Web Standards

Accessibility standards

The Atlas of South Australia has been designed with standards in mind.We have used web standards and designed the website to help maximise accessibility.

The site has been designed to meet or exceed the requirements of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) where possible. Some pages on the site meet all Priority 1, 2 and 3 checkpoints, with some meeting all Priority 1 and 2 checkpoints only. We intend to improve accessibility further over time.

Access Keys

Access keys enable a user to bring focus to page elements using the keyboard. This may assist those with motor skill difficulties and prove a convenience to all.

The following access keys are available on select Atlas of South Australia pages:

  • 1: Home page
  • 2: Skip to a page's main content
  • 5: Site search
  • 6: Site navigation
  • 7: Site map
  • 8: Legal notices
  • 9: Contact / Feedback
  • 0: Access key details (this page)

Most web browsers support jumping to specific links by typing keys defined on the web site. On Windows, you can press ALT + the access key; If a link, the enter key will take the user to the linked destination. On Macintosh, you can press CTRL + the access key with the return key taking the user to the destination page.

Web Standards

XHTML 1.0 eXtensible HyperText Mark-up Language (XHTML 1.0) is a new standard in Web delivery, aimed at replacing the original HyperText Mark-up Language (HTML). XHTML is a hybrid of XML (eXtensible Mark-up Language) and HTML 4.0.

XHTML 1.0 provides for clear separation of presentation and structure, making maintenance of Web pages easier and helping to minimise the download time for pages on the site. It also provides better browser compatibility and accessibility for all users.

The Atlas of South Australia website uses XHTML 1.0 Transitional. This is useful for browsers that do not support Cascading Style Sheets.

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) Level 2 Cascading Style Sheets are used on the Atlas of South Australia website to apply styles to XHTML documents. Style sheets are designed to provide a consistent look throughout the entire site, and separate the presentation of content from its structure. Additionally, they help minimise the download time for pages on the site.

Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P)

The Platform for Privacy Preferences is used by the the Atlas of South Australia to represent our privacy policy in a format that your Web browser can understand. This allows your browser to make decisions on your behalf - for example, whether to accept cookies from this website. It also makes it easier to find out information on our approach to privacy when using standards-compliant web browsers.

General Browser Requirements

Like the current Atlas, the new version makes use of JavaScript, cookies and pop-up windows. To use all functionality on this website your web browser must:

  • be configured to accept cookies
  • be configured to run JavaScript
  • allow pop-up windows. If you have any 'pop-up blocker' tools installed, you will need to either disable them or set them to allow content from www.atlas.sa.gov.au in order to use certain functionality (such as the measure and identify tools in the mapping environment).

Recommended Browsers

We recommend you use a browser that supports web standards.

The Atlas of South Australia website has been tested with the following browsers which support numerous web standards including CSS, XHTML, and the DOM (a means of controlling the behavior of web pages):

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of browsers that support Web standards, nor a test of browser compliance, nor a side-by-side comparison of various manufacturers’ browsers.

Older browsers can still access the Atlas website, however, as browser technology has improved greatly in the last several years, they are not recommended.