Accessiblilty
Exeter City Council endeavour to make this website as accessible as possible to everyone, including those with disabilities and those who use assistive technologies to browse the web. Some of the ways in which we strive to achieve this are as follows:
Standards compliance
The site has been built using XHTML and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and complies with W3C WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, Level AA.
All of our images include ALT text which provides a textual equivalent to describe the image to those who are unable to access it.
Our site does not use tables for layout which should be beneficial to those who use screen readers.
A skip navigation link is provided on all our pages to allow users to skip straight to the main content of the page. This can also be especially useful to those who use screen readers.
We aim to make our website accessible to everyone and are continually working to improve its ease-of-use and the range and quality of our web services and content.
Javascript and pop-up windows
Javascript enables us to create small programs within web pages to add extra features such as pop-up windows or to check that a form has been completed in the correct way. As not all browsers support Javascript we have tried to ensure that wherever we use Javascript the same content and functions are available whether or not Javascript is enabled in your browser.
Pop-up windows are used within the site. We warn users where a link or button pops up a window. Although your browser may support Javascript many browsers have "pop-up blockers" which stop pop-up windows.
If you click certain links and nothing seems to happen, you may need to deactivate this function. Some browsers such as Opera and Firefox have built in features to do this or you may have installed a third party toolbar (eg Google toolbar) which is preventing the pop-up window from opening.
Using the keyboard and access keys
We offer shortcut keys that allow fast navigation to important pages. We follow UK Government recommendations for access key assignments:
S Skip navigation
Access keys work when pressed in combination with other keys. The combination depends on which web browser you are using.
PC: Internet Explorer 5+
Hold down ALT, press the access key and then press ENTER
ALT + left arrow takes you back to the previous web page (as per your browser back button).
PC: Netscape 6 and Mozilla Firefox
Hold down ALT and press the access key
ALT + left arrow takes you back to the previous web page (as per your browser back button).
Mac: Internet Explorer 5+
Hold down Ctrl and press the access key.
Changing text size
You can change the size of text that appears in a website to suit your needs.
Internet Explorer
Click on the View menu and then select Text Size. Click on the text size you require.
If you have a scroll wheel on your mouse you can make the text size bigger by holding Ctrl and rolling the wheel towards you (as if scrolling down the page). To make the text smaller, hold Ctrl and roll the wheel away from you.
Netscape 6 and Mozilla
PC users: Hold down Ctrl and press the + or - keys to make the text bigger or smaller.
Mac users: Hold down Cmd and press the + or - keys to make the text bigger or smaller.
Safari (Mac)
Click on the View menu and then select either Make Text Bigger or Make Text Smaller.
Changing colours and fonts
You can also change the text, background colour and fonts that appear in a website.
Internet Explorer
Click on the Tools menu, then Internet Options.
Click on the Colors button to adjust these settings.
Click on the Fonts button to adjust these settings.
Click on the Accessibility button (near the bottom right hand corner). Here you can decide to ignore the colours, font styles and font sizes of the website you are viewing. You can also apply your own style sheet to view websites with your choice of formatting.
Mozilla Firefox
Click on the Tools menu, then Options. Click on the Fonts & Colors button to adjust these settings.