Accessibility
Development of this website has been driven by accessibility standards and we are committed to providing a usable website for every visitor regardless of ability or disability.
More accessible websites usually result in a site that is easier for everyone to use.
This website incorporates plain English and is developed to W3C's guidelines. These include Transitional XHTML, WCAG guidelines and cascading style sheets (CSS).
WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)
All public sector websites are required to meet WCAG guidelines (new window) on accessibility to Level A standard and should aim to satisfy Level AA standard. We have developed the website to these guidelines however a site with over 20,000 pages is very hard to maintain to these high standards.
The WAI Triple-A is the highest level of accessibility and one that we will strive to meet through further development.
We are currently reviewing WCAG 2.0, which is the new version of the original WCAG guidelines described above. We will aim to meet these requirements.
If you have any comments or suggestions please submit an enquiry to Customer Services.
Navigation
Across the top, left and right of the web pages there are navigation areas that will aid you in navigating the website. Above the main content of pages you will see signposting to show where you are within the website.
The right hand side navigation will show Useful documents, Useful information and External web links if appropriate to that area of the website.
You can also find pages quickly and easily in our A-Z Index.
Keyboard Navigation
The table below displays areas of the website that can be controlled via a keyboard.
Each top level area page shows Information in this area comprising of its second level areas with clickable titles and summaries of their content.e.g. Business You can enter key words or phrases into this search box found in the top right of every webpage and then either click the magnify glass icon or press enter/return on your keyboard. The results will be returned and clicking on a search result will then take you to that page
Searching
Each second level area page shows Information in this area comprising of its third level areas with clickable titles and summaries of their content.e.g. Business > Trading standards
Each third level area page shows Related pages for this information area comprising of clickable links to all content at that third level area e.g. Business > Business Rates > Contact Details.
Interactive Mapping
Interactive mapping is a graphically intensive web application and one that cannot currently incorporate full accessibility standards. We are working with our software supplier to make this area of the website more accessible.
Accessibility Limitations
These include:
- Adobe PDF downloadable documents
- Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint downloadable documents
- Web applications such as the Libraries Catalogue Service and YouTube.
We are making every effort to overcome these issues by making improvements to their accessibility; failing that, we provide accessible alternatives.
Downloading Documents
There are a number of Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format) and Microsoft Word documents on the website. If you are having trouble opening these files you may need additional software:
For Adobe PDFs, download the latest Adobe Reader software (opens in a new window)
For Microsoft Word documents, download the latest Word Viewer software (opens in a new window)
If you need alternative formats of our downloadable documents (such as in plain text or Braille) or if you experience any accessibility problems with our site, please contact us via Customer Services .
Flintshire County Council accepts no responsibility for third party applications. When selecting any third party applications, we ensure the highest accessibility standards are applied to ensure they can be used by all users of our website.
Flintshire County Council Accessibility Statement.