Accessibility

Accessibility is part of doing things properly.

Veterans Backbone wants its website, information and services to be accessible to as many people as reasonably possible.

People access information in different ways and may experience barriers because of disability, health conditions, technology, communication needs or circumstances.

Accessibility is therefore something we should consider as Veterans Backbone develops, rather than something bolted on afterwards.

Different needs don't make somebody difficult.

We're trying to make this thing usable.

When building and maintaining the Veterans Backbone website, we aim to consider things such as:

• Clear headings and page structure
• Readable text
• Good contrast between text and backgrounds
• Useful alternative text for meaningful images
• Keyboard navigation
• Visible keyboard focus
• Descriptive links and buttons
• Layouts that work across different screen sizes
• Forms that are understandable and properly labelled
• Avoiding unnecessary complexity

Not everybody is sitting at a massive monitor.

The website is intended to work across desktop computers, laptops, tablets and mobile phones.

Pages should adapt to smaller screens without forcing people to constantly zoom, scroll sideways or wrestle with navigation.

The website shouldn't assume everybody uses it the same way.

Some visitors may use assistive technology or accessibility features such as:

• Screen readers
• Keyboard-only navigation
• Screen magnification
• Browser zoom
• Voice control
• Device accessibility settings

We aim to build pages in a way that supports these technologies wherever reasonably possible.

Plain English beats impressive waffle.

Accessibility is not only about technical standards.

Information can be technically accessible and still be almost impossible to understand.

Veterans Backbone aims to use straightforward language, explain things clearly and avoid unnecessary jargon wherever possible.

Sometimes technical, legal or specialist terminology cannot be avoided. Where possible, we should explain what it actually means.

Accessibility doesn't stop at the website.

Someone may need a different way of communicating with us or taking part in support.

Where reasonably possible, Veterans Backbone should consider individual communication and accessibility needs rather than assuming one method works for everybody.

That may mean adapting how information is explained, allowing additional time, using a different communication method or considering another reasonable adjustment.

Work with the person standing in front of us.

Tell us what you need.

Accessibility needs may also apply to Veterans Backbone events, meetings and activities.

Where possible, relevant accessibility information should be provided in advance and people should be able to tell us about reasonable adjustments they may require.

We may not always be able to remove every barrier, particularly where venues or circumstances are outside our control, but we should be honest about that and look for practical alternatives where possible.

A PDF isn't automatically accessible because it opens.

Veterans Backbone may publish policies, governance documents, guides and other downloadable information.

We should aim to make important information available in an accessible format where reasonably possible.

If somebody cannot access a document we have published, they can contact us and ask whether the information can be provided in another suitable format.

Accessibility is ongoing.

Veterans Backbone is developing, and so is this website.

We cannot promise that every page, document or third-party service will always be completely accessible.

Some accessibility issues may also come from platforms or services that Veterans Backbone does not directly control.

What we can do is take problems seriously, fix things we reasonably can and avoid pretending something is accessible when it isn't.

Please tell us.

If something on the Veterans Backbone website is difficult or impossible for you to access, we want to know.

It helps if you can tell us which page, document or feature caused the problem and what happened when you tried to use it.

If you need information in a different format, tell us what would make it more accessible for you.

You can raise a complaint.

If you have raised an accessibility problem with Veterans Backbone and believe it has not been handled appropriately, you can use our complaints process.

The other important bits.