Website accessibility
Ensuring access for everybody
In the UK, the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) makes it unlawful to provide a service that is not accessible to everybody. Whether the service is provided with or without payment, the legislation applies to all information and services supplied on websites. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) provides guidelines on how to achieve website accessibility.
Geekaboo designs all of its websites according to DDA legislation and in compliance with W3C accessibility standards. We can also provide additional accessibility features.
As well as meeting legal requirements, accessible websites are preferred by search engines, as well as most users, and tend to attract more visitors. Accessibility features to consider when designing a website include:
- Page Content: Geekaboo advises customers to avoid including 'cluttered' web pages, which are difficult to read. Where possible page
content should be limited to the equivalent of one page of A4. We advise customers to limit the graphical content of web pages and to use galleries
where a number of large photos or images are to be displayed.
- Text: Font size, colour and background colours should always be chosen to optimise the 'readability' of text. All Geekaboo websites are designed
to retain their structure if the font-size is increased by the visitor. We spell check all content and advise customers to provide short accessible sentences.
Where text is cumbersome, Geekaboo offers a 'rewording' service at a reasonable hourly rate and will reword a limited number of sentences for free during
the design process.
- Colour and Graphics: Geekaboo uses colour compatibility charts in its use of colour and graphics. Such charts ensure that website content is easy
on the eye. We aim to ensure that the use of colour and graphics eases the visitors reading ability whilst providing a pleasant view in keeping with the
customer's products, services or existing corporate image.
- Navigation: Navigation is one of the most important aspects of a website's design. It allows visitors to see all aspects of the website easily and to move
from one part of the website to another. Geekaboo provides websites which are easy to navigate in all internet browsers and provides accessible links for users
with disabilities. We offer a 'site map' facility for larger websites or for small websites with a strong accessibility focus.
Speed: Geekaboo optimises all website content to ensure high viewing speeds and visitor retention.
Geekaboo offers a re-design service for customers with existing websites that do not currently comply with accessibility legislation.
