Accessibility Statement

The following information is based upon the criteria for Web Accessibility as outlined by the W3C. The W3C identifies 3 priorities for ensuring web accessibility. The first priority being essential to all pages, the second priority being something that should be considered and the third priority something that could be considered. Within our site we will aim to meet all of the criteria within priority one, as many as possible from priority two and a few criteria which are applicable from priority three. Highlighted in red are those criteria which we will not be able to meet.

Priority 1

  1. Use correct DOCTYPE.
  2. Use CSS-driven relative font size for general content - which allows users to control the size of the page content.
  3. Provide additional navigation aids.
  4. Have meaningful page titles.
  5. Identify the content language. (make sure we write English somewhere on page)
  6. Have detailed and descriptive metadata.
  7. Provide hidden links in the top of each page to allow users with text-based or screen-reading browsers to jump to the preferred content on the page. ??? We will attempt to do this if we have time.
  8. Present main content first for the benefit of text-based and screen-reading browsers.

In our mentoring site, we are not using:

Priority 2

  1. We will ensure that foreground and background colour combinations provide sufficient contrast when viewed by someone having colour deficits or when viewed on a black and white screen.
  2. 2. We will use mark-up rather than images to convey information whenever possible. Our documents will be created that validate to published formal grammars.
  3. 3. CSS will be used to control layout and presentation.
  4. We will use relative rather than absolute units in mark-up language attribute values and style sheet property values.
  5. The header element will be used to convey document structure.
  6. Lists will be marked up appropriately.
  7. Mark-up quotations will only be used for quotations.
  8. content is accessible.
  9. We will not have any blinking content.
  10. We will have an auto refreshing page due to the blog content on the homepage (at the clients request).
  11. Redirects are not applicable to our page.
  12. Pop-ups will not present on our page.
  13. We are using the latest blog software (nucleus) available to us for the client.
  14. We will avoid deprecated features.
  15. Our content will be divided into manageable segments.
  16. Links will be clearly labelled.
  17. Meta data will be used to add semantic information to pages and sites.
  18. A site-map will be provided.
  19. Navigation will be consistent.
  20. For the forms on our site, we will ensure that labels are appropriately positioned.
  21. We will not be using tables or frames.

Priority 3

  1. Logical tabbing order through links and through forms will be added to our site if time is available (mainly through forms).
  2. Shortcut keys to main navigation links will apply to our site.
  3. Navigation bars will be highlighted on the right hand side of the site.
  4. CDU search engine will be incorporated in the header of the site with different types of searches such as ‘CDU’, ‘Staff’ etc.
  5. Images will be named appropriately so that visually impaired people will be able to use the site accordingly. Style sheets will be consistent across all pages of the website.

Other Considerations

  1. The website will be aimed at loading below 10 seconds per page.
  2. Pages, links, forms and all information on the website will be tested before final implementation is completed. This will ensure stability for users at home when searching the website.
  3. Our site will validate using the WC3 strict validation process and the site will be marked up with xHTML ensuring backward and forward compatibility.
  4. Our site will be run through a web site to check for accessibility for those with colour-blindness or visual impairment. (http://www.vischeck.com/examples/) The images which we are currently using (an image of an eye and the CDU logo) have been checked using ‘vischeck’ and are still identifiable and meaningful to someone with a colour blindness.
  5. Our site will be run through an online accessibility checker before it is posted online. (http://checker.atrc.utoronto.ca/index.html)

Access Keys

The W3C introduced the accesskey attribute to enable users to select the appropriate key on their keyboards and navigate to a particular link without the use of a mouse.