Week 3: Accessibility check on Public websites
March 19, 2009
For our week 3 blog assignment we have to discuss how a public website which is listed on http://www.gov.ie/en/sites addresses accessibility with regards to Tools, Layout, Design and Structure.
For this assignment I have chosen the Bord Gáis Website – http://www.bordgais.ie
Bord Gáis is synonymous with natural gas. However, the structure of the energy industry has changed significantly since the introduction of market liberalisation and Bord Gáis now has a variety of roles within the gas industry in Ireland. In addition, Bord Gáis has expanded beyond its original base into the electricity supply market. Bord Gáis has two main businesses – Networks and Energy. Bord Gáis has over 600,000 customers; many of these would use this site.
The Home page:
Bord Gáis Homepage
The home is divided in 6 parts, the two businesses are on either side Energy and Networks, and the other parts consist of useful information or tools e.g. Quick Links, How can we help you? And also the Safety advice number is located on the bottom right hand corner. The site is based in the centre of the page and also is minimal; however there are a number of links along the top which you can click to navigate around the website.
Tools:
I checked the site to ensure it provides appropriate alternative text in which this case Bord Gáis have done so for each picture and links. This will help users who need a narrator to read the screen and understand what is on it. I also went through the website with the ‘tab’ key to ensure that users with motor disabilities could also go through the website with ease; this site was in chronological order when I did this. Bord Gáis have ensured tools used to help the user are enabled on this site.
Layout
This site is well layout ensuring the user is not overwhelmed by too much information, it is divided into 6parts, and these are all of relevance to the user. The links across the top of which there are 11, all needed. All pages fit although they could have made the site a bit wider as so there is less scrolling in some of the pages with a lot of writing. Also including the sitemap was a great idea, as this may help many users as you can see the whole site and understand how to get to the subject of your preference.
The Sitemap
Bord Gáis Sitemap
Design
This websites home page is small in size and this should help with downloading time. The content is clear and easy to read. The colours used blue purple and green do not cause any problems to people whom suffer from all colour-blindness, as I ran a check of this on http://www.vischeck.com. Bord Gáis have ensured people with Visual, Hearing, Motor and Cognitive disabilities can use this website with ease.
Structure
The website has been well structured. There are no problems with the site apart from the width, too much scrolling on some of the pages. The site is accessible to all of the users.
