ictQATAR aims to provide a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of visual, hearing, motor and cognitive impairments.

ictQATAR takes seriously the requirements of users with visual and motor disabilities. This site is currently Bobby A accredited.

ictQATAR is working towards implementing higher levels of accessibility in the future development of the site. The following guidelines outline major tips for designing websites that users can easily access. The tips also explain how web developers can overcome situations where some web content will not be accessible to some users, as well as offering some insights about how to offer more dimensions to a web story, by introducing audiovisual and content to stir the interests of web users.

For more information, refer to the Web Accessibility Initiative at: http://www.w3.org/WAI/quicktips/Overview.php

Simple tips for web developers to follow to start creating accessible pages:

If you changed your display options in Windows to use high contrast, Internet Explorer will ignore your Windows settings and display the page as it was originally created.

To view pages in high-contrast mode, do the following:

1. In Internet Explorer, on the Tools menu, click Internet Options and then, on the General tab, click the Accessibility button.

2. Select the Ignore colors specified on Web pages, Ignore font styles specified on Web pages, and Ignore font sizes specified on Web pages check boxes, and then click OK. For information about viewing pages in high-contrast mode using other Web browsers, refer to the Help for your browser.


Alt text (or alternative text)

Images used on our online pages contain alt text (or alternative text), which provides a text description of the image for use with screen readers and other assistive technologies. In cases where alt text would provide no information or would simply repeat surrounding text, alt text may be excluded.

Longdesc Attribute

The Longdesc (or long description) is an attribute that can be used when the web developer wants to provide a long description, or the URL of the image.

Image Maps

An image map is a list of coordinates relating to a specific image, created in order to hyperlink specific areas (or hotspots) of the image to various destinations (as opposed to a normal image link, in which the entire area of the image links to a single destination).
When using image maps, it is advisable to use client-side maps which enable the browser to automatically direct the user to the destination hyperlinked on the hotspot. You can also identify hotspots by writing them in larger fonts, or by simply underlining them.

Using Multimedia

When using multimedia content, web developers need to provide text descriptions to ensure that all users will be able to understand the audio or visual content. Captioning and transcripts of audio, as well as descriptions of video are recommended.

Hypertext links

Hypertext most often refers to text on a website that will lead the user to other, related information on demand. It is essential that the text makes sense when read out of context. For example, avoid "click here." which is limited to the context of the article in which it is found.

Page organization & layout

Use headings, lists, and consistent structure. Use Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for layout and style where possible. It is also useful to include tables, charts and graphs for demonstration. When designing the webpage, a ""noframes"" design would be more appropriate, so as not to divide the webpage into separate, inconsistent areas. It is also advisable to design the page in a way that enables line-by-line reading, to ensure that the content is accessible and comprehendible to visually impaired users in particular.

Scripts, applets, & plug-ins

Not all content can be accessible or downloadable to users' computers. In case active features are inaccessible or unsupported, it is always advisable to provide alternative content.

Finally, check your work, and use tools, checklist, and guidelines at http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG

Further information

For help about accessibility features within Operating systems and Office programs, search Help within the program you want for information about keyboard shortcuts and other specific features of interest.


Tell us what you think

We are interested in improving the accessibility of the ictQATAR's site Online. Please let us know how we're doing and how we can improve by sending questions and giving us your comments through the contact us form.