An initiative from Chris Andrews Web Services
Out of frustration with many websites online today whose text is virtually unreadable, sometimes it's too small,
and often it's virtually the same colour as the background, I have determined to make every site I design accessible to read for
everyone. This might seem an obvious thing to do, but achieving this level of access is not always easy or straightforward. But
in my view, it's a worthwhile goal.
I have chosen the title 'Clear - Site: web access for everyone', as this describes the purpose of my endeavour.
To achieve this outcome I have developed my 4 point accessibility check:
• text readers - (used by visually impaired people) must have access to all pages and all links on the site. In
addition, fully descriptive text must be included with every 'graphic'.
• clear text - must be used which is not too small and must be readable against its background.
• big text (sometimes called 'Large Text') - is a link I provide to assist people with poor eyesight. The
function of this link depends on the format of the 'host' website. It may take you to an alternate version of the site with larger
text, such as 'printer friendly' pages, or it will take you to a page where I show you how you may use the controls on your browser
to enable you to enlarge the text on your monitor. more info>>
• relevance - The website design and content must be relevant and appropriate for its purpose.
When a site passes these tests I place the 'Clear - Site' logo on its Home Page.
The Challenge
The web is evolving all the time, so too are the aspirations of web designers, as are the protocols designers have to work
with when creating their pages.
Accessibility issues are central to the design process and often affect the way a design is put together. They should not, however,
impose unreasonable limits on creativity, even though they will often pose a challenge which needs to be met.
I am lucky to have a good friend and colleague who uses a 'reader', and he checks all my work for accessibility and reports his
findings. I will only consider a site ready for the 'Clear - Site' logo when he has confirmed it works well for him.
Other Schemes
The R.N.I.B. promotes a scheme whereby a website may be submitted to them for analysis. They will award a logo for the
site to display if it meets their criteria. This process is quite involved, it's expensive and needs to be repeated annually for
a site to continue to display their logo.
W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) are the people who design and impose the standards used by web designers. They run a scheme for
accessing the accessibility of websites. This is free to use and fast, unfortunately, they seem to be mainly interested
in looking at the big corporate sites and checking them for readability by automated systems. As a consequence they
will exclude by default a great many websites from being eligible for their logo, even when these sites are totally
accessible to blind and poorly sighted people.
Clear - Site
Until now, there have only been two organisations offering a logo for placement on a website in recognition that it is accessible
to all. But as one of these schemes is expensive - and needs to be renewed every year, and the other automatically excludes a lot
of very good sites (it will not recognise any site unless it is coded using 'xhtml' protocol, or higher), there has been no way to
indicate to the public that the site designer has recognised these issues and taken steps to insure his/her site is accessible
to all.
I believe it is now time for a simple scheme based on the twin principles of accessibility and readability, that may be
used by all web designers to make sure their sites can be accessed by everyone. This is why I have developed the 'Clear – Site'
scheme, and the logo to indicate 'web access for everyone'.
Design considerations
I am planning to discuss the wide-ranging technical aspects of the issues involved. This section of the site is still
being developed at this time.
I welcome your comments and thoughts on this new scheme
I think most people share my belief that web pages need to be accessible to everyone, and if they are they should be able to
display a simple logo to that effect? (I have clicked away from many websites in the past for the sole reason I was unable
to read the text, and my sight is good, so that can't be good for the site owners, especially when they were retail sites
trying to sell me things.)
Please email your comments and thoughts to me for posting on this site (Terms and Conditions apply). I hope you will contact me
if you are a web designer and have your own concerns about design standards and accessibility. I also want to hear from 'users',
the people who look at the sites we build. What are your views on this matter?
My name is Chris Andrews and I look forward to hearing from you.
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