Website Accessibility

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Its obviously important that when people arrive at your website they are able to use it.  Bright Matter create sites which strive be fully accessible regardless of a visitors technological and physical means.

  • W3C Standards
  • Taking colour blindness into account
  • Making code screen reader friendly
  • Considering Dyslexic visitors
  • Provide advice in getting the most from your browser

W3C Standards

Since 1994 W3C has been publishing guidelines, a purely voluntary set of standards which are rapidly being considered best practice, much of this best practice has to-do with accessibility.

The first step in accessible web design is creating html code which is “correct” in terms of W3C standards this means that the multiplicity of browsers out there Internet Explorer (50%), Firefox (45%), the Mozilla family… can all interpret html code and css code accurately. 

This approach also makes for websites which are quick to update and modify.

We also appreciate that as well as variations in browsers visitors to your site will have a huge variety of monitors with differing screen resolutions.  Our designs “work” on a huge variety of computers

Taking colour blindness into account

  • Between 1 in 10 and 1 in 20 people have some form of colour blindness
  • The form colour blindness takes can differ however, trouble distinguishing reds and greens is a common.
  • Colour blindness affects more men than women

It’s good practice to assume some of the visitors to a website will have some form of colour-blindness.

During the design of logos, charts, diagrams etc we use software to simulate various forms of colour blindness to try and ensure that users are not prevented from effectively interacting with a web site. 

Making code screen reader friendly

Screen Reading software “reads” a web page and then provides a live synthesized audio equivalent or brail output for partially sighted and blind users.  (As discussed later dyslexic visitors will often also screen readers.)

There are an infinite number of ways that a web design can be realised with html and css coding, but not all approaches are skilled and not all are helpful for users who employ a screen reader for example:

  • If a screen reader is going to “read” an image the html code that puts image on a webpage needs a textual title, if necessary we can also link to a detailed description
  • Badly structured pages will result in lengthily audio descriptions of the links on the page before the main content has been “read” aloud, this approach becomes tedious especially when you consider most pages on a site have the same links
  • Screen Readers like well structured pages with organised paragraphs and headings.

Getting the build right after the design has been finalised is an integral part of web site accessibility, and essential if visitors are going to effectively use a screen reader.

Screen Readers have a lot in common with Search engines

A screen readers job is to “read” the web page and provide a live synthesized audio equivalent or brail output for partially sighted and blind users.  A search engines job is to spider the web page gathering textual information for use in its index. Much of what can be done to help a search engine like Google index content, is also helpful for assistive technologies like screen readers.

Considering Dyslexic visitors

  • Dyslexics often choose to have the website read to them using screen reader technology. (see “Making code screen reader friendly” above)
  • We try to ensure that paragraphs are not more than  65 characters wide.
  • Consistent navigation, layout which are not confused with styling changes
  • Making sure that background music is optional

Much of what dyslectic users appreciate in a web design makes for good design for all.

Advice in getting the most from your browser

All our new websites now contain a page giving advice on how to change the appearance of a webpage using a browser.  Accessibility is something all the Browsers take very seriously and much can be done to override a websites default styling. The idea of choice has been fully embraced by the major browsers

Bright Matter web designers strive to provide access to all regardless of a users  technological and physical means as well as being a ethical standpoint it is also a legal (Disability and Discrimination Act 1995)  and commercial imperative.



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