The accessibility guidelines for government websites and their accessibility to people with disabilities are referred to as “website accessibility.” Sometimes generally referred to as Section 508 compliance, these rules are designed to benefit people with visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive and neurological disabilities.
For more background on website accessibility, visit our explainer blog, Website Accessibility Standards: What You Need to Know.
If you are already familiar and ready to make your website Section 508 compliant, simply follow the checklist below. While these guidelines are required for federal websites, they are also important for any company looking to design an accessible website.
Checklist for Website Accessibility The following standards are excerpted from Part 1 of the Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, §1194.22 and summarized from WebAim.org.
An alternative text (alt tag) should be included in every non-textual element, such as photos and videos. Any multimedia presentation’s equivalent alternatives should be synchronized with the presentation. All information that is communicated through color ought to also be accessible without color, for instance through context or markup. Documents should be readable without requiring an associated style sheet (i.e. document should make sense even with the style sheet is turned off).
Redundant text links should be provided for each active region of a server-side image map.
Server-side image maps should be replaced with client-side maps. Row and column headers should be properly identified when utilizing data tables. Markup should be used to link data cells and header cells in data tables with two or more logical levels of row or column headers. The purpose or content of each frame ought to be described in the title of each frame. The page should not have any elements that flicker or flash at a rate of 2 to 55 cycles per second. This is to reduce the risk of optically-induced seizures.
When there is no other way to make content accessible, a text-only version of the webpage should be created and maintained.
When a page utilizes scripting languages to display content, the information provided by the script should be identified with functional text that can be read by assistive technology.
When a web page requires that an applet, plug-in or other application be present on the client system to interpret page content, the page must provide a link to a plug-in or applet that complies with the above 508 standards.
When electronic forms are made to be completed online, they should make it possible for people who use assistive technology to access all of the instructions and cues, as well as the information, field elements, and functionality needed to complete and submit the form. Users should be able to skip over links in the navigation that are the same over and over again. The user ought to be notified and given sufficient time to indicate that additional time is required whenever a timed response is required. If you need help making your website more accessible, contact our expert teams today. We have a variety of service packages and tools that we can leverage to make your website accessible to all.