Accessibility information for e-Bility's web site
W3C Conformance update
This site and subwebs presently conform to the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 and all sites colocated on e-Bility.com have been required to meet these recommendations. We will be evaluating our site against WCAG 2.0 during 2010 and upgrading if needed to bring it inline with the new standards, whilst maintaining the current level of conformance to WCAG 1.0.
In Australia, WCAG 1.0 is still the referenced benchmark for website accessibility provided by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) (in its World Wide Web Access: Disability Discrimination Act Advisory Notes).
WCAG 2.0 updates
Recently, on 23 February 2010, the Australian Federal Government endorsed the new website accessibility standards and the Australian Human Rights Commission expects to release its recommendations sometime in April regarding its implementation and requirements under the DDA.
Access information (prior to redevelopment)
e-Bility is committed to developing websites that are universally accessible, easy to navigate and that help people find the information they are looking for. Wherever possible, we have tried to find an approach to layout, design and behaviour that best addresses the individual needs of people across a range of disabilities and age groups.
Keyboard access and shortcuts
e-Bility.com supports keyboard interaction as well as other input devices such as speech. Keyboard shortcuts include:
- Skip link: A 'content' link has been provided in the top left corner (at the start) of every page. This link jumps over navigation elements and headers, taking the user directly to the start of the main content
- Tabindex: The default tabbing order of links has been reordered to make access to primary content links more efficient. The revised order is: skip link, site map, accessibility, home, 'your are here' links, main content links, footer, section navigation, site navigation
- Access keys: These have been kept to a minimum due to conflicts that may arise with existing browser and system keyboard shortcuts. Links with access keys include: home (1), site map (2) and accessibility (3)
Technical information and customisation
e-Bility's site has been coded using semantic HTML markup, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and server side scripting (PHP). A small amount of Javascript has also been used to detect the computers screen resolution, allowing the web site formatting to be optimised for viewing at 800 x 600 pixels. However, the web site is still fully accessible if you prefer to have Javascript turned off.
Font sizes are relative and will appear larger or smaller depending on the user's personal preferences. These preferences can be adjusted by using the browser Zoom or changing your browser accessibility options.
The HTML map element has also been use to group blocks of related links, such as the main navigation, section navigation and footer navigation.
Page layout and source order
A consistent page structure is maintained across all content on e-bility's web site. Each page is formatted using a standard design template that divides information into logical groups. The source order of information from top of page is:
- Level one heading
- Logo
- Skip links (providing quick access to the start of the main content, site map and accessibility information
- Search
- Global navigation (links to the 3 main top level areas on the web site)
- "You are here" links (provide orientation to your current location within the site structure via the most direct path from the home page)
- Section navigation (includes links to other related pages in the same section
- Main content (usually begins with a second level heading)
- Footer (legal and contact links, and page details eg date last updated)
Orientation information
There are 3 main content areas on e-Bility.com, with content grouped into sub sections beneath each. The top level categories are:
- Services and products (includes disability service providers and suppliers)
- Access travel (includes anything to do with accessible travel)
- Resources (a community area for sharing information and ideas)
Please refer to the e-Bility site map for a more comprehensive overview of the site architecture
File formats
Where more than one file format is available, the most universal formats are given first (eg RTF/DOC followed by PDF).
Internet content rating
The Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA) is an international, independent organisation that empowers the public, especially parents, to make informed decisions about electronic media by means of the open and objective labelling of content.