Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
From Checklist of Checkpoints for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines:
- Priority 1
“A Web content developer must satisfy this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it impossible to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint is a basic requirement for some groups to be able to use Web documents.” - Priority 2
“A Web content developer should satisfy this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it difficult to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint will remove significant barriers to accessing Web documents.” - Priority 3
“A Web content developer may address this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it somewhat difficult to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint will improve access to Web documents.”
Priority 1
- Use text equivalent for all non-text content (e.g. by using alt attribute for images), including images, audio, video, animations, etc…
- Use text equivalent for all links
- Ensure information conveyed with colour is available without colour
- Ensure documents can be read without stylesheet
[Stylesheets are a method of separating the formatting of a document from the content.] - Avoid causing screen to flicker
- Use clearest and simplest language appropriate for site’s content
- Use < th > to identify header cells
[Tables have two types of cells, < td > and < th > should be used for a table header rather than using < td > and < strong > tags. Bad example and good example.] - Ensure pages are usable when scripts are turned off
- If page can’t be made accessible then provide a link to an alternative page that is accessible
Priority 2
- Ensure foreground and background colour provide sufficient contrast
- Use markup rather than images if possible
- Use valid HTML
- Use stylesheets
- Use relative rather than absolute units
- Use headings to convey document structure
- Mark up lists properly
- Use < blockquote > for quotations, not to indent text
- Don’t make content blink
- Don’t automatically refresh page (example)
- Don’t automatically redirect page, except on the server
- Don’t open new windows or popups (example)
- Use metadata
- Include a site map or table of contents
- Use navigation tools
- Don’t use tables for layout unless the tables make sense when linearised
- Avoid movement in pages
Priority 3
- Expand abbreviations and acronyms where they first occur
- Identify the primary language of a page
- Until browsers render adjacent links distinctly include characters between adjacent links
- Provide navigation bars
- Provide different search functionality for different skill levels
- Provide a means to skip over ASCII art. If you have to use ascii art at all.
- Have consistent user interface
- Provide summaries for tables