Accessibility
We want our website to be as accessible as possible. To make our website easy to view, we've designed it in accordance with guidelines laid down by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).
Taking time over design
We are always looking for ways to improve our website and make it easier to use, following principles laid down by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). We also set our own guidelines.
Our guidelines include:
using meaningful ALT text for all images to provide descriptive text using descriptive hyperlink text avoiding the use of frames, which are difficult for special browsers to interpret using an easy-to-see web colour scheme using an easier to read non-serif font type, size and colour.
However, making the website easy to use goes further than just colour and fonts. We are also working hard at making sure our site has useful content that is laid out in an easy-to-navigate way, taking into consideration people who use speech readers.
Change your browser settings
If you want to alter the way you view any website, from the size of text to the colour of hyperlinks, you can change some of the options in your internet browser. To change settings on Internet Explorer, follow the instructions below. These settings should work on most websites but they wont affect images on the screen.
If you have problems changing your settings, use the Help menu in your browser toolbar.
Internet Explorer (IE5.x) instructions
To permanently apply font and colour changes
On the browser Tools menu select Internet Options
On the General tab, select Accessibility
Click on the three boxes to show ticks
Click OK to enlarge text
On the browser Tools menu select Internet Options
On the General tab, select Accessibility
Tick the Ignore font sizes specified on web pages check box
Click OK
On the browser menu select View
Click Text size
Choose the size of text
To change text and background colour
On the browser Tools menu select Internet Options
On the General tab, select Colour
Deselect the Use Windows colours tick box
Select the box next to Text and choose a colour
Click OK
Select the box next to Background and choose a colour
Click OK
To prevent graphics and images appearing
On the browser Tools menu select Internet Options
On the Advanced tab, scroll down to the Multimedia heading
Deselect the graphics options Animations, Videos, Pictures and Images
by clicking on the boxes to remove the ticks
Click Apply then OK
To change the size of the window
On the browser View menu select Full screen or press F11.
To change the colour of links displayed on a screen
On the browser Tools menu select Internet Options
On the General tab, select Accessibility
Click on Select ignore colours specified on Web pages (should contain a tick)
Click OK
Select General tab and click on Colours
Turn off the Use hover colours tick box (should not contain a tick)
Select Visited and choose the colour that suits you best, click OK
Select Not Visited and choose the colour that suits you best, click OK
Select OK for Colours
Select OK for Internet Options
If you have any problems changing your browser settings, use the Help menu in your browser toolbar.