Net-Guide - Website of the Month August 2012

Net-Guide is a search engine that returns an accessibility rating for each site that is returned in a search.

Why is Net-Guide the website of the month?

It is good to remind users of websites that have been around for a while or introduce them to new users. Net-Guide won awards initially when it was first launched a few years ago. It is useful to have a search engine that gives the user information about the accessibility of the sites they are searching for.

The accessibility of sites are assessed as 'poor', 'average', 'fair', 'good' and 'excellent'.

• If a website is considered 'poor' it will probably provide a poor experience for everyone.
• If a website is considered 'average' it is likely it will not be accessible for certain groups.
• If it is assessed as 'fair', it means that it will be possible to read and navigate the pages if you are using a screen reader, but it may not be straightforward.
• If 'good' then it means that screen reader users should be able to navigate the site, complete forms and buy items and low vision users should be able to change the fonts.
• If a site is described as 'excellent' then it means it should be straightforward to use, the user should be able to tab through the site in a logical order and fonts should be adjustable.

All of the sites included in Net-Guide are assessed individually. So it is impossible for this search engine to be as comprehensive as a search engine that just catalogues sites without any accessibility rating. You may not find the exact site you are looking for, but you may well find a more accessible alternative which could save you a lot of time.

Tips and Tricks

• At the top right hand side of the page you will find four colour change options. They include black on white, black on pale blue, black on cream and yellow on black.
• The default font size for the site is fairly small but this can be increased using the settings in your browser. This is usually found in the 'View' menu of your web browser.
• There is a visible 'skip links' link for screen reader users, which takes you straight to the search edit box.

View Net-Guide Search Engine

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