Great care was taken to make sure this website is as accessible as possible.  Accessibility on a website can mean many different things. Described below are several features on this website to make it more accessible for people with differnet internet connection speeds, different monitor (screen) sizes, and different preferences for font sizes.

CHOOSE THE BEST VERSION OF THIS SITE FOR YOUR COMPUTER AND INTERNET CONNECTION
At the foot of every page (pictured on the left), you'll find a little box with a drop-down arrow which says, "Change Version of Website."  To change the version, simply click on the little down-pointing arrow, select the version you wish, and then click the SELECT button.  At any time, you may return to the foot of any page and change versions.

Here are the three available versions of this website:

FULL_CALICO -  This is the full version of the website and how the site is viewed optimally.  Features include:

• Fluid-width - This means that the pages will adjust themselves to the size of your monitor automatically, to maximize your viewing space. 
• Javascript - There are fun and helpful Javascripts enabled on this version.  For example, the drop-down menus at the top of the pages and the "accordion" style left-hand menus incorporate Javascript to keep the layout clean but all links accessible.
• Image Galleries - Many pictures on this website are "clickable," meaning that once clicked, they will open a larger version of the picture.  When viewing these on the FULL_CALICO version, a "lightbox" effect will appear; the window will dim and the larger picture will load along with navigational tools to move between pictures in an album.  You will still be able to access image galleries from any version of the site, but the lightbox effect will only work on the FULL_CALICO version.

OLDER_COMPUTERS -  This version is specifically for people who may be using an older computer or older internet browser software.  What is "older"?  It depends on many different variables, but in general, if your computer is 3-5 years old, you may prefer this version of the website.  A quick way to tell if you need this version is if the website, when set to FULL_CALICO looks a little weird or not correctly formatted.  Try the OLDER_COMPUTERS version and see if the site looks better to you.  Features include:

• Fixed-width - This version is set to 800x600 pixel monitor resolution, so the pages will look uniform on any computer or browser.
• No Javascripts - Some older browsers can't process Javascript, so on this version, the features described above are disabled automatically.
• Faster loading - While all of the versions have been optimized to load at a reasonable time, even on a dial-up computer, pages viewed in this version will load faster due to the Javascript not being invoked.  

TEXT_ONLY -  While you'll still be able to see photos, this version of the website does not contain any "template" so you won't see any of the pretty pictures and layout on the site.   This version is best used for those with an extremely slow connection, old computer, or those who access the site from a mobile phone.

NAVIGATION and SPECIAL TOOLS

This website has a lot of navigational redundancy built in, to accommodate many preferences.  The menus at the top are also mirrored on the left.  These may display differently depending on the website version you've chosen.  Both menus will also display the "active" menu.  In the image on the left, the HOME menu is active (and therefore, the current menu).  This is shown by the teal colored background in the top menu and the same teal color of the word "HOME" in the left menu.  

PATHWAY - In addition to the menus and active menu highlighting, each page contains a "pathyway" which will show you where in the site you are.  In the picture on the left, the little word "HOME" above the Welcome title shows that you are on the Home page.  If you were on the Block of the Month page, however, this pathway would say:

HOME - Projects - Block of the Month

TEXT SIZE ADJUSTMENTS - You may increase the text size on the website by clicking on the tools above the main website menu.  A+ increases the text size, while A- decreases the size.  Reset returns the site to the default text size.  

PRINT AND EMAIL - On most of the content on the site, you'll see two little buttons on the right, Print and Email.  Any article on the site may be emailed to a friend, much like you'd find on other popular websites, by filling out a little pop-up form.  Try it out and send yourself an article! 

The PRINT button will format any individual article for printing.   First, a small window will pop up with the cleaned up content.  Then you just need to press the print button on that little window to invoke your printer. 

SEARCH - At the top of every page, you'll find a search box.  Type anything related to Calico Cut-Ups in this box and it will return a list of appropriate links, just like Google. 

OPEN SOURCE and COMPLIANCE

This website is proudly built using Open Source scripts.  In addition, it was designed to meet W3C standards for CSS Level 2.1 and XHTML 1.0 validation.  If you happen to be a nerd (like the developer of this site) or otherwise interested in what this means, you may read more about validation at this link.  In a nutshell: validation is the process of making sure your website conforms to standards set by various organizations and ultimately helps to make sure your website is interpreted appropriately and uniformly by various internet browser and computers combinations.  Click on the images below to verify this site is valid:

This site also complies with US Federal 508.A  accessibility compliance.  You may learn more about 508 accessibility at this link .  508 compliance ensures that people with disabilities, such as those who use audio reader software to browse the internet, will be able to access and experience a website.