As we continue to move into an age where the internet is available in every household, it’s important for those who may have difficulty seeing, or hearing, to be able to access the information and resources available on our website. That is why we’ve recently updated our site to be accessible following the recommendations outlined in the Americans With Disabilities Act.
ADA and Website Accessibility
The American With Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights law that prohibits the discrimination of any individual based on a disability. To be ADA compliant means you are providing accessibility to those who may need assistance, outside of what is normally provided. This can be anything from an entrance ramp, a handicap stall, to signs with brail underneath, or a website that allows for visual and hearing impairments.
Adjusting the functionality of our website, in order to accommodate those with hearing and visual impairments, has been a priority for National Drug Screening. It’s vital that our site can be used by those that need to control a computer from their keyboard, as well as those using a screen reader. Some of the most important components that we have improved include:
- Forms – Our contact forms and drug testing forms are not only fully functional on all devices, but they are also easily accessible by users operating with a screen reader, or using a keyboard.
- Navigation – all aspects of our navigation menu are now accessible and fully controllable with a keyboard or screen reader.
- Images – we went through our entire website and updated all images with full and accurate descriptions of each image for those that are visually impaired, who may use a screen reader.
- Accessibility Menu – we added an accessibility menu that provides additional features that help improve text and color visibility, which we will explain more below.
Accessibility Menu
All features of the accessibility menu are mobile responsive and available on all browsers. By clicking on the icon, on the right-hand side of the screen, you can access the menu and select one or multiple functions available. This allows for people with both temporary and permanent disabilities to navigate easily through our website.
Keyboard Navigation
Activating the keyboard navigation allows a user to tab through all clickable components of a website page, instead of using the cursor.
Cursor
This feature enlarges the cursor to make it easier to see. When you double click on this option, a reading guide is activated which allows the user to easily read the text on a page line by line.
Contrast
Contrast changes the colors on the website to accommodate those with different types of color blindness, or issues with light sensitivity.
Bigger Text
The bigger text feature enlarges the text 4x the size from the original font.
Desaturate
Similar to the contrast feature, desaturate removes all color from the screen and displays all content and design in black and white.
Highlight Links
The highlight links feature does just that – it highlights all clickable elements on a webpage. Clickable elements, in most cases are internal links, will take you to another area of the website.
Legible Fonts
This feature removes the stylized font used for the content and replaces it with a plain font/text that makes it easier to read.
Read Page
When activated, this feature will read all content of a webpage. This is useful for people that don’t need the permanence of a screen reader but may require help reading specific content.
We Encourage You to Try These New Features
These updates, along with smaller behind the scenes changes, have really enhanced the user experience for NationalDrugScreening.com. If you look on the right side of the screen, you will see an icon that allows you to access the features listed under the accessibility menu section, above.
ADA website compliance is quickly moving from being an unknown to a reasonable and necessary expectation. At National Drug Screening, we are proud to be at the forefront of this movement and will continue to lead the way in providing drug and alcohol testing and information, to all.
If you would like to learn more about the drug testing services we provide, please give us a call at 866-843-4545 or visit our home page.
