Web Accessibility

This website was designed in compliance with international guidelines for accessibility (WCAG 2.0) of the W3C, as well as the German BITV.

What does web accessibility mean?

An accessible website means that all content and information contained in the site are also accessible for people with disabilities or restricted sensory perception.
However, accessible webdesign also has advantages for other users.

Typical disabilities or restrictions for visiting a website may include:

Visual:Blindness, color blindness, age-related hyperopia
Audio:Deafness, hearing disabilities
Motor skills: Inability to use a mouse (e.g. due to injuries or lack of fine motor skills), slow reaction time
Cognitive:Lack of concentration, as well as inability to focus on difficult, comprehensive and complex texts, or to comprehend complicated and badly structured content

Some typical features of an accessible website are:

Navigation without mouse

Navigating the website is possible using the Tab key or shortcuts.

This allows people who are not willing or able to use a mouse to navigate and use the website.

Clear structure of content

The user knows at all times where on the hierarchy of the website the accessed content is.
There is a sitemap which displays the website's structure clearly.

This allows all people, especially those with cognitive impairments, to understand the content of the website.

Legibility of content

Line width and spacing comply with standards and allow for good legibility.
Adequate contrasts, for instance those found in colored fonts or backgrounds are taken into consideration.
Font size, page view, etc. can be re-scaled.

This allows for good legibility of the website's content for all people, especially those with visual impairments, such as age-related hyperopia.

Comprehensibility of contents

All contents are comprehensible or offer alternatives.
Terms or abbreviations are explained (e.g. through flyout-Texte that appear on mouse over).
Links and their paths are clearly recognizable; the user knows which content they link to. (Avoidance of links such as:…more, read more here, etc.)

This allows all people, especially those with cognitive impairments, to understand the content of the website.

Separation of content and layout

All content can be displayed correctly and in logical order using text-only browsers or screen readers for users with disabilities.

This also applies for all users which have turned off the display of images in their browser so that only text is displayed.

This allows for accessibility to the contents of the webpage for all users, especially those with visual impairments.