Accessibility - things we have done to make this website user-friendly
Contents of this page: Aims | Technical stuff | Validation | Your say
Aims
We have tried hard to design this website so that it:
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Is quick to load - with very few pictures on the webpages themselves.
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Is easy to use - with not too many options on each page.
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Is easy to understand - using simple words and short sentences.
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Is futureproof - so it will work well now and in the future.
- Can be customised to view it how you wish - or have it read by a screen reader.
Usability: A website that is well-designed should be easy for everyone to use. This is often called usability.
Accessibility: There are also special measures we can take to make websites better for disabled people. This is often called accessibility.
Both rely on good planning, careful preparation of the content of the website (words and pictures) and choice of website technology.
Technical stuff...
For people who like this sort of thing, we have used:
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Up to date coding: we use 'XHTML Trans' and semantic structure - so the content of the page is separated from the styling.
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CSS for colour/layout/lines etc: we use a single style sheet and avoid tables, which can confuse screen readers (download stylesheet here).
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Two-column layout: so the text isn't too wide to read.
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A print style sheet: so you just print the content and it should fit on your page (download print stylesheet here).
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'Jump to content' and 'jump to navigation': so you can skip the boring bits at the top if you wish.
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Additional (hidden) titles on links: to help screenreaders - they also show up when you hold your mouse over the link.
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'Jump to top': to help avoid lots of scrolling up and down.
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Fluid layout (using percentages): so it works on different sized computer screens.
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Flexible type size: the base-font is 'small' and then percentages are used to make the words bigger. You can make the text larger again by changing your web browser settings.
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Calm, pale blue background for the default style: so it is pleasant to read. You can change the colour within some web browsers.
- A searchable database for the directory: we haven't added a second search to the main website because we think it might confuse people.
We haven't used:
- Access keys: because they seem to have gone out of fashion for accessibility. They are hard to do well and can conflict with ones you have set for general use on your computer.
Validation
Validation is what web designers do to check their pages don't have errors and that they match up to international standards.
Accessibility: The Disability Cambridgeshire website should validate to Priority level AAA and also be Section 508 complaint. The Hermish website has an easy-to-use online checker.
Standards: Each time we make changes, we try to validate (check) the pages using the W3C validators (XHTML | CSS). This should also ensure good accessibility and future-proofing.
We haven't put any 'tick' icons on other webpages because we aim to 'cut the clutter' down.
Let us know if we have slipped-up on any given page, and we can remedy it quickly. Contact us
User testing:
Abilitynet provide (sometimes free) quick checks and (usually paid-for) comprehensive audits of websites for accessibility.
In March 2006, they very kindly offered us a very helpful, free, quick check of this website (Quick check report).
Since this report, we have made changes to the website but hope that these have further improved accessibility.
Your say?
It is quite tricky (and slow) to hand-write webpages so that they work:
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On every web browser (including screen readers).
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On every type of computer.
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At every size of text.
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In every colour choice.
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With or without the graphics (pictures) switched on.
We have done our best... but please let us know if there is anything we can do to make your experience of using the website better: Contact us
Last updated: 31 January 2008