Website Accessibility

There are key elements to creating an accessible Web experience for all users. It is important to understand these fundamental elements before using a validation tool. Simply using a validation tool to check a site, will not mean it is accessible and explained in the following article: "Building the most inaccessible site possible with a perfect Lighthours score."    

Key Elements in Creating Accessible Sites

• Image Descriptions (Alt Tags): Make images accessible
• Color Contrast: Color your site with care
• Use Headings to organize your documents
• Hyperlink Text: Give your links unique and descriptive names
• All content is accessible with keyboard alone, in a logical way
• Design your forms for accessibility
• Create accessible Data Tables
• Taming the Wild West of Dynamic Content on the Web for Accessibility
• Use an Accessible Content Management System 

ARIA: Accessible Rich Internet Applications

• Use ARIA Properties and Roles
• ARIA Made Easy

Quickstart/UA Sites

• UA Quickstart - all the pieces have been put in place for you to spin up beautiful, accessible and secure websites in a matter of hours instead of weeks.
  • View tips on creating accessible quickstart content
• UA Sites - accessible, fully-developed Drupal sites managed by the UITS Campus Web Services team.

Web Validation Resources and Tools

Once you are familiar with what the key elements make a website accessible, the next step is to test your website for accessibility.

More Web Accessibility Resources

• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Government Website
• Section 508
• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0

  • Guidance on Applying WCAG 2.0 to Non-Web Information and Communications Technologies (WCAG2ICT)

• WebAIM
• Web Accessibility for Designers
• W3C: How People with Disabilities Use the Web
• Top 5 Questions Asked in Accessibility Trainings
• Web Accessibility Gone Wild - Now even wilder!
• University of California, Berkeley: Top 10 Tips for Making Your Website Accessible
• Web Accessibility for Section 508
• Introduction to Web Accessibility Course from Google
• A Web for Everyone, Designing Accessible User Experiences
• Accessibility Handbook, Making 508 Compliant Websites
• W3C: How to Create Accessibility Statements
• How A Screen Reader User Accesses the Web: A Smashing Video

Disability Resources (DRC) is YOUR resource for ensuring accessible content! 

For Support or Consultation: 

• Fill out the IT Accessibility Consultation Request Form 

• For email correspondence, contact us at: itaccessibility@email.arizona.edu.