Introduction

The foundation has accessibility as its core value. Her own website must of course be accessible. The website must be set up in accordance with international accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.0). This does not only mean that information is quickly accessible and accessible. Information must be easy to find and understand for people with reading disabilities.

Phase 1: Accessibility information

a. External

The website must be quickly visible via the search engines. That requires "Search Engine Optimization". See phase 7.

b) Intern

There are a few things that are important to get information quickly.
Navigation The navigation structure should be logical and intuitive. The number of clicks to reach the desired information should be limited. A guideline is a maximum of 3 clicks. Choices Short list boxes, such as a menu, should consist of as few parts as possible. A number of 6 or 7 is the maximum. This number of options can be seen at a glance, as it were. Order In addition, the order of the items is important. People remember the first and last part of a series best. This is the so-called 'serial position effect'. That is why 'Home' is almost always on the left and 'Contact' on the right. Visitors to websites are used to this. The other parts are usually placed in order of importance.

Phase 2: Accessibility, Reading Restriction

The website must meet a number of conditions for people with reading disabilities. We divide this group of people into blind, visually impaired, color blind and others. The latter category includes dyslexics and low-literate people.

a. blind people

Structure Every page must have a (hidden) layer with navigation elements. These are: title (H1), paragraphs (H2) and sub-paragraphs (H3). These headings are read or read with the aids. Links In addition, links are recognized in the text. Preferably very short link texts with the most important word first. Images Images are not detected by the tools. If the information in an image is relevant, add a so-called Alt text. This text will be noticed by the resources. Provide a brief description of the relevance of the image in this Alt text. Downloads Often a document, usually in PDF format, is provided via a link. These documents themselves must also be accessible again.

b. visually impaired

Other conditions also apply to the visually impaired.
Navigation Visitors who have difficulty working with the mouse, usually navigate with the keyboard. They use the tab key and shift tab key for this. These keys move to the next or previous item on the page. Those are the title, paragraphs, sub-paragraphs or links. You can 'see' which element is active (the tab focus). There is usually a frame around it. "Enter" selects an item.Font Use a sans serif font. Arial and Verdana are examples of this. Font size * Font size, line spacing Choose the size of the font so that there are between 60 and 70 characters on a line of text. The line spacing must be at least 1.25 times greater than the number of dots of the selected font size. Contrast The contrast between foreground and background should be large. The requirements set by W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) are leading. Use a program like “Color Contrast Analyzer” to measure the contrast. Excess light Bright light in the background can be very unpleasant for a visually impaired person. The text and images are almost illegible. Reading is very strenuous and often leads to headaches. A less bright background is then necessary. However, the contrast must be large enough. Visually impaired people have to make choices for each individual. Use dark mode on computer or tablet. The area around a page is then dark gray or black. Part of the bright background light has already been removed. Furthermore, it is possible to lower the brightness of the screen on any computer or tablet.

c. Colorblind

Certain color combinations are not recommended. Software can simulate what a web page looks like to a colorblind person. The forms below can be tested.
Monochromatopsia (complete)Monochromatopsia (partial)ProtanopiaProtanomalyDeuteranopiaDeuteranomalyTritanopiaTritanomaly

d. others

illiterate people
Reading level The reading level of texts must be low for these people. Use short sentences for this. The use of words should be simple and close to the spoken language. Writing such texts is difficult. Reading level test A reading level tool is available on the 'Accessibility' website. Use it to test the reading level of a text. If it is written at reading level B1, then the text is understandable for about 80% of the Dutch. Very often government notes are written at reading level C1. That means that only 20% of the Dutch understand that. Offer a lower reading level In addition to the 'regular' display, the texts may also have to be written at A1 or A2 level. Also help these people personally to understand information relevant to them.
Dyslexic
Short sentences, simple use of words Texts must be legible for these people. Use short sentences for this. The use of words should be simple and close to the spoken language.

Phase 3: Accessibility, hearing impairment

If there is a video or podcast on a web page, subtitling is a solution.

Phase 4: Visitor reading behavior

A visitor to a web page leaves quickly if the attention is not held.

a. Inverted pyramid

Each item must be written according to the principle of the inverted pyramid. With the door in the house, start with the core message that is then further elaborated. What is in the top part of the pyramid is essential. The further you get into the article, the less important the information.

b. Simple Grammar

A web text must of course be understood. Don't use difficult and subject-specific terms, don't use very long sentences or super long lists. By omitting this, you increase the readability of the texts. The visitor is more likely to read on.

c. Structure at a glance

Make sure everything that belongs together is together. Check after every three sentences if it is possible to create a new paragraph. This keeps the text legible. Give each paragraph a subheading.

d. writing style

Short sentences (12 words), short paragraphs. Use a direct and active writing style, avoiding 'becoming' and 'will'. Simple (colloquial) language, not too technical.

Phase 5: Features

a. Search function

In addition to the basic navigation, a search function is often added. In fact, this function is only needed on 'large' websites. This function has not (yet) been added.

b. Contact Form

A contact form is useful for communication. This is a good way to report accessibility issues, for example. It is important that the website visitor can also contact us by e-mail, telephone or letter. People with a visual impairment often have difficulty with contact forms.

c. Font size function

A font size feature is available on some websites. For a visually impaired person can adjust the size to your own needs.

d. Black/white - color function

Some websites have a feature that allows a black and white screen.

Phase 6: Visual upgrade

Web pages should also be visually appealing. A web page should be a pleasing composition of images and text. The images must have a relationship with the relevant information part.

Fase 7: Search Engine Optimization

In order for a website to be easily found in search engines, keywords must appear in the URL and domain name. It is also important that the title and URL of each page contain a unique keyword. It is also desirable that keywords are added in the headings (H1, H2 and H3). Give a website a maximum path depth of 3 directories.
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