The design of World Physiotherapy’s website is guided by the United Nation's Manila Design Recommendations on Accessible Information and Communications Technologies (ICT). Within reasonable financial resources, World Physiotherapy will do everything practically possible to ensure its website is:
- accessible to those with disabilities
- compatible with a wide range of web browsers and gives consideration to the type and speed of internet connections
Achieving these aims should benefit users with temporary or long-term disabilities, including those who are blind or have low-vision, limited mobility, hearing disabilities, and those who require adjustments due to characteristics associated with aging or limiting environments.
Some of these features on this website which aim to make it widely accessible include:
Text size
The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) website provides useful tips and advice about improving web accessibility.
Alternative text
Images on the World Physiotherapy website have alternative text attributes, often known as “ALT text”. This means that when an image is used on a web page its content is also described in the ALT text. As a result, the image can be understood by text browsers and assistive technologies such as screen readers which aid users who listen to the content of the site rather than reading the site.
Links
Links to external sites or alternative file types, such as PDF or Word documents open in new windows. Links to other pages on the World Physiotherapy website open in the existing browser window.
This website includes links to documents and websites of external organisations which may not provide full accessibility.
Layout
The layout of web pages is controlled by style sheets which enable people using a screen reader to navigate the site logically. Users can also choose to disable the style sheets and/or replace them with their own, to fit their specific needs. With style sheets disabled the user is able to skip the navigation and go straight to the main content.
Tables are only used to present data or information that is best displayed using columns and rows.
Menus and navigation
All menu items are text rather than images of text. This makes sure they can be interpreted by screen readers and are still legible if images are not downloaded.
World Physiotherapy recognises that some visitors to its site may have motor skills difficulties and/or may not have JavaScript enabled within their browser. This website does not rely solely on dynamic (drop-down) menus. Each top-level menu item is a link in its own right to a section home page, which then provides the same menu options (as provided in the drop-down menu) as static text links. This top link is available with JavaScript switched off.
A site map is provided offering a series of text links that mirror the menu structure of the website.
Colour
The World Physiotherapy website was designed with colour impaired visitors in mind. We aim to conform to minimum contrast requirements for visitors with colour-blindness or other ocular impairments that could prevent them from reading text that does not have sufficient colour contrast with background colours.
The website never relies exclusively on colour to convey information.
Software you might need
Some documents on the World Physiotherapy website are provided in PDF format. Adobe Reader is needed to open these files and is available for download free of charge from the Adobe website. This software contains many features specifically designed to make it easier for people with disabilities to read PDF files, regardless of whether the files have been optimised for accessibility. The following links may be useful:
- download Accessible Adobe Reader (English – Windows)
- accessing PDF Documents with Assistive Technology: A Screen Reader User’s Guide
- online conversion tools for Adobe PDF documents
Scripting languages
This website was created using only standard web technologies. The site does not require special scripting languages or plug-in software to navigate or use. Where JavaScript has been used for enhanced features, those features are hidden when a visitor has JavaScript disabled or does not have the appropriate version.
Contact us
Accessibility testing on the World Physiotherapy website has been conducted using automated tools and manual procedures. If you cannot fully access the information on any web page of this site, please email [email protected] and we will try to provide the information to you in an alternative format or make the necessary improvements to make the information accessible.
