How we have made this website accessible

Accessibility has been a key part of this website from the very earliest stages of its development. Our developers all had good understanding of the WAI's accessibility guidelines and the RNIB's See It Right web accessibility audit team were involved in discussions from the design stage.

Amongst the many features and design decisions we have used are:

Font

We have used a non-serif font as most people find this easier to read on a screen. We have also chosen colours for our text that give good contrast with the background colours. However we also allow you to change the colours used if you prefer, along with the font style and size.

Paragraphs

We understand that the way the text on a page is laid out affects how easy it is to read. On our site we have tried to keep the paragraphs short to help refresh the eye and left a space between each paragraph.

Column widths

We know that with some conditions, such as dyslexia using a wide page can make if difficult to read the text. We have kept the width of the column displaying the content of the site quite narrow.

Style changer

Although our site will allow you to alter you browser settings to change the way it looks, we have also included a Style Changer for users with Javascript enabled web browsers. The Style Changer makes it easy to change the size of text and colours used. You can do this on any page by clicking on the link "Change the appearance of this site" near the top of the page.

Frames

We have not used frames throughout this site.

Not opening new windows

We know that for some users opening a link in a new window can cause problems if you are not aware that it has happened. Therefore none of the links on our site should open in a new window.

Graphics/ Pictures

Where we have used graphics or pictures we have included text descriptions (Alt-Tags), following the recommendations of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) and the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB)

Language

We hope that you find this website easy to read and understand. We have tried to follow guidelines set out by the Plain English Campaign and Mencap.

Site map

To make it easier to find the information you need, our site map is ordered by both subject matter and impairment.

Consistent layout

To help you find your way around our site, we have kept the layout of links and text the same throughout the pages. Many websites use pictures of words in their menus that can cause problems for people using screen readers or who re-size the text. This website all the menus use proper text, which means that the words can be made larger if you need them to be.

Browsealoud

This website has been "speech enabled" using Browsealoud. If you have downloaded the Browsealoud software to your computer, it will read out the words on our site and others that have also been enabled. More information can be found in our section on Browsealoud.

BSL broadband guide

As part of an innovative trial we have created a section using British Sign Language. Go to our BSL Broadband section to see for yourself.