Web Accessibility Tips
We are committed to making our website accessible to all audiences, including individuals with disabilities. Help us with this goal by ensuring that all content attached to your website is made accessible.
What is Accessibility?
Not everyone uses their computer in precisely the same way. Digital Accessibility ensures that individuals with disabilities get equal access to websites and documents, no matter their requirements. It also allows users to consume content in a variety of ways, including reading it out loud or viewing it on a mobile device.
Explore 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ’s Accessibility Commitment to learn more about accessibility.
What am I Responsible For?
If you work with the 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Web and Digital Strategy team on your website, we will work to ensure that your web content is accessible. However, if you have any attached documents such as PDFs or Word Documents, we ask that you ensure that these documents are accessible. Videos, such as YouTube videos should have human-corrected Closed Captions.
Third-Party Links
51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ is not responsible for the accuracy, authenticity, or accessibility of third-party websites. We encourage departments to research the most reliable and accessible resources wherever possible. However, these resources are outside of the 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ domain/network and cannot be reviewed or remediated on behalf of the original authors. If the content is managed by a 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ entity, then accessibility guidelines must be followed.
What Format Suits My Attachment?
Much of the read-only content on your website can be built as a web page. This is often the easiest to make accessible, and the easiest for you to maintain. If something cannot be built as a web page, then all attachments should be submitted as accessible PDF where possible.
Recommendations for Different Attachments
Below are our recommendations for common types of attachments. If it is decided that it absolutely has to be on your site as an attachment, then make sure that you provide an accessible PDF.
- Forms – Does your form need to be an attachment (downloadable and submitted physically?) or can it be created as a fillable and electronic form via Qualtrics?
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Charts, Informational Displays and Brochures – These are very difficult to represent on the site, so check with the Office of Accessibility Resources to help you make these accessible.
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Maps – We recommend writing detailed directions on your page. Alternatively, you can link to the maps page with Google integration. If you use MyMaps within Google maps to create a custom map for your purpose, we could embed it within your site. Screenshots of the generated maps will not be accepted.
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Flyers – We no longer accept flyers to post anywhere on the website. Information should be integrated within the webpage.
What We Do Not Build as Web Pages
The best way to ensure accessibility is to build out information on a web page. However, that may not always be ideal depending on the information and our policies of what we can and cannot build out as html pages. Documents we cannot convert to HTML include:
- Catalogs
- Manuals
- Strategic plans
- Reports
- Faculty, staff or student publication lists
- Handbooks
- Memos/signed letters
- Vendor Documentation
How Do I Make Documents Accessible?
Accessible documents have a few basic elements, like headings and image descriptions, that enable them to be read in different ways.
While this is a big topic, learning about accessibility doesn’t have to be overwhelming. The best place to start is with accessibility training, and we also have a number of articles that cover quick tips and core skills. Support is also available from our Web Accessibility Specialist and the Office of Accessibility Resources.