CSU Web Accessibility Standards
Making Web Resources Usable and Accessible
Access to information by all members of its learning community is inherent in Colorado State University's mission as an institution of higher education. However, consideration must be given to the universal design of university web resources to insure that all members of our community, including those persons who have disabilities, have reasonable access to this information. For those web resources that cannot be made accessible, consider providing alternative methods for people to obtain the information such as a phone number, e-mail address or an office location. These guidelines are based on Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (as amended) and the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Access Initiative. These standards are in keeping with the spirit of current legislation such as ADA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Section 255 of the Telecom Act.
1) Page Organization Requirements
a. HTML/XHTML should be used to mark up content, while design and presentation should be achieved through style sheets.
b. If color is used to convey pertinent information (e.g. a bar chart or an instruction to click on a blue button), make sure the information is available in another format.
c. Tables and frames should use titles, headers and descriptive field names to facilitate identification and navigation.
Some other page organization suggestions to make pages more accessible:
Start with a text version and then fill in web components.
Use relative fonts.
Use a consistent format — layout (templates, Cascading Style Sheets), fonts, "white space".
Provide good contrast between background and text colors.
2) Hypertext Links and Image Maps Requirements
a. Links should make sense if read out of context; not "click here".
b. Use client side image maps rather than server side.
c. Image map links need to be duplicated as text links to ensure accessibility.
Some other hyperlink suggestions to make pages more accessible:
Provide a method that allows users to skip repetitive navigation links.
Use large enough navigation buttons to ensure they are easily read and manipulated.
3) Graphics Requirements:
a. Use alt attribute to describe all graphics.
In DreamWeaver:
Select an image. Properties window should appear. (If it doesn't appear, go to Window|Properties). On the bottom right side of window is the word "Alt" with a blank text box beneath. The text that you type in this box will appear as alt text.
In Front Page:
Right click on an image and select properties. Under the General Tab, under Alternative representations, is the Text box. Fill in alt text here.
HTML code:
<IMG SRC="/images/morgan.jpg" width="258" height="144" alt="Morgan Library photo.">
b. Use moving/animated graphics sparingly and consider alternatives for these items.
4) Multi-Media Requirements
a. Equivalent alternatives for "content rich" (informative vs. decorative) multimedia presentations should be synchronized with the presentation. For video, the soundtrack should be captioned and pertinent video described. Audio should be captioned and transcribed. Additional information on accessibility and multi-media can be found at: http://ncam.wgbh.org/richmedia/.
5) Plug-ins, PDF and other Applications Requirements
a. When a plug-in is required to view pertinent web content, provide a link to download the plug-in. If you are unsure if the plug-in meets accessibility standards, provide the information in an alternative format.
b. When using PDFs, also provide the information in an HTML format.
c. Adobe provides PDF accessibility information and tools at: http://access.adobe.com/.
d. Information on JAVA programming applets and accessibility at: http://www.sun.com/access/.
6) Online Forms Requirements
a. Ensure logical navigation – TAB key should flow sequentially through form; all fields and boxes should be properly with labels preceding the input box.
b. Provide text alternative or another way for people to obtain the required information.
c. Use text to alert users of time restrictions. If the time restriction cannot be met or extended, provide users with an alternative.
7) Scripting Languages Requirements
a. Use HTML/XHTML whenever possible. When scripting is disabled a page should still be completely usable.
Some other scripting language suggestions to make pages more accessible:
When scripts convey additional information or perform a function that affects the user's interface, a text description should be provided before the script executes.
8) Test Your Work
a. View your pages with different browsers, e.g. Netscape, Internet Explorer, Safari, Lynx. The Opera browser has an Accessibility View which shows a helpful text only view of a web page.
b. View your pages using different operating systems.
c. Check your page against an accessibility tester such as WAVE (http://wave.webaim.org/) or Cynthia Says (http://www.cynthiasays.com/ ). See http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/ATRC/tools.htm for other validators and usability checkers.
Resources:
http://accessibility.colostate.edu - this site has the CSU Accessibility Policy and the CSU Standards.
http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/ - this site has the World Wide Web Consortium Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. http://www.section508.gov and http://www.access-board.gov/508.htm - these sites post the governmental guidelines for technology accessibility.
http://webaim.org - this site describes "why" and "How to" make web pages accessible. Great resource.
http://access.adobe.com - this site provides tools and resources for making web sites accessible with Adobe/Macromedia products such as Dreamweaver. In Dreamweaver, go to File>Check Page>Accessibility, and check your site for accessibility as you design it, just like you would spell check your work.