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About internet and web site accessibility

Accessibility and our browsers Our web site has been designed for accessibility for individuals with specific needs. For the most part www.weymouth.gov.uk complies with the Web Accessibility Initiative Guidelines (WAIG) to Double AA standards meaning we are accessible to those persons who may have specific requirements

Under the Disability Discrimination Act we are required to enable our services to meet these guidelines. Designing accessible web sites is one thing but customer feedback good or bad is the best way to achieve a fully accessible web site. If you have any issues with the functionality of this web site or any comments regarding your experience of our site please email them to us.

What are accessibility issues

Visual (partial sight, colour blindness, visual disturbance).
Aural (inability to pronounce or interact with telephone systems, deafness).
Physical (unable to use a 'mouse' or normal keyboard to navigate our site).
Cognitive (learning disabilities through to dyslexia).
Combinations (a broader range of disabilities that may contain elements of the above list).

Windows 1998, 2000 to XP have accessibility features built in that can help you use our web site more efficiently if you have any access issues. Go to "Start" and then "Control Panel" and then open "Accessibility Options". Most operating systems will have a similar option so please take a look at the "Help" files for more information.

We designed our site using Mozilla FireFox (FF) rather than Windows Internet Explorer (IE). FF requires web sites to meet stricter standards than IE and if standards are maintained then accessibility shouldn't be a problem. Some browser like Opera offer a great range of accessibility options from switching the site to Text Only and Easy Read Layouts. If you have an accessibility issue we recommend downloading Opera Browser.

Use YOUR web browser to help YOU

Almost all browsers have features built into them to help you navigate the web. The most basic function allows you to adjust the size of the font (typeface) used on the site itself. A well designed web site will use proportional size that are able to be manipulated by the browser itself. Browsers such as FireFox will allow you to switch of certain "styles" used on the web site for example to remove all colours, change the text size, remove table layouts and hide images.

Your PC or MAC has plenty of features to assist web accessibility as does your web browser just use the "Help" facility and search for the help you require to make your surfing experience a better one!

Useful resources

All these web sites listed below will open a new browser window.

The range of problems associated with browsing the web and people with special requirements is vast and too big for us to cover in depth. If you have any advise for us or would like to recommend a product our users with these requirements may like to know about please contact us.