Web design
Pre Press
Documents Scan and OCR
Scanning and OCR - FAQ
CD Burning
Transfer old tapes to CDs
Power Point Presentation
Document Transformation in Acrobat Format
SEARCH
Making a Web site appears in our days as an easy and not demanding occupation. There are so much sources of information, models, templates and even ready to go site construction sites, that for someone who is not involved in the details of this problematic, it will really appear as a 30 minutes effort.
Unfortunately, or who knows, fortunately, it is not true. To create an ordinary site, even a personal one, you need a lot of knowledge, strength and desire to succeed. To create a really good one, to attract visitors and to keep them, you need to be a wizard, and... to work in a team.
So, here you will find a brief list of the technical exigencies toward a person who would like to create web sites. If you really think that you or someone in your team can do everything in this list, please do not contact us. In every other case, if you find that the professionalism is preferable and will save you time, efforts and money, click here and we will contact you as soon as possible.
If you come with us you should expect to receive a site responding to these criteria, to mention some but not all:
Making Web Pages
Universally Accessible
If "universal design" principles are employed, all visitors
to your Web pages can access the content. Universal design means to concentrate
on content rather than flashy graphics and audio and to consider the full
spectrum of potential users. Make the information presented in documents,
menus, graphics, video clips, and other materials accessible to everyone.
This paper summarizes simple guidelines you can employ to make your World
Wide Web pages easier to use by visitors with a diverse set of characteristics.
Screen Layout
Maintain a simple, standard page layout throughout your site. Buttons,
navigational links, and logos should always appear in the same places
on each page. A consistent layout will help anyone visiting your site
find and access the information you are providing, but, in particular,
will benefit people with specific learning disabilities, with visual impairments,
and for whom English is a second language.
Background
Similarly, keep your page backgrounds simple and make sure there is adequate
contrast between the background and the text. People with low vision or
colorblindness, and those using black-and-white monitors may find it difficult
to read information at sites with busy backgrounds that obscure text.
Choose background, text, and link colors carefully and maintain high contrast.
Access your site using a variety of Web browsers and monitors to test
your choices.
Buttons
Make the buttons on your page large enough to be accessed by someone with
limited fine motor control using a standard mouse or someone using an
alternative input device because of a motor impairment. Larger buttons
will make selecting options easier for all visitors, especially those
with restricted hand movements.
Format
Use universally recognized HTML elements. HTML (Hypertext Markup Language),
the standard code used to create Web sites, works with elements that tell
Web browser software where to find and how to display information on the
screen. Some non-standard elements are not recognized by all browsers.
Make sure that a visitor to your Web site is not required to use a specific
browser to access the information provided. Avoid formatting elements
(such as <BLINK>) that are not supported by all Web browsers. If
you follow this design principle, everyone, particularly those who are
blind, benefits.
Graphics
Some visitors to your site cannot see pictures or drawings. This may be
because they are blind, because they are using graphical browsers with
the feature that loads images turned off, or because they are using slow
modems with text-based browsers such as Lynx. Provide alternate text for
each graphic so that those who cannot view the image can access the information
it provides.
Similarly, include descriptive captions for pictures on your site and transcriptions of manuscripts provided in image format. Word descriptions carefully to provide concise, relevant information for the visitor who will not see the picture or manuscript that is included in the image.
Include a short, descriptive ALT attribute for each graphical feature on a page. The attribute, which works with HTML image tags to give alternative text for graphical features on the page, allows descriptive text to appear on the screen and tell visitors about the appearance and content of the graphic. When sighted persons with graphical browsers access the page, they see the graphic; when blind persons or other users using text-only displays access the page, they can read the alternative text.
Text-based menu alternatives should be provided for image maps to assure that the links embedded in the image maps are accessible to those accessing only the text of the page. Image maps are graphics that contain multiple areas that, when selected with a mouse or other pointer, link you to another Web page or section. The only method of making image maps accessible is to provide a text alternative. Anyone using a browser without graphics capability, those who cannot see images, and users who have turned off loading of graphics all benefit when this guideline is followed.
Link Descriptions
Make links descriptive so that they can be understood out of context.
Blind visitors who use screen reader software and speech synthesizers
can set their software to read only the links on a page. It's important
to them that the text in the links provide enough information when read
without surrounding material. For example, "click here" does
not provide adequate information for a blind user to determine if this
is a link he/she wishes to pursue.
Audio
If video clips or sound clips are used at your site, be sure to provide
captioning and transcription for visitors who are deaf. For example, if
an audio file contains a dialogue or song lyrics, a transcript of the
file should be presented on the screen. Also, audio within a video clip
may contain information that should be provided in descriptive text form.
Special Features
Most screen readers read from left to right, making the information presented
in tables confusing to blind users; for this reason, consider alternatives
to tables. Similarly, frames are often impossible to make sense of by
blind users; avoid them. Forms and databases can also be difficult to
access; when using them, test with a text-based browser to see if they
are adequately supported. Applets, plug-ins and other special features
often do not employ universal design features. Providing text alternatives
to access the information provided by these special programs may be the
best access solution. If you cannot make some features accessible to everyone,
direct visitors who cannot access the information provided through these
features to an electronic mail address for help.
Testing
Test your Web pages with a variety of Web browsers. One of the browsers
used should be a text-based program such as Lynx. If possible, also examine
your pages using browsers on different platforms (e.g., Macintosh, PC
and XTerminal) and with color and black-and-white monitors. In addition,
test your site for accessibility using "Bobby." Bobby, created
at the Center for Applied Special Technology, is an HTML validator program
that tests for accessibility and identifies non-standard and incorrect
HTML coding. Bobby is located at http://www.cast.org/bobby.
Accessibility Note
Post a note prominently on your home page indicating that you are committed
to making your pages accessible to everyone and that you are interested
in feedback. For example, the DO-IT home page includes the statement "The
DO-IT pages form a living document and are regularly updated. We strive
to make them universally accessible. You will notice that we minimize
the use of graphics and photos, and provide descriptions of them when
they are included. Video clips are open captioned, providing access to
users who can't hear the audio. Suggestions for increasing the accessibility
of these pages are welcome."
Redundancy, Redundancy,
Redundancy
Should I say that one more time? Many potential access problems are avoided
if you deliver information in multiple modes. If material is to be conveyed
using audio or video files, provide text alternatives. If it is provided
in graphical form, make sure a text alternative is available for blind
users using voice output and others using text-based browsers. Along with
redundancy, consistency and simplicity are keys to accessibility. When
more information producers take care to assure that their Web sites adhere
to universal design principles, a larger audience of Internet users will
be able to make use of the wealth of information resources on the 'Net.
Contact
Nestor Communication
officesolution@excite.com
Tel./Fax: (905) 238-0873
This site is optimized for 800x600 pixels and higher screen resolution.
Copyright © 2002 Nestor Communication