derbyshireconservatives.co.uk has been designed with accessibility in mind. Below are ways in which we have tried to achieve this.

Content separate from design

We have tried to keep the content of pages separate from design as far as possible. This is to enable the user the ability to disable or adjust features such as colours or text size to their choosing. Using the Beez template as a foundation has allowed us to move away from a table based layout to a more flexible modular layout.

Alternative media representation

Where media such as images and videos have been introduced into the site's design and content, an alternative - usually text - representation has been given.

'Skip to content'

A 'skip to content' link is provided at the top of the page which skips the content in the top bar, as well as the left and right columns, and jumps directly to the page's main content. In most modern, graphical browsers, the link will be hidden by default, however for handheld devices and speech synthesisers, the link should be active.

Standards compliance

We aim to keep the website standards compliant to ensure compatibility in as many browsers and devices as possible, both in the content markup (XHTML) and design and layout (CSS).

Accessibility standards

The site is validated against Section 508 of the USA's Rehabilitation act, a benchmark often used for ensuring website accessibility.