Web site accessibility
We are committed to making our on-line resources accessible to all visitors.
We aim to meet or exceed the provisions of the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) Conformance Level AA. The full check-list of Checkpoints for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 can be found on the W3C website|.
We aim to use a style of writing which is straightforward and easy to understand.
What does this mean?
When designing web sites and their content we follow a list of accessibility guidelines.
This includes:
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Maintain a standard layout and navigation system throughout
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Use headings, paragraphs, lists and other HTML (Hyper Text Mark-up Language) to create a logical document structure
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Allow visitors to resize text
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Use plain backgrounds to improve the readability of text
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Use foreground and background colour combinations which have sufficient contrast and will not cause problems for people with colour-blindness
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Use alt tags on all images and ensure that alt tags attributes are meaningful
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Design layouts to work at a range of screen resolutions
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Ensure all hyperlinks use descriptive and meaningful text.
Browsealoud - listen to our website
Our site is Browsealoud| enabled. Browsealoud is a software program that reads aloud web page and PDF document content.
Once you have downloaded the Browsealoud software onto your computer, all you need to do is place your mouse over the text you want to have read aloud. You can also opt to have the text being read aloud highlighted on your screen.
My Web My Way
Do you need help in making the web easier to use? My Web My Way| suggests the ways you can change your browser, computer, keyboard and mouse settings to make the web more accessible for you.
PDFs (Portable Document Format)
Many of the Council's leaflets and application forms are available on the site for downloading. Many are in PDF format which means they can be viewed using Adobe Reader. This software is available free of charge from the Adobe web site|.
All PDF documents on this site will open in a new browser window. After viewing or printing the document, you can close the new Web browser window by using the close button at the top right hand corner.
Searching, A-Z, and site map
The site can be searched using a Google search engine. The site is indexed every day. Searches will find text inside all web pages and attached documents in PDF.
The A-Z contains entries for all pages and documents on the website. The site map provides a higher-level view of the site, listing all the sections of the site and their areas.
Changing text size
You can use your browser settings to change the text size of the Council website (and of any other site that you visit). The method for doing so depends on the browser that you use:
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Internet explorer 7: Go to the "Page" menu (usually on the top right tool bar), and select your preference under the "Text size" option. The default is medium. You can also use the zoom facility in Internet Explorer 7, which maginifies the page view and also the size of the text. This is activated by pressing the Control ("Ctrl") and "+" keys together to zoom in, and "Ctrl" with "-" to zoom out.
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Internet Explorer 6: Select the "View" menu (usually on the extreme top left of the tool bar), and select your preference under "Text size". The default is medium.
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Mozilla FireFox 3.0: Select the "View" menu (top left) and select your preference under "Zoom". There is also an option to zoom text only (View > Zoom > Zoom Text only). You can also use the "Ctrl" key with "+" and "-" keys to zoom in and out respectively.
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Opera 9: Select the "View" menu, then the "Zoom" percentage that you prefer. You can also use the "Ctrl" key with the "+" and "-" keys like FireFox and Internet Explorer 7.
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Netscape 8: Select the "View" menu from the top right, and the "Text size" option. Again the the "Ctrl" key can be used with "+" and "-" to increase and decrease text size respectively.
Breadcrumbs
To help you with moving back and forth between the pages there is a "bread crumb" trail at the top of each page. So you can see the path you have followed to reach your current page and use it to revisit previous pages.
Translation into other languages
We recommend using Google translate| for converting our content into other languages. Google also provide a browser toolbar|, which translates pages with one mouse click.
Interactive mapping
North Ayrshire Council tries to meet the needs of all computer users with visual impairment or other conditions that restrict accessibility. However, due to the graphically intensive nature of our interactive mapping applications, it is not possible to present geographic information in a fully accessible format.
Terms and Conditions
You should be aware of our Disclaimer and Privacy Statement provides information.