Keep Accessibility in Mind

We all put a lot of time and effort into keeping our websites current and relevant, but it’s equally important to ensure our web content is accessible to all users.

Each of the major categories of disabilities (visual, hearing, motor, cognitive) require certain types of adaptation in the design of web content. University Web & Design handles most web accessibility centrally in our page templates but there are a few different ways you can make your webpages accessible for all web users:

Hyperlink relevant phrases.

Simply using "click here" does not explain what the link is nor does. Ambiguous hyperlinks requires users to read around the link to determine where it will take them.

Make images accessible.

All of your images must have alt text which describes your image as succinctly as possible. Meaningful file names help give your images additional context.

Use headings.

Those using screen readers and other assistive technology have the ability to navigate webpages by headings. Use Heading5 and Heading6 to give hierarchical structure to your content, especially if it is lengthy.

Convert documents to webpages.

Before uploading a new document into Cascade, ask yourself, "Can I turn this into a webpage?" If yes, go for it! If no, make sure your documents are accessible before uploading them into Cascade

Add captions to videos.

Embedded YouTube videos on the W&M website must have captions.

Use the accessibility checker.

When you submit edits, Cascade's built-in content checker includes a report of basic accessibility issues. Be sure to review and address any items that are flagged during this step.

To learn more about the ways you can make your web content and documents more accessible, check out our help page.