Accessibility

Making boroughofpoole.com as accessible as possible is a priority for us. We have invested heavily to ensure that as many people as possible can us the site regardless of any web limiting condition that they may possess.

The aim is for any users who may have hearing impairmants, visual impairments, motor or cognitive disabilities, or a range of other disabilities to enjoy the same quality of website experience as those without disability. Below is a list of specific accessibility features that we have tried to incorporate.

Plain English

We have attempted to use plain, uncomplicated, jargon free language for ease of understanding. In recognition of this we have been awarded the Internet Crystal Mark by the plain English campaign. which indicates our committment to use plain English throughout our site. 

We strive for our website to be:

• free of jargon, using simple, plain English
• easy to search, so you can search and retrieve information about Council services without having any knowledge of the Council's structure, or what we call things
• accessible to everyone

In trying to achieve these aims we contacted the Plain English Campaign and followed its guidelines.

We try:

• to present information in a logical order and write clearly and simply using everyday words and short sentences
• keep our webpage design simple, consistent and free of moving images

However, our website is developing all the time. Please let us know if you have any comments, good or bad, about our website or suggestions about how we can improve it by e-mailing webmaster@boroughofpoole.com

Speech enabled content - listen to the site being read out loud

You can listen to this website using the free Dixerit Plus service. This services is easy to use, free, and help people who find it hard to read, such as those with dyslexia or learning difficulties, those for whom English is not their first language, and those with mild visual impairments. They are not designed to replace screen reader software such as JAWS.

Click on the listen link on any page and the Dixerit Plus toolbar will be displayed. Use the following link for help regarding listening to our site. 

Viewing the website in a different language

The machine translation of any web page text (approximately 70% accurate) is possible by selecting 'translations' within the Access Tools box, and then simply clicking on the appropriate language. This will trigger the automatic reload of the website, complete with translated text. 

Text Size

For visitors who wish to view the site in larger text size, clicking the corresponding text size within the Access Tools box located in the left hand column, will automatically reload the page to show your selected text format. There are three sizes of text available, with the smallest being the default setting. Larger sizes are easier to read for those with a visual impairment.

There is also a free magnification tool available through the Dixerit service that we use. Click on to our magnifier help page for further information.

Contrast

Visitors who wish to view the site with a different contrast setting can click on the appropriate coloured box in the Access Tools box. This will reload the page with your preferred contrast setting for increased visibility. Text and pictures become more discernable to those with visual impairments when presented in different colours on different backgrounds.

There is also a free contrast tool available through the Dixerit service that we use. Click on to our contrast help page for further information.

Access keys

Access keys are a useful navigation device enabling you to get around the website using your keyboard. They can be used to jump to different sections of content across the website. View access keys on boroughofpoole.com.  

Alternative text for images

Images on our website have alternative text attributes, often known as alt text. This means that when an image is used on a web page to convey information its content is also described in the alt text. This means that the image can be understood by text browsers and assistive technologies such as screen readers. Where possible we will not use images for simply decorative purposes however if an image is used for this purpose, the text attribute for the image is left empty in line with accepted best practice.

Minimising the use of images

Live text is used rather than graphics wherever possible to reduce page download time and to increase your control over text size.

Making content more accessible

In order to ensure a consistent user experience for visitors to the site we use what are known as cascading style sheets (CSS for short). CSS enable us to enforce a corporate look-and-feel to our website which ensures that a consistent font typeface, use of colour and optimum text sizes are presented to you.

Using cascading style sheets enables us to meet current legislative and industry standards on website accessibility

Help us to help you

We aim to meet the Priority A, AA, and selected AAA guidelines of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Our website is tested on a regular basis using a combination of automated tools to identify potential problem areas and manual testing to ensure we meet the spirit as well as the letter of the W3C's accessibility guidelines.

Inevitably, we won't always get it right, and with over 8,000 pages of content we are bound to miss some problems, but we are committed to addressing any access issues promptly. And that's where we'd like your help. If you experience any difficulties in accessing our website, or have trouble using any aspect of the website, we'd like you to let us know. E-mail the webteam and let us know your experience.

User-testing

We have conducted several phases of user-testing of the whole website and of new sections. We  make any changes needed to make the site more accessible and easy-to-use.