Accessibility Standards & Guidelines

By addressing these standards, you will ensure the greater universal accessibility of your web content.

Graphics and Media

Ensure that text and graphics are understandable when viewed without color
If color alone is used to convey information, people who cannot differentiate between certain colors and users with devices that have non-color or non-visual displays will not receive the information. When foreground and background colors are too close to the same hue, they may not provide sufficient contrast when viewed using monochrome displays or by people with different types of color deficits
Minimize use of graphics
When using graphics, always choose clear images
Provide text equivalents for every non-text element (images, graphical representations, image map regions, animations, applets and programmatic objects, frames, scripts, etc.) via “alt”, “longdesc”, or in element context
Alternative text is especially helpful for people who are blind and rely on a screen reader to have the content of the website read to them
Caption and/or provide transcripts for media
Videos and live audio must have captions and a transcript. With archived audio, a transcription may be sufficient
Ensure that users can skip, pause or play multimedia and flash presentations
Never blur images
When graphic contains important information, provide it in text format as well
Do not use graphics to indicate a state i.e. on/off; yes/no

Ensure accessibility of PDF files, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations and Adobe Flash content
PDF documents and other non-HTML content must be as accessible as possible. Consider using HTML instead or an accessible alternative. PDF documents should also include a series of tags to make it more accessible. A tagged PDF file looks the same, but it is almost always more accessible to a person using a screen reader

Follow basic rules of good design
Do not rely on color alone to convey meaning
The use of color can enhance comprehension, but do not use color alone to convey information. That information may not be available to a person who is colorblind and will be unavailable to screen reader users
Make JavaScript accessible
Ensure that JavaScript event handlers are device independent (e.g., they do not require the use of a mouse) and make sure that your page does not rely on JavaScript to function.
Use Markup and style sheets and do so properly
Mark up documents with the proper structural elements. Control presentation with style sheets rather than with presentation elements and attributes