We want our website to be as accessible as possible. To make our website easy to view, we’ve designed it in accordance with guidelines laid down by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).

Taking time over design

We are always looking for ways to improve our website and make it easier to use, following principles laid down by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). We also set our own guidelines.

Our guidelines include:

• Using meaningful ALT text for all images to provide descriptive text
• Using descriptive hyperlink text avoiding the use of frames, which are difficult for special browsers to interpret
• Using an easy-to-see web colour scheme
• Using an easier to read non-serif font type, size and colour

However, making the website easy to use goes further than just colour and fonts. We are also working hard at making sure our site has useful content that is laid out in an easy-to-navigate way, taking into consideration people who use speech readers.

How to change your browser settings

If you want to alter the way you view any website, from the size of text to the colour of hyperlinks, you can change some of the options in your internet browser. To change settings on Internet Explorer, follow the instructions below. These settings should work on most websites but they will not affect images on the screen.

If you have problems changing your settings, use the Help menu in your browser toolbar.

To permanently apply font and colour changes:

• On the browser Tools menu select Internet Options
• On the General tab, select Accessibility
• Click on the three boxes to show ticks
• Click OK to enlarge text
• On the browser Tools menu select Internet Options
• On the General tab, select Accessibility
• Tick the Ignore font sizes specified on web pages check box
• Click OK
• On the browser menu select View
• Click Text size
• Choose the size of text

To change text and background colour:

• On the browser Tools menu select Internet Options
• On the General tab, select Colour
• Deselect the Use Windows colours tick box
• Select the box next to Text and choose a colour
• Click OK
• Select the box next to Background and choose a colour
• Click OK

To prevent graphics and images appearing:

• On the browser Tools menu select Internet Options
• On the Advanced tab, scroll down to the Multimedia heading
• Deselect the graphics options Animations, Videos, Pictures and Images by clicking on the boxes to remove the ticks
• Click Apply then OK

To change the size of the window:

• On the browser View menu select Full screen or press F11
• To change the colour of links displayed on a screen
• On the browser Tools menu select Internet Options
• On the General tab, select Accessibility
• Click on Select ignore colours specified on Web pages (should contain a tick)
• Click OK
• Select General tab and click on Colours
• Turn off the Use hover colours tick box (should not contain a tick)
• Select Visited and choose the colour that suits you best, click OK
• Select Not Visited and choose the colour that suits you best, click OK
• Select OK for Colours
• Select OK for Internet Options

If you have any problems changing your browser settings, use the Help menu in your browser toolbar.