Accessibility features on our website
Our website has been designed for the widest possible accessibility to the best of our ability and within our resources. There are always more things you can do to improve and we will continue to build on what we have so far.
If you have any difficulties or would like to make a recommendation please do not hesitate to get in touch with us via the Contact page.
Coding Standards
This website is written in accessible XHTML 1.0 Strict and has been checked and validated against W3C standards. This can be verified by clicking on the link 'W3C XHTML 1.0' on the lower right corner of every page. In common with best practices in web design for accessibility the code used to position and format the various elements on the page is removed from the page code (html) and stored in a number of CSS files. This reduces 'code clutter' to a minimum and if you have screen reading software the page can be read aloud to you. If you do not have the software and feel that you need it please contact us or one of the agencies shown on the 'More Resources' page such as the Disability Rights Commission or the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB).
Browser Compatibility
The site has been tested in a number of browsers including Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, Mozilla Firefox 2+, Netscape Navigator 7+ and Opera 9+. It has also been tested against various screen resolutions from 1024 x 768 pixels to 1280 x 1024 pixels.
Colours and Text Sizes
On the lower left hand side of every page you can choose between a number of text (font) sizes and colours and also background colours. The page can be rendered in small, medium or large text in the standard design and colours, black on white, white on black, black on yellow and yellow on black. Simply click on the link of your choice. Each link has title and alt text which will show when you move the cursor or mouse pointer over it and they are also available to screen readers. When you leave the site your preferences are stored in a 'cookie' on your computer for a limited period of time so that when you come back to the site your preferred viewing options are automatically re-used. Please note that you will need to have Java script enabled in your browser for these features to work. If you are not sure what to do if you don't have it enabled contact us or one of the agencies on the resources page.
Use of images on our site
We have limited the use of images to a workable minimum which are there mainly as illustrative and decorative enhancements. Every image has 'alt' text - a language descriptive alternative for both disabled and non-disabled people available to screen readers and which will also become visually available in you move your cursor over the image. None of the images contains any key information or illustration of any key points and the site's content is conveyed well without them.
