Accessibility

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) of 1995 was amended in 1999 to include enforcement over web content and further amended in 2005 to increase the level businesses are expected to apply.

Wessex Synod of the United Reformed Church is committed to meeting the full requirements of the DDA in all web content and extending accessibility of this website to improve accessibility to all potential users of the site.

In addition to the legal requirements Wessex Synod has made every effort to comply with Priority 1, 2, and 3 guidelines of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines throughout the site wherever possible.

Images on this site that are not considered content such as decorative and functional images may not feature a description, however images considered content include descriptive ALT attributes.

Wherever possible downloads will be available as PDF files. In all cases PDF downloads are accompanied by a link to download the free Adobe Reader Software. This ensures downloads do not require the purchase of additional software to be used. Adobe Reader contains many capabilities specifically designed to make it easier for people with disabilities to read PDF files, regardless of whether the files have been optimized for accessibility. It leverages accessibility functions built into Windows® and Mac OS systems and allows adjustment of user preferences to optimise the reading experience for a variety of disabilities.

In almost all cases the text of a link describes the target, however, where this is not the case, title attributes contain further information. All pages of this site open in the same browser window. In some cases, however, links to other websites open in a new window. When this is the case you will be given warning in the text or title attribute.

No content on this site includes blinking of text or images, and none of the site will cause your screen to flicker. Animation has been kept to a minimum, and is generally illustrative of content already on the site. An exception to this rule is the photograph montage which is available from the front page of the website. This shows photographs that represent Wessex Synod but there is no content in the flash presentation.

If audio or video content is used on the site it is always accompanied by a text description of the content.

Foreground and background colours contrast well throughout the site, with the majority of content appearing black on white. Colour is never used as a sole method highlighting or emphasising content.

No frames are used on the site which uses a cascading style sheet for visual layout.
Tables are used for tabular data, but we have avoided using them to dictate the layout of a page wherever possible. The style sheet uses relative font sizes and is written to display pages correctly in most commonly-used browsers.