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Accessibility Policy
This website is designed by Protx in order to be accessible to all users, and to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).
The DDA was passed in 1995 (updated 1999 & 2004) to end the discrimination facing many disabled people, including when using the Internet. The The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) were set out by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in 1999 to give checkpoints for accessible web design that complies with the DDA.
This website follows the Priority 1 and 2 guidelines relating to accessibility as set out by the WC3. Please see below for a summary of how the site meets these terms, as well as the Priority 3 guidelines.
All pages on this website have also been validated for XHTML and CSS, with accordance to the web standards set out by the W3C.
Further information regarding the DDA can be found at the Disability Rights Commission. The World Wide Web Consortium have many good resources on making the Internet accessible, as well as on their push for global web design standards.
Priorities
Priority 1
A Web content developer must satisfy this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it impossible to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint is a basic requirement for some groups to be able to use Web documents.
Priority 2
A Web content developer should satisfy this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it difficult to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint will remove significant barriers to accessing Web documents.
Priority 3
A Web content developer may address this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it somewhat difficult to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint will improve access to Web documents.
Main Guidelines
- Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content
- Don't rely on colour alone
- Use markup and style sheets and do so properly
- Clarify natural language usage
- Create tables that transform gracefully
- Ensure that pages featuring new technologies transform gracefully
- Ensure user control of time-sensitive content changes
- Ensure direct accessibility of embedded user interfaces
- Design for device-independence (image maps)
- Use interim solutions
- Use W3C technologies and guidelines
- Provide context and orientation information
- Provide clear navigation mechanisms
- Ensure that documents are clear and simple
Summary of how www.protx.com follows Priority 1 Guidelines
- The content on all pages is readable without the style sheets, colour, scripts and applets (1, 6)
- All images, animations and buttons have alternative "alt" descriptions that can be read by screen readers (1)
- Any multimedia containing important information has an alternative flat-image or text-only version (1)
- All tables used for layout have captions to clarify their layout-only use (5)
- The pages do not rely on colour for navigation (e.g. "click on the green button to proceed") (2)
- The site uses the simplest and most straight-forward language possible (14)
Summary of how www.protx.com follows Priority 2 Guidelines
- Protx uses style sheets (CSS) to format text and layout (3, 11)
- Every link has a clear title.
- Absolute units of size are used, and this is not recommended, however the content is usable without the restrictions(3)
- In a few instances absolute positioning is used, but content is still readable without the positioning (3)
- All events requiring a mouse are for design purposes only and do not hinder the user's ability to view information (7)
- The transaction diagram interface requires the use of a mouse, however an alternative is provided. (1, 7)
- A sitemap is provided (13)
- The user is aware when a pop-up or new window is opened as all links have an alternative title to clarify this (10)
- All link phrases make sense when read out (14)
Summary of how www.protx.com follows Priority 3 Guidelines
- The primary natural language of the site is identified (4)
- Separate adjacent links with more than just whitespace. In the top menu, this does not comply, but an alternative menu with separations is provided at the bottom of each page (13)
- All tables have summaries of their content or their use only for layout purposes (5)
At present, Protx does not follow all of the Priority Three guidelines, nor offer a text-only version of the site. However, we strive to make the website accessible to all. If you are not able to view any crucial content of this site please contact us.
