|
Structure & appearance
|
Navigation links and placement consistent on each page.
|
M,C
|
|
|
|
Text good contrast to the background
|
V,C
|
|
|
|
Each page has a unique descriptive title
|
V,C
|
|
|
|
Valid XHTML/CSS used throughout the site
|
V,M,C
|
|
|
|
Images
|
All images have ALT text that either clearly describes the image, or in the case of decorative images, contains a space (alt=“ “) to prevent the screen reader from describing the image.
|
V
|
|
|
|
Images that cannot be adequately described in ALT text (charts, graphs) are further described on a LONGDESC page.
|
V
|
|
|
|
Links in imagemaps also have ALT text
|
V
|
|
|
|
Text & links
|
Fonts use a relative font size (em, %), not absolute (px, pt)
|
V,M,C
|
|
|
|
Heading tags (H1, H2) used correctly as headers, not to format font
|
V,M,C
|
|
|
|
Ability to skip navigation
|
V
|
|
|
|
Links separated by more than just whitespace
|
V
|
|
|
|
Colour not used to convey information, or reinforced by other visual cues
|
V
|
|
|
|
Underline not used on non-linked text
|
C
|
|
|
|
Link text does not repeat on the same page (e.g., “click here”) but is unique to each link.
|
V
|
|
|
|
TITLE attribute added to ambiguous links.
|
V
|
|
|
|
Lists use the UL/OL and LI tags, not bullet images
|
V,C
|
|
|
|
Coding should not prevent user from changing colours with own stylesheets
|
V,C
|
|
|
|
Tables
|
Tables used for data, not for layout
|
V
|
|
|
|
Table row or column headers indicated using the TH tag.
|
V,C
|
|
|
|
Table summary provided
|
V,C
|
|
|
|
Forms
|
Forms can be navigated in the correct order using the TAB key
|
V,M
|
|
|
|
Each form field has an associated LABEL tag
|
V
|
|
|
|
Enough time given to fill out forms
|
V,M,C
|
|
|
|
Required fields noted as such before the form label, and marked with asterisk or bold
|
V
|
|
|
|
Multimedia
|
Transcripts available for all audio
|
H
|
|
|
|
Transcripts or captioning available for all video
|
V,H
|
|
|
|
Content presented in Flash described in an alternative format as well
|
V,H,C
|
|
|
|
Avoid distracting animations, scrolling text
|
V,C
|
|
|
|
Links provided to download any necessary plug-ins
|
V,H,M,C
|
|
|
|
PDFs accessible or plain text made available
|
V
|
|
|
|
Content in applets and plug-ins accessible or else not required
|
V,M,C
|
|
|
|
If alert sounds are used, reinforce the sound using visual notification
|
H
|
|
|
|
Javascript
|
Site navigation still works with Javascript turned off.
|
V,C
|
|
|
|
Drop-down menus do not require difficult, precise mouse movement.
|
M, C
|
|
|
|
General
|
Passes automated accessibility validator such as Watchfire WebXact
|
V,H,M,C
|
|
|
|
Site can be navigated by keyboard only
|
V,M
|
|
|
|
User notified if pop-up windows are to be used
|
V,M,C
|
|
|
|
External windows do not open pop-up windows
|
V,M,C
|
|
|
|
No autoplay of music, or ability to turn off music easily
|
V
|
|
|
|
If frames must be used, they are clearly titled
|
V
|
|
|
|
Page still usable with stylesheets turned off
|
V,C
|
|
|
|
Site includes search engine
|
V,M,C
|
|
|
|
Distracting animations avoided
|
V,C
|
|
|
|
Pages do not automatically refresh
|
V,M,C
|
|
|
|
General Notes
|
|