Accessibility
Accessibility features of the new smart identity card website
The design of the new smart identity card website has taken into account the capabilities and limitations of the most popular web browsers as well as the needs of people with disabilities. Here you can learn more about the international guidelines on accessibility which the new smart identity card website has observed and the various accessibility features built into the new smart identity card website.
Accessibility Statement, Guidelines and Advice
The new smart identity card website adopts web accessibility design and conforms to the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) internationally recognised Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 to the level AA (Double-A conformance). This means that it meets both basic and advanced accessibility standards and can be used by most people with special needs. The new smart identity card website also uses Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and style templates that standardise all the pages on the portal, thus enhancing accessibility.
For guidance on building government websites, you can refer to the Guidelines on Dissemination of Information through Government Websites issued by the Home Affairs Bureau.
Guidelines on Dissemination of Information through Government Websites (PDF File)
Accessibility Considerations on the new smart identity card website
Ensuring a high level of accessibility is an ongoing process, and the new smart identity card website is continually reviewed for improvement. The new smart identity card website is fully accessible to all people with different levels of accessibility requirements. Consideration has been given to the following areas to ensure that the new smart identity card website is accessible to all:
Accessible by Popular Browsers and Operating Systems
The HTML 5 standard has been applied to the webpages on the new smart identity card website, and users can access them with any browser that complies with the standard. But exactly how a webpage is displayed differs between browsers, computers and operating systems. For the best viewing, we suggest that you use the latest version of Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari or Google Chrome.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Users who may be less adept at using mouse, such as the blind or those with neuromuscular impairments, may need to use the keyboard without a mouse to browse a website.
The new smart identity card website was designed in a way that you can use the keyboard exclusively to access all features and contents. For example, when you use the tab key, the cursor will move to all of the menus, hyperlinks or input boxes one by one in a logical order.
Some browsers also provide keyboard shortcuts that can make it easier to browse the website with your keyboard only. Lists of shortcuts for Internet Explorer and Firefox are available through the following links.
Keyboard shortcuts for Internet Explorer
Keyboard shortcuts for Firefox
Compatibility with Screen Readers and Screen Magnifying Software
The new smart identity card website has been tested against the common screen readers and screen magnifying software used by the visually impaired in Hong Kong, including NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA), Chinese JAWS and Windows Light. The new smart identity card website also works on screen magnifying software such as Zoomtext. More details about how the new smart identity card website's design addresses the needs of screen reader users are available through the following link.
Should you have any enquiries or comments, please contact us by email at enquiry@immd.gov.hk.
