This checklist will help you make your web site useful, and compliant with accessibility rules that apply to the Health Science Center:
 Applets and plug-ins |
Provide alternate content for applets and plug-ins that are not accessible. Details |
| Cascading style sheets |
Make sure pages are readable without a style sheet. |
| Color and contrast |
Color coding cannot be the sole means of conveying information, indicating an action,
prompting a response or distinguishing a visual element. Allow sufficient contrast between text and backgrounds so words
are easily read.
Color/contrast details
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| Dates |
Post the date of the latest update for each page. |
| Disclaimer |
Choose the appropriate university disclaimer and post it in the footer of your pages:
- Links provided from UTHSCSA pages to other web sites do not
constitute or imply an endorsement of those sites, their content, or
products and services associated with those sites.
- Material and links provided by UTHSCSA are for informational
purposes only. Health information provided is not meant to take the
place of advice and care from your personal physician. For help with
specific health problems you may be experiencing, please contact your
physician who can properly evaluate your medical condition.
- Additional material is provided to assist potential students,
faculty, employees, researchers, and others seeking information about
UTHSCSA. Please call for the latest, most accurate information.
|
| E-mail |
Post the name or e-mail address of the person responsible for the web site in the footer of your pages. |
| Flicker |
In designing pages, avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz.
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| Forms |
- Add a link to the Health Science Center web privacy policy on any form. The URL: www.uthscsa.edu/privacy.shtml
- Provide a secure-socket layer session for forms or web pages
that transact payments, require a user's identification code and password, or require a user
to supply her or his name and personal information such as a Social
Security number.
- Design any online form so people using assistive technology can access the form's information, its field elements, and any functionality required to complete and submit the form.
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| Frames |
- Provide a title and name for each frame so users may track their location.
- Drop frames when a user follows a link to a separate web site.
- Provide a <noframes> version for browsers that don't read frames.
|
| Graphics and photos |
Summarize content in <alt> tags. |
| Identity |
Name the entity responsible for the web site in the footer of the site's pages. |
| Image maps |
Use <alt> tags with each "hot spot" on client-side maps; use equivalent text for server-side maps.
Image map details |
| Images and animation |
Supply <alt> tags.
The tag summarizes content of the item so users with audio browsers hear what the image shows. |
| Links |
Add a link to the university homepage and web site's sponsor in the footer of the site's pages. |
| Meta tags |
Four tags are required. Place them after <title> and before you close <head>. Example:
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| Multimedia |
Provide captions or transcripts of audio and video content. Multimedia details |
| Scripts |
Provide a <noscript> alternative for scripts
that generate content that may not be understood by some browsers. This includes mouseover functions
in JavaScript. Script details |
| Search box |
Add a search box on the first page of a site. Contact
your web server administrator or the university webmaster for the correct code. |
| Skip navigation |
This tag lets users with audio browsers
skip menus to get to the page's main content. This method positions the link
-3000 pixels off the left margin so it is unseen by visual browsers. In the page <body>, add the line:
<div class="navskip"><a href="#navskip">Skip Navigation</a></div>
Immediately before the main content of the page, add:
<a name="navskip"></a>
And add this to the stylesheet:
.navskip { position:absolute;
left:-3000px;
width:500px;
}
|
| Tables |
Data tables need row and column headers with a unique ID tag at the
top of each column. Each cell that corresponds to the header needs a
<header> attribute linking it the unique ID so users with audio
browsers are not confused about header-to-data relationships. Tables
for layout only need no headers. Table details |
| Text-only page |
Create a text-only page to accompany any page that cannot comply with standards. Keep both pages updated.
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| Timed response |
When a timed response is required, the user needs to be alerted and given sufficient time to indicate more time is required.
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| Title |
Make sure each page has a title. The title appears in the blue bar atop the browser, and helps search engines
index your page. Place it directly after your <head> tag. |
| Validate |
Validate your pages to Section 508 standards with a validator such as WAVE, the Web
Accessibility Evaluation Tool. These online validators are free:
WAVE or Cynthia Says
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-- Special thanks to the IBM Human Ability and Accessibility Center for some of the explanations on this page.
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