Did you know...

Up to 15% of people in the United Kingdom have a disability or impairment which affects their ability to view and use websites. The web browsing experience for these people is dramatically improved when viewing websites like this one - created with accessibility in mind.

Visitors to the Extra Hands website who cannot use a mouse, are vision-impaired, or use speech output software are catered for by our compliance with strict standards and guidelines laid down by the most influential and definitive World Wide Web organisational bodies.

Introduction

The Extra Hands website has been designed to be truly platform, browser and resolution independant. This means that it can be viewed using anything from a text based browser (like those found on a palm computer) to a full-colour browser such as the popular Internet Explorer 6 on PC. Furthermore, the site can be viewed using accessibility software such as text-to-speech packages, can easily be printed in a printer friendly layout and can be 'zoomed' up to larger text sizes for those with visual impairment without greatly affecting the design and layout.
The ability for this website to be used and viewed in these different ways is made possible by exclusively using a technology known as CSS or Cascading Style Sheets. Using CSS correctly in this way brings many accessibility benefits to the Extra Hands website:

  • Users with eyesight colour deficiencies can view the website in plain text or in a colour scheme of their choice.
  • Partially sighted users can enlarge text to whatever size is suitabable for them whilst maintaining the original design features of the website.
  • Text-to-speech and braille systems can use and navigate the website easily and correcty.

Web Standards

This website meets development standards set by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Every page has been validated with the W3C for both XHTML and CSS compatibility ensuring an error free and highly compatible viewing experience.

Relevant Accessibility Legislation

The display and content of this website meets guidelines laid down for access to goods, services and education in the United Kingdom Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (parts 3 and 4) and the United Kingdom Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001.

The Extra Hands website also conforms to guidelines and specifications set out by United States Section 508 legislation.