Hornsey Historical Society is committed to ensuring that this website can be used by as many people as possible and have done our best to make this possible.
We have tried to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)2.1 at level AA, and also institute best practices wherever possible. We are continuing to make gradual improvements. If you encounter any problems using the site, or have any suggestions to improvements we could make, please let us know by email at .
Key design considerations
- keyboard accessibility
- consistent use of semantic headings, landmarks and lists to make the site easy to navigate
- enhanced visual focus to make it easier to locate where you are if you are a keyboard only user
- multiple ways of finding material, including search, navigation menus and sitemap
- short, descriptive alternative text on all non-decorative images.
- fully responsive design to make the content equally accessible on all different screen sizes
- clear contrast between all text and background of at least 4.5:1
- clear, simple page layouts
Testing
We have tested the site thoroughly using just a keyboard, and with JAWS, NVDA, Voiceover and Talkback screen readers. We have also tested it with the screen magnified to 500% on a range of different screen sizes.
Issues
There are some issues which we are aware of:
Subtitles on videos
Not all the videos included on the site have subtitles. The videos are not hosted on the HHS website or created by the HHS, but are streamed from Youtube and other sources. For some of the Youtube videos, computer generated captions are available, but for others they are not. Where possible we have asked the content producers to provide captions, but they have not always done this.
Replying to specific comments
Almost all the site is completely accessible using keyboard alone, however there is a problem with the commenting system. Although it is possible to leave a comment using just a keyboard, it is currently not possible to directly reply to particular comments with keyboard alone. The commenting system is produced by a third party, not connected to the HHS, and we have informed their developers of this problem and hope that at some point they will rectify it.
If you do wish to reply to a particular comment, and are unable, you can either leave a standalone comment and make a reference to the comment you are referring to, or send an email and one of the web team will post the reply for you.
Lack of long descriptions of images
Although all images have short, descriptive alternative text, we have not been able to provide longer descriptions of the historical images in the postcard and photographic collections. This is because the Society relies on the voluntary effort of a small number of people and unfortunately, with other demands on their time, they have not been able to do this.
Repeated links
In the sections of the website which contain links to various articles, eg the Muswell Hill section, the Crouch End section, etc, the same link is repeated twice: in the title of the article, and then again in the “Read more about …” link. Although each link is descriptive, if you are using a screen reader, you will probably find this repetition mildly irritating. I can only apologise. It is due to the particular template being used which I am not able to change without causing even worse problems.
Feedback
We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of the HHS website, and if you encounter any barriers please let us know and we will do all we can to rectify them.
E-mail:
Mark Tanner