WEB ACCESSIBILITY

MHIE is committed to ensuring its website is accessible and inclusive for all its users.

When building this website we have tried to ensure that everyone can use its content and services, regardless of their ability or disability.

The site design and build has taken into account the following guidelines:

  • The WC3 Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) - www.w3.org/WAI/
  • The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA, part 3) - www.disability.gov.uk/dda

The MHIE site currently exceeds WAI single 'A' and is close to WAI 'AA' standards. We are continually working towards complying with 'AAA' standard of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

  • Design
  • Fonts
  • Size
  • Accesskeys
  • Browsers
  • Content
  • Accessibility software
  • Contact us

Design
This website site uses Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to separate design from content (with rare exception for certain components of some pages). This means that if your browser does not support CSS or if you wish to turn it off then all pages are still easily readable and fully functional.

Fonts
All fonts are scalable which means you can adjust the type size to suit you by using the options in your browser menu. Go into the 'View' menu in your browser window to increase or decrease font size.

Size
The site is of fixed width design: this was decided upon to improve the readability of the contents given the 3-column design. The site requires no horizontal scrolling for the most popular screen resolutions and window sizes (800x600, 1024x768).

Accesskeys
Our main menu options have been assigned keyboard access keys for users who do not use pointing devices (such as a mouse).

The access keys we have used are based on the UK Government's recommendations, as follows:

  • 0 - Links to the MHIE home page
  • 1 - Links to the 'Product Panorama' section
  • 2 - Links to the 'Everyday Lives' section
  • 3 - Links to the 'Regional Offices' section
  • 4 - Links to the 'MHIE News' section
  • 5 - Links to the 'Environment' section
  • 6 - Links to the 'Air Conditioning' section
  • 7 - Links to this page

Accesskeys are usable in the most popular browsers, typically used by holding down the Alt key and the required letter or number of the accesskey. In some browsers (such as Internet Explorer) you may need to press the Return key to activate the link.

Browsers
This website has been tested on the following browsers:
PC operating systems

  • Internet Explorer 6
  • Internet Explorer 5.5
  • Internet Explorer 5
  • Mozilla Firefox 1.x and 2
  • Netscape Navigator 7.0
  • Opera 7.5
  • Lynx

Mac operating systems:

  • Safari 1.0.1
  • Internet Explorer 5.2
  • Mozilla Firefox 1.x

Content
The content has been written and formatted to make it accessible.
For example:

  • Headings highlight sections of text
  • Sentences are short with the meaning at the beginning
  • Links use meaningful text
  • Forms can be navigated using the tab key

Accessibility software
The most popular software that is useful for assisting access to websites is listed below. Some are free, some are commercial but have free demos.

  • JAWS, a screen reader for Windows. A time-limited, downloadable demo is available
  • Home Page Reader, a screen reader for Windows. A downloadable demo is available.
  • Lynx browser, a free text-only web browser for blind users with refreshable Braille displays.
  • Links browser, a free text-only web browser for visual users with low bandwidth.
  • Opera browser, a visual browser with many accessibility-related features, including text zooming, user stylesheets, image toggle. A free downloadable version is available. Compatible with Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and several other operating systems.