ADA Compliant Websites & Documents

What the heck am I supposed to do?

Why We Need to Design for Accessibility

It is the right thing to do – Be Nice

It’s the smart thing to do – Make Money

It’s the law – Don’t Get Sued

What is ADA Compliance

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation act of 1973 ensures that millions of Americans with disabilities have equivalent access to information regardless of how they access it.

• Vision Impairment• Hearing Impairment• Motor Impairment• Physical Impairment• Psychological Impairment

Webpages & ADA Compliance

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 are becoming the industry standard for accessible websites. It outlines standards to be met but organizes them according to 4 main principles of accessibility

4 Principles of Accessibility• Perceivable• Operable• Understandable• Robust

Headings

• The header tags (<h1><h2> etc) should be used instead of style elements like font size and bolding.• Headers must also be used

logically with only one Heading 1 per page and the rest of the headers ordered logically by number• In the CMS, don’t use Heading 1

Images

• Alt tags provide text to describe images on your web page• Make sure to convey any

meaning in the alt tag that the picture would provide for a sighted user.

Links

• Links should be accessible for users not using a mouse• Link text should use words that

briefly convey what the person will get if they click the link.• Don’t use “Click Here,” “More” or

the URL as link text• Always fill out the Title field for

each link you create• Content from Title field will hover

above link when moused over.

Tables

• Tables that present data in a column and row format must be appropriately marked up in the CMS.• Include a Caption Tag for the

whole table• Insert/Edit Table > Select Table

Caption check box• Insert Caption on New Table

Tables, again.

• Tables are read from left to right and line by line• Any column or row headers must

be marked so the content is read correctly• Right-click in the header• Select Cell > Table Cell Properties• Set Cell Type to Header• Set Scope to Either Column or

Row

Checking Accessibility in Word, Excel and PowerPoint

• All 2010 and above Microsoft Office programs have an accessibility checker• Click the File tab in top Ribbon• Check for Issues > Check

Accessibility

Evaluating Your Document & What to Do Next• Take a look at the results• Use the Inspection Results dialog

to click through all the issues

Tips for Creating Accessible Documents• Create proper file names• Fill out Document Properties

Tips for Creating Accessible Word Documents

• Templates solve most problems• Create headers to organize

content• Automatic Bullet lists• Utilize tabs instead of repeat

spacing• Page Breaks instead of returns• Insert images in-line with text

• Rules from the CMS that Apply• Use built in headers to organize

content• All Images Need Alt Text• All Links Need Descriptive• Tables Need Captions• Tables Need Column and Row

Headers Designated

Creating Accessible PDFs

• Start with a document (Word, Powerpoint) that is already accessible• File > Save As > Select Location• In the Save as type dropdown

select PDF• Click Save

Creating Accessible Excel & PowerPoint filesExcel• Follow recommendations for

creating accessible Word Docs• Avoid blank rows for formatting• Give all sheet tabs unique names

that describe what is in the sheet

PowerPoint• Follow recommendations for

creating accessible Word Docs• Use slide layouts• Place proper titles in proper

places• Don’t insert text boxes• Use arrange tool to order

elements

Video

• The goal is that all new produced videos need to include close captions that are synchronized to appear when the audio is heard.• If a video has visual content that

cannot be understood through audio alone, an audio description will make your video accessible to users who are visually impaired.• Transcripts of videos are helpful for

making the them accessible to people who have disabilities

ADA Compliance Resources

Academic Accommodation Services:http://www.kumc.edu/accessibility

Download a Copy of this Presentation:http://www.kumc.edu/cms-training