Website Accessibility Guide
This website utilises the below features to help improve navigation for screen reader users, keyboard navigation and users of text-only browsers.
Access keys
Access keys are keyboard shortcuts that replace the need to use the mouse for navigation in browsers that support them. However, the use of access keys on web sites is somewhat controversial as the possibility of the designer designated accesskey conflicting with a user's pre-defined accesskey is high. Hence their lack of implementation on this site.
Structured Semantic Markup: Headings and Navigation Menus
- HTML heading tags are used to convey document structure. H1 tags are used for main titles, H2 tags for subtitles, and so on. For example, on this page, JAWS users can skip to the next section within the accessibility statement by pressing ALT+INSERT+2.
- Navigation menus are marked up as HTML lists. This ensures that the number of links in the list is read out at the start and it can be skipped easily.
- All pages validate in the W3C XHTML 1.0 Strict and CSS validators.
Images
All content images used in this site include descriptive alt attributes. Purely decorative graphics include empty alt attributes.
Colours
We have checked the site's font and background colour combinations against the different colour blindness conditions and ensured that all information is still clear. If you wish to override the site's colours, you can import your own style sheet.
Font Sizes
You may change the font size of this document to your preference through your browser:
- In Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox, select View, then Text Size, and then your preferred size.
- In Netscape select View, then Text Zoom, and then your preferred percentage size.
If you wish to override the site's font settings, you can import your own style sheet.
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
This site uses cascading style sheets for visual layout. If your browser or browsing device does not support stylsesheets at all, the use of structured semantic markup ensures that the content of each page is still readable and clearly structured.
- Printng Stylesheet: A Print stylesheet is used to remove all information (including images) bar the main content. All text is converted to black on white and a serif font is used to increase legibility.
- High Contrast Stylesheet: This stylesheet sometimes referenced as a "Zoom" stylesheet has been designed to meet the needs of users who require a larger text version of the website. All images bar referenced pictures are removed, the layout is converted to just one column to help users with a poor depth of field, the size of the text is increased between 150%-200% and the text colours are converted to high contrast versions to help with legibility.
You may import your own stylesheet into this website:
- In Internet Explorer select Tools, then Internet Options, and then Accessibility. Next click on any or all 3 checkboxes to ignore colours, font styles or font sizes. In the same window you can change your style sheet by clicking the checkbox that says, 'format document using my style sheet' then simply browse to your style sheet and click OK.
- In Netscape select Edit, then Preferences and then Appearance. You will be given the choice to specify your own colours and fonts.
Design and Layout
All design and layout is handled through style sheets, not tables. Browsers which don't support style sheets receive the same content, but without the design.
Scripting
Javascript is used on the website to improve usability. However Javascript can be disabled through your browser's settings and the website will still function.
Links
Linking text has been written to make sense out of context. Where appropriate, links have title attributes which describe the link in greater detail, for example to advise you if the link will open in a new window.
Samples from my Portfolio:
- Web
- Misc
