Charlottesville CSS Web Development

Search Engine Optimization & Accessible Web Design
Charlottesville, Central Virginia

Nick StoneMBA

Web Site Accessibility Statement



Web Standards & Accessibility?

Excerpt from Web Standards Project (WaSP) site: (external link)

Accessibility is an important idea behind many web standards...

Not only does this mean allowing the web to be used by people with disabilities, but also allowing web pages to be understood by people using browsers other than the usual ones – including voice browsers that read web pages aloud to people with sight impairments, Braille browsers that translate text into Braille, hand-held browsers with very little monitor space, teletext displays, and other unusual output devices.

As the variety of web access methods increases, adjusting or duplicating websites to satisfy all needs will become increasingly difficult (indeed, some say it's impossible even today). Following standards is a major step towards solving this problem. Making your sites standards-compliant will help ensure not only that traditional browsers, old and new, will all be able to present sites properly, but also that they will work with unusual browsers and media.

Some consequences of ignoring standards are obvious: the most basic consequence is that you will restrict access to your site. How much business sense does it make to limit your audience to only a fraction of those who wish be a part of it? For a business site, denying access to even small portions of a target audience can make a big difference to your profit margin. For an educational site, it makes sense to allow access not only to affluent, able-bodied school-children with graphical browsers, but also to children in regions with poorly-developed infrastructure who are best served by text-only browsing, or disabled students using specialized browsers.

The same principle applies to all types of websites – while straying from the standards and taking advantage of browser-specific features may be tempting, the increased accessibility which comes from standards-compliance will lead to far greater rewards in the long run.

Source: Web Standards Project (WaSP) (external link)

This page explains the steps taken to improve handicap accessibility and conform with the accessibility guidelines listed in the Developer's Statement below.

Web Site Developer's Statement

I have designed and coded this site to comply with:
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act,
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),
and W3C WCAG Priority 1, 2 and 3 (Level Triple-A).
I have performed automated testing and human review and believe this site to be in full compliance with the stated guidelines.

Nick Stone, Charlottesville CSS Web Development April 1, 2007
retested February 12, 2008

Programming and Markup

  • All pages on this site validate as XHTML 1.0 Strict.
  • All pages on this site pass automated testing for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Levels 1, 2 and 3 (Triple-A) using a host of testing software including tawdis.net (external link)
  • Meaningful alternative text is provided for content-rich visual elements.
  • Terminology is marked up with emphasis tags, and acronym tags where appropriate, containing titled explanations.
  • Scripted functions provide only visual enhancements. No essential web site functions require script.
  • Relative font sizes enable text resizing in visual browsers (View menu).
  • Visual layout is entirely style sheet (CSS) based. There is no presentational table-based code.
  • All style sheets enable users to override site formatting with their own customized formatting.
  • All content is accessible in browsers that do not support style sheets.
  • Color-coded content has alternative identification.
  • The status line is not used to convey information because status line data is not accessible to all assistive technologies.
  • The site is coded exclusively with "unobtrusive JavaScript."
  • Script event handlers invoke all script functions.
  • All links are opened in the originating window.
  • All form fields are labeled.
This site makes full use of structured semantic markup as follows.
  • H3 tags are used for page titles.
  • H4 tags are used for section headings.
  • H5 tags are used for section subheadings.

Navigational Access Keys

All major site navigation on the Home Page is accompanied by access keys and each page has an access key (1) to return to the Home Page.

Home Page Access Keys:
  • Access key 1 = Home Page
  • Access key 2 = How Page
  • Access key 3 = Tools Page
  • Access key 4 = Demo Page
  • Access key 5 = Why Page
  • Access key 6 = Design Page
  • Access key 7 = Basics Page
  • Access key 8 = Links Page
  • Access key a = SEO Page
  • Access key b = Repairs Page
  • Access key c = Web Page
  • Access key d = Local Page
  • Access key e = About Page
  • Access key f = Subcontract Page
  • Access key g = Contact Page
  • Access key h = Accessibility Page
  • Access key i = Clients Page
  • Access key j = Results Page
Contact Page Access Keys:
  • Access key 9 = Contact Form
Access The Home Page From Any Page
  • Access key 1 = Home Page

Additional Navigational Aids

  • All pages have rel=previous, next, and home links to aid navigation in text-only browsers.
  • Repetitive navigation is coded below page content to expedite content accessibility for those using screen readers.
  • Major navigation links on the Home Page contain explanatory titles.
  • All other links contain inline explanatory text.
  • Links are provided in content areas to provide expanded explanations.

Suggestions Welcome

Nick Stone welcomes suggestions to improve accessibility. To ensure that Nick receives your comments, please use the form provided on the Contact Page.