Digital Accessibility

August 7, 2014 2:16 pm

by Amy Jorgensen

Organizations across the country are consistently seeking how to develop a digital content that maximizes the user experience and is ADA accessible. Learn how to legally meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 and Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act, along with keeping your information clear and engaging.

Thank you to our guests!

Kathryn Magura, Oregon State University
Gregg Wandsneider, Carroll University

Below is a checklist to help ensure the technical/coding side of a website has a solid foundation. Improving each one of these topics has the benefit of adding to your website’s accessibility, usability, and ranking in search engine optimization. A great opportunity to hit three birds with one stone!

URL Structure

Simple and organized URLs make it easier for search engines to read web pages and also make pages more enticing for others to reference.

URLs should be dynamically written with relevant words that help define what the page is about
Hyphens (-) should be used over underscores(_).

Page Title Tags

A title tag defines the page topic for users and will be the first line of a search engine result. (WCAG 2.4.2 Page Titled – Level A)

Every web page should have a short and informative unique title.
The <title> tag should be placed within the <head> tag of the HTML document.

META Descriptions

A meta tag defines the page topic for search engines. This is a debatable item to include, but I’m keeping it in per the recommendations of the Google Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide.

Every web page should have a brief and informative unique meta tag with more information than just keywords.
Avoid generic descriptions like “this is a web page” or “page about medicine”
The <meta name> tag should be placed within the <head> tag of the HTML document.

Color

Make sure that the website is not relying solely on color to be usable. Sufficient contrast is provided when providing important information. (Section 508 C and WCAG 2.0 Guideline 1.4)

Uploading Speed

Pages should be designed to avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz to reduce the risk of optically-induced seizures. (Section 508 J and WCAG 2.0 Guideline 2.3)

Timing

The user should have control over the timing of content changes if more time is required. This means that slideshows and banner ads should provide a tool to navigate through the images/content. (Section 508 P and WCAG 2.0 Guideline 2.2)

Resources:

Google, Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide, http://goo.gl/ji7N, Last Accessed 3/25/ 2013
Google, Webmaster Tools, URL Structure, http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=76329, Last Accessed 3/25/2013