A Tool for Analysis of Web Sites' Accessibility to Users with
Disabilities
This is a downloadable checklist to assist you in creating web
pages accessible to the widest possible readership. This checklist has been adapted by Doug
Blandy from Vanderheiden, G. C., Chishom, W. A., & Ewers, N.
(1996), Design of HTML
Pages to Increase their Accessibility to Users with
Disabilities <http://www.trace.wisc.edu/text/guidelns/htmlgide/
htmlfull.html> and assignments submitted by Richard
Bear and Ann-Marie Bilderback, AAD 451/551 Art and
Community Services, Program in Arts and
Administration, School of Architecture and Allied
Arts, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, Winter, 1997.
NAME of SITE _______________________________________
<http:// ______________________________________
>
Text Anchors
- Have you made text anchors descriptive enough
that they make sense when read out of context?
Comments:
- Have you placed a dividing character between links
which occur consecutively? Vertical bars may be used to
prevent a list of links from being read as one link by
speech software.
Comments:
GIF and other inline graphics-
Is there an alternative text description
(ALT = "[description of graphic]")? This
includes all graphics - even decorative ones. Otherwise, the user with a
text-based browser (LYNX, usually) sees a note saying there is a
graphic but doesn't know what it is.
Comments:
- Is there a text anchor to a page describing the
graphic? We recommend a capital "D" or a short
phrase located next to the picture which takes you to a
separate page with a full description of significant
graphic elements, pictures, etc.
Comments:
- Have you provided an alternate text-only page which
translates all of the graphic and text information
into text only? This can provide a fast access
method for all users. You may have text-only pages
for just troublesome pages or all pages at your site.
Users should be able to switch back and forth between
text-only and graphic versions of the page.
Comments:
Audio clips, movies, and image maps
-
Do audio clips include a link to a page with a
transcript or description of the sound file?
Comments:
- Do movies include captions or text tracks with a
description of the sounds and words in the movie?
Comments:
- Are Image maps complemented by a set of text
anchors for all links accessible through the image map?
Comments:
Forms, tables and non-standard page and document
formats-
- Are forms provided in a format that can be
downloaded, then mailed or emailed? Phone numbers
should also be included for additional information.
Comments:
- Have you avoided complex tables? Tables with multiple cells
cannot be read be presently read by speech software and should be
avoided entirely (no good solution presently exists).
Comments:
- Are there alternative pages for non-graphic browsers? Text-only
versions should be available for all pages.
Comments:
- Have non-standard data structures and viewers been
avoided?
Comments:
Color
- Light background, dark text? Background patterns and color
should contrast well with the lettering to maintain readability (background
refers to both backgrounds of pages and backgrounds of
images).
Comments:
- Have you selected colors that will make your pages easy to
read by people with color blindness? One good test
is to see if your pages are readable in black and
white.
Comments:
Testing
- Have you examined your pages with a variety of
browsers and platforms (PC, MAC, UNIX)? Be sure to
include text-based browsers (LYNX) and use graphic browsers
with images turned off.
Comments:
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