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Colophon Page

What is a colophon page? According to Wikipedia, a colophon refers to a "brief description usually located at the end of a book, describing production notes relevant to the edition." However, on the internet a web site may have a colophon "which frequently contain (X)HTML, CSS, or usability standards compliance information and links to Web site validation tests."

This colophon does just that, it explains what I have done as I have built this web site. This site is written to XHTML 1.0 Strict standards using CSS 2.1 and 3.0 properties and PHP 5 technology.

This site is written to be viewed by any browser, but is best viewed in browsers that adhere to XHTML and CSS standards. If you are using Internet Explorer 7 or below you really should upgrade to a modern browser such as Firefox, Safari, Opera, Chrome or Internet Explorer 8. You will find that sites that are written to web standards will look better and perform faster than old browsers.

This site is also built with usability in mind. You will find that there should be distinct contrasts between foreground and background colors to enhance readability. Navigation is consistent throughout the site. The pages are also laid out using appropriate heirarchies of headers so that if the page were to be viewed as an outline, the page would make sense.

The site is also build with handicapped users in mind. Keep in mind that no page is perfect but I have attempted to meet basic accessibility standards (WCAG level 1 priorities and many level 2 and 3 priorities as well). A list of accessibility features built into this site is shown below:

  • Jump directly to the content of any page using the first link on each page.
  • All links are accessible via the keyboard using the Tab key to move through the links on the site.
  • Layout is consistent on all pages.
  • Page content is identified using clear titles and headers.
  • Content is structured using headers appropriately.

This site is an evolving work in progress and hopefully will continue to improve and become more usable and accessible.

If you have questions or suggestions I am always interested. Please feel free to contact me. Thank you.