Web Access Centre

Help pages - Web Access Centre

Summary: Informative help pages can go a long way to helping people use accessibility features i your site.

• Website Accessibility Initiative compliance
• Other pages about navigation

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Once your site is accessible it is a good idea to provide an accessibility help page. In this page you can flag up to your users what accessibility options the site has, and provide advice on navigation.

An accessibility help page also has the additional benefit of showing up in search engines. It's always useful to include an accessibility statement.

Techniques

• Depending on what accessibility features you have chosen to include in your site the following is a list of topics the accessibility help page can provide:

• Access keys and hidden navigation should be explained on this page if they are offered in the site.
  
  
• Fonts and colours can be changed in the browser if a site has been built with accessibility in mind. Not everybody knows how to change the settings in their browser though, so it is useful to explain how to do it. This can be a link to RNIB pages about how to change font sizes.
  
  
• PDFs are not always accessible to screen readers, but Adobe does provide advice and support that can help users in the Access Adobe and the PDF to HTML conversion tool page. As well as these links it is useful to provide an explanation for screen reader users on how to use PDFs.
  
  
• Layout and navigation features can be explained if they are especially complicated or non-standard.
  
  
• Drop down menus and scrolling tickers should be provided with a function to switch them on or off. How to do this can be explained and the functionality reproduced on the accessibility help page.
  
  
• New browser windows policy should be explained in an accessibility help page. Flagging what types of links open in a new window such as to external sites, alternative file types etc is always useful for all users.
  
  
• Contact email or feedback links should always be provided.
  
  
• An accessibility policy is advisable so that users can see what stage of development the site has reached and where it is heading in terms of being made accessible.

Website Accessibility Initiative compliance

13.3 Provide information about the general layout of a site (e.g., a site map or table of contents Priority 2

Other pages about navigation

• Links
• Help pages
• Hidden navigation and tab index
• Access keys
• Navigation
• New windows
• Page titles
• Sitemaps

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For Web Access Centre updates email webaccess@rnib.org.uk

Content author: webaccess@rnib.org.uk

Last updated: 06/03/2008 15:41