Accessibility

The following information is a summary that has been put together from more detailed information available on the Royal National Institute of Blind People's (RNIB) 'Accessible information' web page. (External site)

The RNIB are doing a fantastic job campaigning on behalf of blind and partially sighted people, with more general information about the organisation available on the RNIB homepage. (External site)

Why Should Gedling Borough Council's Website Be Accessible?

• It's fair
  

  Blind and partially sighted people should be able to receive information in a way that is accessible to them. Information helps all of us to make decisions and lead independent lives.
  
  

• It's the law

  
  We have a legal obligation - following the implementation of Section 21 of the Disability Discrimination Act - to ensure blind and partially sighted people can access our services.
  
  

• It makes good business sense

  
  There are 1.7 million blind and partially sighted people in the UK. This is a sizeable customer base which cannot be ignored.

How Do Blind And Partially Sighted People Read A Website?

• Partially Sighted People

  
  For many partially sighted people, well-designed information using a minimum of 12 point text is enough.
  
  

• Blind People

  
  Many blind people use screen readers to speak the website back to them.

• ReadSpeaker

Gedling Borough Council is continuing to ensure its website is accessible to all by installing Readspeaker – a server-based product that speech-enables the website, allowing it to be read out.

This latest development means that people who are visually impaired or suffer from cognitive impairments such as dyslexia can benefit by having the content of the website read to them.

No downloads are required, so anyone visiting the Gedling Borough Council website can access it.

The Council joins a growing number of local authorities installing speech-enabling software in order to make their websites more accessible and user-friendly

ReadSpeaker works on Windows, Apple Macintosh and Linux with any browser and, as it does not require any downloads, the service is available to use wherever the user is logging on. It is also suitable for older Windows operating systems such as Windows 95 and 98. Readspeaker also reads Word, RTF and PDF documents independent of Acrobat

How Is Gedling's Website More Accessible?

• Type size
  

  The size of the type (known as point size) significantly affects its legibility and is one of the most important features to bear in mind. A minimum of 12 point type should be used. However, RNIB recommends the use of 14 point to reach more people with sight problems and therefore Gedling BC's website has been designed so that the a user can increase or decrease the text size by changing their browser settings.
  
  

• Contrast

  
  The contrast between the background and the type is also extremely important. The better the contrast, the more legible it is. Therefore Gedling BC has opted to use black text on a white background to display the majority of its content.
  
  

• Font

  
  The choice of font is less important than size and contrast. However italic, simulated handwriting and ornate fonts can be difficult to read and therefore our staff have been advised not use them.
  
  

• Type style
  

  Capital letters are generally harder to read. A word or two in capitals is fine but capitals should not be used for continuous text.
  
  

• Navigational aids
  

  Gedling BC has used a number of navigation aids to help people work their way around our site. Recurring features such as headings are always in the same place and same style, a space between paragraphs gives the eye a break and makes reading easier, and a contents list has been provided on the left side of every page.

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