Swiss Post: Accessible surfing at Swiss Post
December 04, 2012 | by Swiss Post
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December 04, 2012, Swiss Post has optimised access to its websites for people with disabilities. Swiss Post customer care can now be contacted in sign language in Swiss German, French and Italian. At the same time, both conventional and mobile access to www.postshop.ch have been redesigned to remove barriers to accessibility for people with disabilities. The accessibility features at www.swisspost.ch and www.postbus.ch have also been enhanced. In recognition of this, both websites have been awarded the AA+ certificate by the Swiss "Access for All" foundation, in compliance with the latest WCAG 2.0 guidelines.
Deaf customers can now contact Swiss Post using sign language. Using the website www.swisspost.ch/customercare and a webcam, deaf customers can now record and submit an enquiry as a video message in sign language. The video is translated into writing by an interpreter and passed on to Swiss Post customer care. The response from customer care is then translated back into sign language and sent to the customer by e-mail. Enquiries can be made in Swiss German, French or Italian sign language. Swiss Post is the first company in Switzerland to offer this kind of service for the deaf. The service will initially be offered for one year, but will be continued thereafter if there is sufficient demand.
postshop.ch now fully accessible
The mobile version of www.postshop.ch is now also accessible to the disabled. This makes Swiss Post the first company in Switzerland to offer an accessible online shop for mobile devices. Both iOS (iPhone, iPod) and Android devices are supported. The traditional web version of PostShop now also includes a link to the accessible mobile version. This means that at www.postshop.ch, people with disabilities, and in particular the blind and visually impaired, can now enjoy a full, unrestricted shopping experience with postage-free home delivery.
Accessible to all
Swiss Post’s websites have been very easily accessible to people with disabilities for a number of years now. In 2008, the "Access for All" foundation awarded Swiss Post’s websites the AA+ certificate, the highest-level certificate as defined by the WCAG 1.0 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0) applicable at the time. The foundation has now again awarded the Swiss Post website ( www.swisspost.ch) and the PostBus site ( www.postbus.ch) the AA+ rating for very good accessibility. The new certificate is based on the updated version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, WCAG 2.0. In December 2011, PostFinance received the same award for www.postfinance.ch and its e-finance solution.
AA+ for numerous enhancements
Swiss Post achieved the recertification thanks to a wide range of technical and content changes to its websites. These changes mean that blind people can have content read to them by voice output software. The visually impaired are able to display all text and images in any size they like. Those with physical disabilities can navigate around the website using only one key, and captions allow those with hearing difficulties to easily follow all audio content. These improvements also benefit those with age-related conditions.
Media Contact:
Swiss Post Oliver Flüeler Head of the Media Unit Corporate Communication Viktoriastrasse 21 3030 Berne Phone: 058 338 13 07 Fax: 058 667 31 72 presse@swisspost.ch
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Source: Swiss Post, Press release