WebAIM Quick Reference: Web Accessibility Principles

Principles of Accessibility Ensure users can complete and submit all forms Ÿ Perceivable - Available through sight, hearing, or Ÿ Put form labels adjacent to or near their controls, so the touch. labels are associated visually. Ÿ Operable - Compatible with keyboard or mouse. Ÿ Use the element to associate labels and Ÿ Understandable - User-friendly, easy to comprehend. controls. Ÿ Robust - Works across browsers, assistive technologies, Ÿ Group similar elements (such as checkboxes or radio mobile devices, old devices/browsers, etc. Follows buttons) together using

. standards. Ÿ Clearly identify required form elements. Don't make a webaim.org/articles/pour/ field required if it is not necessary. Ensure all directions and cues are readily accessible. Provide appropriate alternative text Ÿ If there are errors in a form that has been submitted, Ÿ Every non-text element needs a text alternative (alt text) alert the user in an accessible way (especially to a screen that provides an equivalent to the image content. reader user) and make it easy to fix the incorrect Ÿ Alt text should present the content and function, not information and resubmit the form. necessarily a description, of an image. webaim.org/techniques/forms/ Ÿ If an image has no relevant content or function, is decorative, or the alternative text is provided in nearby Ensure links make sense out of context text, then the image should have an empty alternative Ÿ Avoid phrases like "Click here", "Here", "More", "More text value (alt=""). information", "Read more", and "Continue." Ÿ If an image is a link (or hotspot), the alt text must Ÿ URL's as link text should usually be avoided, unless the describe the link’s function. URL is relevant content. Ÿ Avoid words like "picture of," "image of," or "link to." Ÿ Use the fewest number of words necessary. Caption and/or provide transcripts for media webaim.org/techniques/alttext/ Ÿ Videos and live audio must have captions and a transcript. A transcript is sufficient for archived audio. Content is well structured and clearly written Ÿ Captions should be synchronized, equivalent, and Ÿ Use the simplest language appropriate for your content. accessible. Ÿ Organize your content using true headings (e.g.,

) webaim.org/techniques/captions/ and lists. Ÿ Use empty (white) space to improve readability. Ensure accessibility of non-HTML content Ÿ Use illustrations, icons, etc. to supplement text. Ÿ HTML content will almost always be more accessible Ÿ Check spelling, grammar, and readability. than content in any other format. Ÿ PDF, Microsoft Word and PowerPoint files, Help users navigate to relevant content OpenOffice.org, and Adobe Flash provide basic Ÿ Provide a link that allows the user to skip over accessibility features. navigation to the main content in the page. Ÿ Provide accessible alternatives when non-HTML content Ÿ Use true headings to organize content. cannot be made fully accessible. Ÿ Test the accessibility of non-HTML content in assistive Provide headers for data tables technologies. Ÿ Identify all data table headers using the element. Ÿ Provide an appropriate scope attribute: Miscellaneous for column headers or Ÿ Ensure that the page is readable and usable when fonts for row headers. are enlarged 150-200%. Ÿ If appropriate, add a table for the data table. Ÿ Provide a descriptive page