IT Accessibility Checklist
Our goal at East Texas A&M University is to achieve the success criteria of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA.
The following checklist is based on the WCAG 2.0 standards, and is provided to assist A&M-Commerce community, including web designers, developers, content creators, and purchasing agents, in creating and procuring accessible IT. It can also be used as a reference for vendors and contractors providing products and services to A&M-Commerce. Many of the items in this checklist apply to web pages and web-based applications as well as electronic documents in Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF, and other formats, and other products and services that are not specifically web-based.
Perceivable
Make content and controls perceivable by all users.
- Do images have alternative text?
- Does video have captions and does audio have a transcript?
- Does the web page or document include headings, lists, ARIA landmarks, and other semantic elements to communicate document structure?
- Is the tab order and read order logical and intuitive?
- Do form fields with web pages and documents have appropriately coded labels and prompts?
- Have you avoided using visual characteristics to communicate information (e.g., "click the circle on the left" or "required fields are in red")?
- Does the interface have sufficient contrast between text color and background color?
- Does the content scale when text is enlarged up to 200 percent?
Operable
Make content and controls operable by all users.
- Can all menus, links, buttons, and other controls be operated by keyboard, to make them accessible to users who are unable to use a mouse?
- Does the web page include a visible focus indicator so all users, especially those using a keyboard, can easily track their current position?
- Do features that scroll or update automatically (eg., slideshows, carousels) have prominent accessible controls that enable users to pause or advance these features on their own?
- Do pages that have time limits include mechanisms for adjusting those limits for users who need more time?
- Have you avoided using content that flashes or flickers?
- Does the web page or document have a title that describes its topic or purpose?
- Are mechanisms in place that allow users to bypass blocks of content (e.g., a "skip to main content" link on a web page or bookmarks in a PDF)?
- Does the website include two or more ways of finding content, such as a navigation menu, search feature, or site map?
- Is link text meaningful, independent of context?
Understandable
Make content and user interfaces understandable to all users.
- Has the language of the web page or document (or individual parts of a multilingual document) been defined?
- Have you avoided links, controls, or form fields that automatically trigger a change in context?
- Does the website, PowerPoint, document include consistent navigation?
- Do online forms provide helpful, accessible error and verification messages?
Robust
Make content robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.
- Is the web page coded using valid HTML?
- Do rich, dynamic, web interfaces, such as modal windows, drop-down menus, slideshows, and carousels, include ARIA markup?