Skip Navigation Hotkeys

Search and Service

Use with screen readers

In addition to a uniform and semantic page structuring, page accessibility with the help of screen readers is facilitated by meaningful alternative texts for all images and the labeling of abbreviations and acronyms.
The website can be easily operated with the help of the keyboard and the use of skip links also benefits users of screen readers. Additional information is still provided with the help of Accessible Rich Internet Applications.

Page title

Each web page has its own page title that reflects the content of the web page. Screen reader users can thus quickly see what to expect on the web page and already have a good first point of orientation.

Headings

The headings of the website are clearly and logically structured and cover all contents of the website. Thus, page sections and areas at the head and foot of the web page are also provided with headings (structural navigation). Screen reader users can thus jump from heading to heading or display a list of all headings. The page areas of the web page can be reached quickly with the help of the additional headings and give the user a good overview of how the web page is structured and what information to expect.
The navigation area is introduced by the level 1 heading (H1), the content of the current page as well. All other areas start with the level 2 or 3 heading.

You can reach the individual page areas with the screen reader button for the H2 and H3 heading and the top of the page with the button for the H1 heading. You can get to the beginning of the page content or navigation using the H2 heading button.

Landmarks

Furthermore, the page areas are introduced by WAI-ARIA landmarks, which inform you in which area of the website you are currently located. This makes orientation even easier for the blind and visually impaired, and the page layout is clearer.

Note for users of the screen reader JAWS:
As of JAWS version 9, you can use the keyboard combination "Insert" Insert + "Control" Ctrl + ; to display a list of all orientation points. You can also use the ; key to navigate through the landmarks on the web page. In the NVDA screen reader, this would be the d key.
The website forms are enriched using WAI-ARIA to provide important information for screen readers in forms mode.

Page layout

All pages of this portal have the same structure:

  1. Skip links to directly reach selected areas of the current page.
  2. List of keyboard shortcuts
  3. Service navigation with, among other things, user help (information for personal page customization, font sizes, etc.) and links to hints, content and help texts
  4. Quick search with a form for searching the entire website
  5. Content area with the actual content of each page
  6. Supplementary notes with the possibility of direct entry/quick entry to certain areas of the portal
  7. Copyright notice, logos to the project sponsor and project promoter
  8. Page footer with renewed list of linked keyboard shortcuts for better orientation for blind users at the bottom of the page.

Links

Links that open in a new window are provided with a corresponding hint in the TITLE attribute. Users of screen readers must first activate these additional functions in order to receive the hint.

Forms

The forms provided on these pages are equipped with extensive aids that enable them to be used in a wide variety of ways. Special attention has been paid to aspects of accessibility.

Form features in detail:

  • The input fields are labeled and can also be accessed using the tab key.
  • Mandatory fields are highlighted and additionally provided with markups according to the WAI-ARIA concept.