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ADA Best Practices Tool Kit for State and Local Governments
Chapter 5 Addendum:
Title II Checklist
(Website Accessibility)
PURPOSE OF THIS CHECKLIST: This checklist is designed for use in
conducting a preliminary assessment of the accessibility of your agency’s
website. The goal is to review your website and your agency’s website policies
and procedures and see if there are red flags alerting you to ADA accessibility
concerns.
MATERIALS AND INFORMATION NEEDED: To assess the accessibility of your
website you will need:
- If already created, a copy of your Website Accessibility Policy.
- Information describing specific actions taken to make your existing
website accessible to people with disabilities.
- Information about website accessibility training taken by staff and/or
contractors responsible for developing and posting webpages and content.
- Information about any procedures used to obtain input from people with
disabilities regarding the accessibility of your website.
- Any input provided by people with disabilities about their experiences
accessing your website.
- The assistance of your website manager.
Assessing Current Webpages and Content on Your Website
This section will help you determine if your website has some of the most
common accessibility problems. It will not identify all website accessibility
problems.
1. Does the top of each page with navigation links have a “skip navigation” link?
(This feature directs screen readers to bypass the row of navigation links and
start at the webpage content, thus enabling people who use screen readers to
avoid having to listen to all the links each time they move to a new page.)
Yes
No
2. Do all links have a text description that can be read by a screen reader (not
just a graphic or “click here”)?
Yes
No
3. Do all of the photographs, maps, graphics and other images on the website
currently have HTML tags (such as an “alt” tag or a long description tag) with text
equivalents of the material being visually conveyed?
Yes
No
4. Are all of the documents posted on your website available in HTML or another
text-based format (for example, rich text format (RTF) or word processing
format), even if you are also providing them in another format, such as Portable
Document Format (PDF)?
Yes
No
5. If your website has online forms, do HTML tags describe all of the controls
(including all text fields, check boxes, drop-down lists, and buttons) that people
can use in order to complete and submit the forms?
Yes
No
N/A
6. If your website has online forms, does the default setting in drop-down lists
describe the information being requested instead of displaying a response
option (e.g., “your age” instead of “18 - 21”)?
Yes
No
N/A
7. If a webpage has data charts or tables, is HTML used to associate all data
cells with column and row identifiers?
Yes
No
N/A
8. Do all video files on your website have audio descriptions of what is being
displayed to provide access to visually conveyed information for people who are
blind or have low vision?
Yes
No
N/A
9. Do all video files on your website have written captions of spoken
communication synchronized with the action to provide access to people who are
deaf or hard of hearing?
Yes
No
N/A
10. Do all audio files on your website have written captions of spoken
communication synchronized with the action to provide access to people who are
deaf or hard of hearing?
Yes
No
N/A
11. Have all webpages been designed so they can be viewed using visitors’ web
browser and operating system settings for color and font?
Yes
No
Website Accessibility Policy and Procedures
This section will help you identify potential problems with the ongoing process of
ensuring website accessibility
12. Do you have a written policy on website accessibility?
Yes
No
13. Is the website accessibility policy posted on your website in a place where it
can be easily located?
Yes
No
N/A
14. Have procedures been developed to ensure that content is not added to your
website until it has been made accessible?
Yes
No
15. Does the website manager check the HTML of all new webpages to confirm
accessibility before the pages are posted?
Yes
No
16. When documents are added to your website in PDF format, are text-based
versions of the documents (e.g., HTML, RTF, or word processing format) added
at the same time as the PDF versions?
Yes
No
N/A
17. Have in-house staff and contractors received information about the website
accessibility policy and procedures to ensure website accessibility?
Yes
No
N/A
18. Have in-house and contractor staff received appropriate training on how to
ensure the accessibility of your website?
Yes
No
19. Have in-house and contractor staff who create web content or post it on your
website received copies of the Department of Justice’s technical assistance
document “Accessibility of State and Local Government Websites to People with
Disabilities”?
Yes
No
20. If your website contains inaccessible content, is a specific written plan
including timeframes in place now to make all of your existing web content
accessible?
Yes
No
N/A - website is completely accessible
21. Have you posted on your website a plan to improve website accessibility and
invited suggestions for improvements?
Yes
No
22. Does your website home page include easily locatable information, including
a telephone number and email address, for use in reporting website accessibility
problems and requesting accessible services and information?
Yes
No
23. Do you have procedures in place to assure a quick response to website
visitors with disabilities who are having difficulty accessing information or
services available via the website?
Yes
No
24. Have you asked disability groups representing people with a wide variety of
disabilities to provide feedback on the accessibility of your website?
(Note: Feedback from people who use a variety of assistive technologies is
helpful in ensuring website accessibility.)
Yes
No
25. Have you tested your website using one of the products available on the
Internet to test website accessibility? (Note: Products available for testing
website accessibility include no-cost and low-cost options. These products may
not identify all accessibility issues and may flag issues that are not accessibility
problems. However, they are, nonetheless, a helpful tool in improving website
accessibility.)
Yes
No
26. Are alternative ways of accessing web-based information, programs,
activities, and services available for people with disabilities who cannot use
computers?
Yes
No
ACTIONS:
If the answer to any of the above questions is “No,” there may be accessibility problems with your website. Here are some steps to take to ensure that your website – and the programs and services offered on it – are accessible to people with disabilities.
- Establish a policy that your webpages will be accessible and create a process for implementation.
- Check the HTML of all new webpages. Make sure that accessible elements are used, including “alt” tags, long descriptions, and captions, as needed.
- Ensure that your webpages are designed in a manner that allows them to be displayed using a visitor’s own settings for color and fonts.
- If images are used, including photos, graphics, scanned images, or image maps, make sure to include text equivalents for them, using “alt” tags and/or long descriptions for each. Ensure that the text equivalents convey the meaningful information presented visually by the image.
- If you use online forms and tables, make those elements accessible.
- Ensure that videos appearing on your website include appropriately synchronized audio description and captions.
- When posting new documents on the website, always provide them in HTML or another text-based format (even if you are also providing them in another format, such as PDF). If documents are provided in both formats, provide both formats at the same time so people with disabilities have the same degree of access as others.
- Develop a plan for making your existing web content accessible, including specific steps and timeframes. Describe your plan on an accessible webpage that can be easily located from your home page. Encourage input on accessibility improvements, including which pages should be given high priority for change. Let citizens know about the standards or guidelines that are being used to provide accessibility. Make accessibility modifications to the more popular webpages on your website a priority.
- Ensure that in-house staff and contractors responsible for webpages and webpage content development are properly trained on your web accessibility policy and procedures.
- Provide a way for visitors to request accessible information or services and provide feedback about accessibility problems by posting a telephone number and email address on your home page. Establish procedures to assure a quick response to people with disabilities who use this contact information to access web-based information or services.
- Periodically enlist people with a variety of disabilities to test your webpages for accessibility and ease of use; use this information to increase your website accessibility.
- Consider using one of the no-cost or low-cost resources available on the Internet to test the accessibility of your website. (Please note, however, that these products may not identify all accessibility problems on your website.)
- Ensure that alternative means are available for people with disabilities who are unable to use computers to access information, programs, and services that are normally provided on your website.
ADA Tool Kit for State and Local Governments
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