Are you ready to publish your page? Double-checking your content before you publish can help ensure that you aren’t creating any accessibility errors on your website.
Following are the items you’ll want to look over before you switch a page to Publish. You can also download a PDF version of this checklist to keep handy when working on your content.
Use the following list to locate the content recommendations:
Links
Whether you’re linking to a document, another webpage or an email, you need to make sure you have clear link text. Link text is going to let a user know where that link will be taking them. Having more information on the link than just “click here’ or ‘learn more’ will help all of your users, whether they use an assistive device such as a screen reader or not, have a better understanding of the links on the page.
- Check every single link on the page to see if it not only works—but that it’s actually going to the right page
- Links to non-case.edu URLs should open in a new tab (target _blank)
- Links to case.edu URLs should open in the same tab (target _self)
- Do not include carrots (>) or other styling after links
- Links should always be specific. Do not use link text such as “Click here” or “Learn more." Instead, use clear, descriptive text such as “See the upcoming schedule” or “Learn more about upcoming events."
Learn More About Using Purposeful Links
Buttons
- Remove carrots (>)
- Use initial cap (Get More Information) instead of all caps (GET MORE INFO) or sentence cap (Get more information)
Tables
- If not creating a new table (copying from the website) right click to view the table properties to ensure the width is set to 100%
- If the table has a header row (usually the first row in the table) this needs to be set as well. Right-click to view table properties and then under Headers > choose First Row.
- Be sure that tables are displaying at 100%
- Set titles in tables if titles do not appear when importing
- Text in tables should always be left aligned
- Tables should not contain images
Accordion Content
- Remove plus signs (+) at the end of accordions
- All accordions should have some kind of intro text, there shouldn’t be pages with only accordions
- Accordions are for small pieces of searchable content. Large blocks of important content, images or tables should not be placed in accordions.
Images
- All images should be downloaded and added to the site either via embedding the image through the WYSIWYG editor, or the media library. If you copy and paste images it will appear they have been added to the page, and downloaded into the library but once the site goes live these will break so be sure you’re adding images to the page through the media library or by embedding each image.
- Do not upload images that have text within the image. If an image has any text in the image, all text must be included in the Alternative Text when uploading.
Learn More About Accessible Images
Headings
- Headings should always be in the correct order, and begin with H2s (Heading 2)
- Bold text should never be used in place of headings
For more information on using accessible headings, please review page structure on the Accessibility website.
Learn How to Add Headings to Your Page
Page Spacing
- There should be no extra spacing between lines, only a standard return.
Navigation
- Website navigation should only link to internal pages within the site. Never link to external pages from the navigation.
Overall Content
- Ensure names are spelled correctly and titles are accurate.
- Ensure dates and deadlines are updated.
- Ensure contact information is correct.
- Web users typically won’t read large blocks of content; make sure to use white space and separate your paragraphs with headers and accessible images (see Images above).
- Keep in mind your primary audience when writing for your website (students, faculty, staff or community partners). Keep your content tailored mostly to them.
Paste as Plain Text
If you’re importing text from another source, such as a PDF, email, or another website, don't just copy and paste it into the text box. If you do, you will likely have formatting issues on your page and the text could have inaccessible elements such as a different font color or font face.
- If you're unsure if there is additional formatting, highlight all text on the page and then use the Remove Format button in the WYSIWYG