Help - Accessibility

Cinnaminta is committed to making its web site as accessible as possible to all audiences (including those with visual, hearing, cognitive or motor impairments) to fulfil its objectives and to meet its statutory obligations defined by the United Kingdom Disability Discrimination Act.

Graphical design and content

Layout, colours and fonts

Cinnaminta was designed from the start with accessibility in mind. We knew the web site would be text-heavy and so have tried to develop a design that is pleasing to the eye, but allows the site to be read out aloud by devices such as screen readers. Users can change font face and sizes using the tools provided or using their own browser preferences (see Browser preferences below). We have avoided the use of blinking, flickering or flashing objects or anything that might cause the screen to flicker.

Format

All text is available as standard web pages - no Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files are used. Uploaded video is converted to Flash Video and this does require the use of an Adobe Flash player. We encourage readers to upload static photographs as well as video so that all users can see the delivery.

Use of language

We have tried to make the text as clear and readable as possible. We use plain language and avoid jargon where it is not needed. Where the language in the document changes, we indicate this in the page code.

Technical design

Standards

We have coded the site to be compliant with The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) XHTML1 standards except for some things we have done to improve security. Cinnaminta is designed to meet all Priority 2 checkpoints in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0.

We provide text equivalents for images and all documents are constructed with a valid heading mark-up structure. There are no image maps used on the web site.

We do not auto-refresh any pages, except to log members out after a period of extended inactivity for security reasons.

Use of Javascript

The site minimises its use of JavaScript. The whole site can be navigated and used without Javascript enabled. JavaScript is required to view the Flash video files that optionally appear on some readings (see Format above).

Browser preferences

For users who choose to enable JavaScript, we have provided on-screen buttons in the right hand margin towards the top of pages to enable you to alter the font face (serif or non-serif) and font size (small, medium, large). All users can also benefit from selecting the appropriate font size when printing requests and profiles.

As with other web sites, users may also set their own preferences for colours, font face and font size in their browsers.

Page navigation

Every page include anchor short-cuts to the content and navigation:

content jumps to the main copy
nav jumps to the navigation

On every page the key navigation tabs are at the top right under the banner so that you are never far away from the assistance pages (which include the site map) and the links to make sugestions or contact Cinnaminta are in the bottom margin.

Access keys

We have not implemented access keys, since these are only partially supported in some web browsers, and current best practice seems to be not to add keyboard short cuts.

Further help with web accessibility

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has some good guides on making the most of web sites for people using:

AbilityNet has produced some excellent skillsheets on getting the most out of your computer.

What can we do better?

We have tried to design and develop Cinnaminta with accessibility in mind. However, we have had to make some compromises. We would very much like to receive your feedback on any problems that you have and would welcome your suggestions for future improvements.