Regelingenbank Stadskanaal gains GAWDS Web Accessibility Award, Second Quarter 2008
The Regelingenbank Stadskanaal site is a great example of a simple and effective design that offers a rich set of accessibility features to those who need them. As the site is from Netherlands and only one of the pages is in English, we needed to use the Babel Fish translation service to view the site. If, like us, your Dutch is a little rusty then you may like to view the site in English.
Or another language of your choice using Yahoo! Babel Fish.
This excellent site was awarded a 'Quality Universal Award' by Accessites in October of last year. It was built by GAWDS member, Koen Willems.
First impressions are that the site is clean and has great layout. There's no clutter, and there's a preferences link (vorkeuren) to an Alladin's cave of options. Here one can change things like contrast, text size and even mouse cursor colour. You can also define your own set of access keys (sneltoetsen) with a sensible recommendation to use only numeric keys to avoid conflicts with existing user agent shortcuts. On the top of every page there is a text resize option that works flawlessly, also a search field and site map link to help you find what you are looking for.
There are plenty of standard features with accessibility enhancements. Links had a nice keyboard focus highlight, not too subtle to miss and not too harsh to make you reach for your sunglasses.
Documents were available to download in multiple formats, so if PDF isn't your thing then you can view in rich-text instead. The only issue we had here was that the file format (say PDF) isn't typically included in the link information, so screen reader users viewing the site using the links list feature will know the file size, but not file type without reading the alt attribute of the adjacent image, but this can be easily remedied.
Other good features of note:
- The breadcrumb trail can be found within just a few presses of the Tab key, providing quick access to the navigation history for some switch users who may struggle to access the browser controls.
- The required fields (verplicht) on forms are included in the form label, thereby providing screen reader users with all the information they need to complete the forms without receiving unexpected errors for missing mandatory fields.
- Good heading structure provides quick hierarchical navigation for screen reader users via the headings list.
Overall, a well structured site packed full of accessibility features and a well deserved winner of the GAWDS Award.
— Review by Grant Broome and Jon Gibbins
About the GAWDS Web Accessibility Award in association with Accessites
In order to improve the quality of submissions for the Site of the Month, GAWDS partnered with the talented team at Accessites. Each site is checked thoroughly before being submitted for the Award, ensuring that all submissions meet strict accessibility criteria. The team then select some of the best sites to be shortlisted for the GAWDS Award.
If you would like to submit a website for the Award, send your nomination to the Accessites submission page.
If you are a GAWDS member with good technical auditing and writing skills and would be interested in writing a quarterly review, then please let us know.