15 Tips for Accessibility
Techniques to make your Web site more accessible for people with disabilities.
This list is based on guidelines from Section 508 and World Wide Web Consortium and best practices for accessibility. Brook Group incorporates Tips 1-7 into our Basic Accessibility package, while the rest are available with Accessibility Plus.
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Text equivalents for images
- Provide alternative text that conveys the same meaning for visitors who cannot see the images.
- Complex graphics, such as bar charts or movies, need special attention if your site needs maximum accessibility.
- Use text instead of images where possible.
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Structural markup
- Use structural HTML markup so the organization of your document is clear even if the visitor cannot see your images or CSS style sheet.
- Use HTML markup to denote headings and lists.
- Give every page an appropriate page title.
- Extra benefit: this will help boost your site’s rankings in the search engines.
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Minimal use of tables
- Avoid complex nested HTML tables – they make it difficult for blind users to understand your page.
- For sites that need maximum accessibility, use HTML tables for data tables, but not for page layout.
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Standard HTML code
- Avoid sloppy or non-standard HTML code – they can cause your page to “break” in some browsers. Disabled users may use special software (such as “screenreaders”) that cannot handle badly written code.
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Clearly labeled links
- Links should be understandable when taken out of context. Avoid using “click here.”
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Avoid frames
- Sites with frames are difficult for most users to use.
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Color should not be critical
- Color-blind or low-vision users should be able to understand your site without the benefit of your color cues.
- Use sufficient color contrast.
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Keyboard-accessible
- Make sure the site can be used with a keyboard – a mouse should not be necessary.
- As you tab through the page using a keyboard, the tab order should make sense.
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Works without CSS
- If your visitor does not use your site’s CSS style sheet, each page still needs to make sense.
- Put the content of your pages in logical order in the code.
- Use bulleted list code for navigational menus so all users can understand the structure of your site.
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Skip repetitive links
- Provide a mechanism for keyboard-bound users to skip over repetitive links (the navigation menus).
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Mark up forms
- Add extra code to form fields so that blind users’ software can read it properly.
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Mark up data tables
- Mark up the column and row headers correctly for data tables, so that blind users can understand their relationship to the data in each table cell.
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Accessible JavaScript
- Use JavaScript judiciously; make sure it is keyboard-accessible and understandable, or provide an alternative.
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Accessible plug-ins
- Avoid using plug-ins unless necessary.
- If a file requires a plugin (for example, PDFs or movies), warn the user and provide a link to download the software.
- Make sure the file itself is accessible.
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Give the user more control
- Use relative font sizes so that the user can resize it to a size that works for him or her.
- Use text instead of images where possible, to support zooming in.
- Consider making your page layout “liquid” – meaning the layout adjusts when you change the size of your Web browser window.
Accessibility is ongoing
- Before you even build the site, evaluate the design. Is it legible and understandable? How will you code the HTML?
- Code a couple of sample pages first. Test them manually and with testing tools. After you fix them, build out the rest of the site.
- Test the site after it’s built.
- When changes are made to the site’s layout, or new content is added, make sure that it continues to be accessible and incorporate feedback from disabled users.
