I want everyone to feel welcome on my website and I want as many people as possible to find my website easy to navigate and accessible to use. However, I accept my site may not be accessible to everyone.
If you are looking for resources on how to make your personal and professional activities more accessible, go to the Access – Resources page instead.
Click the blue icon near the top left
I’m trying out a simple plugin called One Click Accessibility that helps you adjust text size, change the contrast and/or font. Accessibility plugins often don’t work as well as we’d like – please let me know if it’s causing you any issues.
Access settings on your device
Your device may have lots of accessibility features built-in. You can usually find these in your device settings or system preferences:
- Windows accessibility features
- Apple accessibility features
- iOS accessibility shortcut (iPhone, iPad, etc)
- Android accessibility help, Android accessibility features
Browser settings
- Chrome accessibility info
- Firefox accessibility info
- Microsoft Edge accessibility
- Internet Explorer accessibility
- For Safari, the settings on your device should work
Screenreaders and speech to text
A popular free screen reader is NVDA.
Some devices come with basic screen readers, like Windows Narrator, Chromebooks ChromeVox Apple VoiceOver.
Speech to text: Most internet browsers and some devices and programmes have dictation, automatic captioning or transcription built-in (see accessibility features at the top of the page).
High contrast and vision access
1. First, try using your device settings to adapt the colours, contrast, font and page size and appearance to suit you:
- Windows 10: search ‘ease of access’ in toolbar or specific terms, like ‘contrast’ or ‘mouse settings’
- Windows 11: Settings > Accessibility > Contrast themes
- Apple and iOS: go to System Preferences > Accessibility > Display
- Android: Settings > Accessibility > Text and display
2. If your device settings don’t work for websites you’re visiting, try changing your browser settings:
- Chrome browser settings: Menu (3 dots) > Settings > Appearance
- Chrome browser extensions: Chrome high contrast tool and Chrome colour enhancer
- Firefox High Contrast: Menu (3 lines) > Settings > Accessibility > High Contrast
More info on RNIB technology hub.
Mobility access
Cognitive and neurodivergent access
- Apple cognitive access tools
- Microsoft Edge Immersive Reader
- Helperbird (free/paid) overrides all websites and can be used on your device
- Apps and browser extensions can be found in each app store for different access requirements – read reviews and use only highly-rated apps
About this website
My website is built using WordPress and their Accessibility Coding Standards state that “All new or updated code released in WordPress must conform with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (opens in new tab) 2.1 at level AA.”
I have done my own research, using WebAIM and other accessibility guides as references. I’ve used an accessible-ready WordPress theme, and used fonts, font sizes, colours and other settings to create a more accessible website.
I’ve used WebAIM and NVDA to check different elements for levels of accessibility. I’ve included alt text for all images, reduced links that open in a new tab, included captions in my own videos, occasionally added audios, considered more simplified layouts and tried to use language that is easier to understand.
While I do have a decent understanding of building websites using platforms like WordPress or Squarespace, I’m not a professional coder or web developer. I’ve tried to achieve Level AA with the majority of my website and believe (through the tools above) I have achieved Level AAA with some elements.
Feedback
Feedback of all kinds is important to me – please contact me with any feedback or comments.
Updated: March 2022