types to reduce eye strain and improve readability.
- Launched a detailed resources page that explains each of our community tools in depth.
- Introduced a dedicated news section (including this article!) to ensure transparent, ongoing communication with the community.
Looking Ahead
This rebuild is not just an update; it’s a sign of commitment to our community.
Step by step, we improve our platforms and resources in alignment with our enduring mission: to connect technology with human flourishing.
Thank you for being part of this journey. We can’t wait to show you what we build next!