(Draft 4/29/99 Debby And Kathy: I've annotated the
checklist according to our discussion. I'd like to add a section under testing
that points people to our test machines that would have a good selection of
available browsers including screen reader types. Where the comment says
"Needs direct link", it refers to a section in an existing doc that does not
have an internal relative lnk: URL#linkname)
Universal Design Web Publishing
Web Accessibility Policy (Draft)
MIT is committed to providing equal access to web based information in
accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the
Americans with Disabilities Act. This ensures that MIT web pages will be
readable by users with disabilities.
The concept of Universal Design means designing for the widest range
of people's abilities. The guidelines below apply this concept to web page
design. Following them will ensure that your web pages are robust, standard,
and accessible to the fullest possible range of users. As you build your web
pages keep in mind that your audience is diverse. Not all web page visitors
are using the standard graphical browsers. They may using screen
readers, text-based browsers, have their browser graphics turned
off, or may not be able to use, or have access to a mouse or keyboard.
Eventually we may be using cell phones or audio devices from our cars to
access the web. Designing for Universal Accessibility not only ensures that
your information will be accessible to people with various types disabilities,
but also to those using old, alternate, or emerging technologies.
(Kathy: It would be nice to have some sort of
explanation of assistive tecnology for the web (screen readers, text-based
based browsers and navigation without a mouse or keyboard, ETC.). Maybe you
already have something like this to point to on the ATIC pages?)
This may sound daunting, but the good news is that designing accessible web
pages means concentrating on the content of your web documents by adhering to
present HTML standards and using the HTML language as it was intended, to
structure the information, not to control the presentation. This generally
means simpler, easier to build web pages. This is not to say that you can't
design attractive pages, just that the content should always be your first
priority
What about the future of HTML? If it's replaced by some other language will
you need to rewrite all of your web pages? If you create your pages with
standard HTML you should not need to rewrite because converter applications
could accurately convert your pages to the new language.
Web Page Authoring Guidelines
Guidelines Checklist
(* denotes Universal Accessibility
aid)
Follow the links for more detailed information about each guideline and for
examples.
-
Concentrate on content structure rather than presentation by adhering to
current standards. (Reword - Jean)
-
Use DOCTYPE HTML 4.0
Transitional to structure your pages* (Exists - needs DOCTYPE example that people could cut and paste into
their docs)
-
Consider using CSS to control presentation.* (Jean)
-
Tables - Jean
-
Use graphics wisely and with restraint. (Jean)
-
Avoid gratuitous or unneccessary graphics.*
(Jean)
-
Keep images small.* (Exists - needs direct
link; update - Debby)
-
If you change the color of the background or text elements you need to
specify colors for all elements that can take the color attribute.* (Exists - needs direct
link - Debby)
-
Provide alternate access for non-textual content.
-
Use ALT tags for inline images. * (Exists - needs direct
link; update for accessibility - Debby)
-
If images are used in place of bullets in unordered lists, place an
asterisk "*" or dash "-" in the ALT attribute of the IMG tag.* (Jean)
-
Provide alternate mechanism for online forms.* (Jean)
-
Provide alternate navigation means for image maps.* (Jean)
-
Provide text transcripts or descriptions for auditory and visual
content. (Do we need something here about streaming video and captioning?)*
(exists in email from Kathy)
-
Provide alternate formats for graphical documents such as PDF files.*
(FAQ update -
Jean)
-
Validate and Test your
pages. (Exists - needs direct
link; mention media station(s) for testing?(we are setting up a PC for this
purpose as well) - Debby)
-
W3C Validator *
-
Bobby Accessibility Checker *
-
Lynx
-
Test on as many different browsers as possible (Exists - test machines
availability? - Debby)
-
Web Page Enhancements
-
Scripts, applets, multi media, etc (Debby)
-
Provide for feedback about your pages
-
Include contact name and email address signature.*(Jean)
-
Indicate last updated date. (?)
Common pitfalls to Universal Accessibility:
-
Frames
-
proprietary browser extensions (e.g.,BLINK)
-
image maps (Debby)
-
nonstandard color schemes (Jean)
-
ASCII art
-
nonsense link names (e.g., click here)
-
links that aren't separated by printable characters
-
Flashingor blinking graphics (Exists - update with
accessibility concerns- Debby)
-
Powerpoint, PDF, etc (Jean)