Usability
This is the measure of the quality of a user's experience when interacting with a Website or software application. At Netcat, it is central to everything we do.
Accessibility
Do you know that 1 in 5 people have some kind of disability ranging from visual impairment to poor motor skills or learning disabilities? At Netcat we believe the internet has the potential to broaden the lives and increase the independence of people with disabilities.
The Netcat approach to usability incorporates elements of accessibility, design, and information architecture.
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For people creating content, we’ve designed our software to be logical, intuitive and easy to use.
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Netcat meets all Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) to enable the building of W3C and Section 508-compliant sites with no additional overhead.
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Netcat conforms to current Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) & is rated AA, satisfying all Priority 2 checkpoints.
Device independence
Netcat generates accessible sites that download quickly and where the information is readable on any device: personal computer, PDA etc.
Standards driven
Netcat conforms to current web standards: XHTML 1.0, HTML 4.01, CSS 2.0 as well as Disability guidelines, W3C (Priority II) and Section 508.
Remember, accessibility practices and standards are not just for users with disabilities, they are sound design practices which improve the usability of a website for all users.
Follow this tips to help ensure ease of use...
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Give section titles meaningful names
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Use roles, not individuals for describing content owners
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Manage content currency by entering update dates
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For large documents like PDFs, show file sizes & download times
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Avoid hyperlinks longer than 10 words.
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Provide captions or transcripts & descriptions if multimedia is used.
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Provide enough contrast between text and background color.
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Avoid gimmicks – features should have a useful purpose
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Avoid the use of JavaScript or plug ins
Web standards
Conforms to current web standards: XHTML 1.0, HTML 4.01, CSS 2.0.
Disability Standards
Conforms to important W3C and Section 508 guidelines: ATAG compliant, WCAG – Rated Priority II
Labelling and Markup
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Separates content from presentation by using css2
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Uses text for all navigation
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Auto-generates “alt-tags” for images and multimedia items
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Facilitates the use of clear labels and titles for all navigational elements and links
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Uses flexible metadata tags to summarize graphs & charts
Display
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Uses relative units in CSS - % instead of cm, pt, or px.
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Uses scalable text
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Manages tables so that they are screen-reader compliant
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Ensures pages are readable without style sheets
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Supports interactivity, but is not reliant on it
Link management
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Dynamic generation of links – if the content moves, the link moves automatically.
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Uses descriptions to ensure links make sense when used out of context.
