Development Standards and Browser Compatibility
Access Washington has been developed using a standards-based design, which adheres to web standards. Using a standards-based design allows Access Washington to:
- Reach a broader audience;
- Be compliant in a large majority of Web browsers; and
- Be fully accessibile to our users
The Access Washington design adheres to and uses the following standards, guidelines and requirements:
- ISB Computing and Telecommunications Architecture Policy
- Web Presentation Guide 5.0
- State Standard for Internet Markup Language
Style sheets
Access Washington uses style sheets to implement a site-wide look and feel consistency. The presentation is defined using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets.)
Keeping the presentation in separate documents and applying it to a set of HTML documents reduces the size of the document, which in turn provides
our users with faster load times. A drawback with CSS is that older browsers (specifically Internet Explorer 5 or older and Netscape 4) do not always
display content as designed. If you use one of these browsers you may consider upgrading to a newer browser. Using newer browsers will not only
allow you to view Access Washington as designed, but perhaps more importantly, will provide better security for you as a user.
Documents
Access Washington uses
XHTML 1.1 Modular Framework 1.0 to format content. Well-formed code significantly reduces display differences in various browsers.
Accessibility
Washington State is committed to providing employees and the public, including individuals with disabilities, access to its Web-based information and services.
Coding with standards (particularly CSS for positioning, and strict HTML) makes accessibility an easier goal to achieve, as standards have been created with accessibility in mind.
The Department of Social and Health Services offers the
Washington Video Relay Service to assist residents who are deaf or hearing impaired to communicate via the Internet.
Suggested Browsers
Access Washington is compliant and usable in Netscape and Internet Explorer browser versions 4.0 and above; however, below is a list of suggested browsers, which will maximize your Access Washington user experience:
- Mac: Netscape Gecko-based browsers such as Mozilla and Mozilla Firefox, Opera
- Linux: Netscape Gecko-based browsers such as Mozilla and Mozilla Firefox, Opera
- Windows: Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, Mozilla, Mozilla Firefox, Opera.
Learn more about upgrading your browser:
If you have difficulty viewing Access Washington in a particular browser, please contact the
Help Center.