- using assistive technology such as screen readers and screen magnifiers
- who are unable to use the mouse
- who are dependent on the accessibility features of their web browser.
We strive to conform to the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and to comply with Level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Version 2.0.
What does this mean?
Web accessibility is a term given to a type of web design that endeavours to make a site easy to access, regardless of the ability of the user, their limitations and capabilities, location, equipment or bandwidth. We believe that everyone has the right to access information, regardless of ability or disability. We have therefore built our website to adhere to best practice by following W3C standards, allowing you and users of all capabilities to access our site. There are a number of steps we have taken to address accessibility needs, some of which are detailed below:
Layout
The site uses Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to control all presentation and layout so that content is easily accessible and well structured via assistive devices.
Images
All content images used on our site contain alternative (ALT) text. This ALT text is displayed when the site is visited with images “off” and voiced by screen readers. The null (or empty) ALT attribute used for ‘non-functional or brand-type’ images should be ignored by screen readers.
Tables and forms
Forms and tables use accessibility features that enable them to be used with screen readers.
Screen zooming
Browser zooming is the best method to increase the size of the display of all elements on the website to have a larger view of the site:
- All major browsers support the following keys (for a Mac, substitute the Ctrl key for the Command Key)
- Hold down the Ctrl button on your keyboard and press the plus (+) key
- You will find that this will enlarge the text, to enlarge the text even further, repeat the procedure
- Keep repeating this until the text is enlarged to your requirements. If you need to make the text smaller press Ctrl on your keyboard and the minus (–) key.
- If you want to go back to 100% zoom, hold down the Ctrl button on your keyboard and press the plus (+) key.
There are a number of PDF documents available for download on our site. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to read PDFs. Adobe Acrobat Reader can be downloaded free from the Adobe site, which also contains instructions for installing the software on your computer.
The Adobe website also contains a tool and instructions for converting PDFs into web pages online (http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/access_onlinetools.html). It works with most, but not all PDFs. Please note however, the conversion can take some minutes.
Coding
Our site has been built using code compliant with W3C standards for XHTML and CSS. Our site displays correctly in current browsers and using standards-compliant XHTML/CSS code means any future browsers will also display it correctly.
Screen reading software
People who have very low or no vision may use screen reading software. Screen reading software will read out content and navigation to the user. Users of screen reading software only use the keyboard, not the mouse, to navigate a website.
Our website is not only built to facilitate the use of screen readers but it is also built in an accessible format that will allow for a pleasant experience when using these tools. Users of screen readers will be able to find the information they are seeking on our site easily.
Below, we have listed some of the most popular software that is useful for assisting access to websites. Some are free and some are commercial but have free demonstrations.
- JAWS, a screen reader for Windows. A time-limited, downloadable demo is available.
- NVDA, a free and fully functional Windows screen reader.
Browser
This website is best viewed in Google Chrome, Internet Explorer 9, 10 or 11 or Mozilla Firefox.