1  2

Keeping your Web Site Accessible - Details

Accessibility for Users with a Variety of Software and Hardware

"What you see is what you get" is not a phrase that springs to mind where web site design is concerned. Because people use different browsers and PCs, the look of your page can vary accordingly. The factors which affect how your web page looks on another person's screen, are:

• The browser used (e.g. Internet Explorer, Netscape Communicator)
• Type of PC (e.g. Windows, Apple Mac, Acorn)
• Plug-ins installed (e.g. Flash, Java-enabled)
• Speed of phone connection (e.g. 33,600, 56K, ISDN)

For example, Netscape Navigator/Communicator uses different page margins to Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Similarly the Internet Explorer marquee effect (where text scrolls across the page) displays blank on Netscape browsers. It is recommended that you try to obtain a preview of your web page using other browsers if possible. You might test using the "big two" (Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator), and also with a text-based browser (the most popular is Lynx). If this is not possible, you should use a browser-mimicking software such as Browserola.