Accessibility for All
An estimated 48.9 million people, or 19.4% have a disability. ( source: (NSIP) The actual numbers may vary due to many factors which include temporary disabilities and disabilities caused by sudden accidents or illness. Then consider the segment of the population whose sight, hearing and mobility may change as they age. It’s important to understand how people with disabilities use the web. To gain more of your preferred market share you need to include them by making your website Accessible to them.
Join us in supporting Global Accessibility Awareness Day.(new tab)
This Website has been tested utilizing various online testing tools and native users of screen readers and other assistive technology, and has been reported as compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) of the World Wide Web Consortium Web Accessibility Initiative (W3C WAI). All attempts are made to ensure the correctness and suitability of information under our control and to correct any errors brought to our attention.
This website is also used for education and presentations, so the content and code goes through temporary changes from time to time which could temporarily impact it’s accessibility.
Some of the measures we have taken to make our site accessible include:
- added alternative text to our images;
- using a consistent and predictable layout throughout the site;
- selected a color scheme with accessible minimum contrast ratios;
- incorporating skip links to navigation, content and site map;
- ensured the website can be navigated by the keyboard alone;
- designed the site so all content is able to be zoomed;
- ensured the hyperlinks are clearly visually detectable;
- and other accessibility features.
We continue to work with designers and developers knowledgeable in accessibility.
With every major update we retain an independent accessibility audit (WCAG 2.1 AA) by a third party to manually test and inspect all areas of the website.
As with most software, our Website core software and software add-on programs require incremental updates to maintain it’s security and functionality. With every update to our Website’s software, we make every effort to help maintain the accessibility of our Website for users with disabilities. During such updates or during troubleshooting sessions, there may occur short sections of time that the website is not functioning at it’s optimum and certain components are not available. During these updates or troubleshooting efforts the Website may display errors that are part of the process being worked on. Once an update is complete, new compliance testing is conducted to uncover any residual errors that need immediate attention. Any areas in need of update or adjustment are immediately addressed.
Feedback
We welcome your feedback .If you use special adaptive equipment and encounter problems when using this website, please report them using the contact information provided on the website.
Technical specifications
Accessibility of SMDA website relies on the following technologies to work with the particular combination of web browser and any assistive technologies or plugins installed on your computer:
HTML
WAI-ARIA
CSS
Javascript
These technologies are relied upon for conformance with the accessibility standards used.
Formal complaints
We aim to respond to accessibility feedback within 5 business days, and to propose a solution within 10 business days. You are entitled to escalate a complaint to the national authorities, should you be dissatisfied with our response to you.