Website Accessibility

Required authoring practices

• Use a logical heading hierarchy. A page should have a clear H1, followed by properly nested H2/H3 headings.
• Provide meaningful alternative text for informative images; use empty alt text for purely decorative images.
• Ensure links make sense out of context. Avoid vague text such as 'click here' or repeated links with different purposes.
• Use descriptive labels and instructions for form fields; identify required fields programmatically and visually.
• Ensure all functionality is keyboard operable and that focus is visible.
• Do not rely on hover, color, shape, position or sound alone to communicate information.
• Maintain sufficient text and non-text contrast, including text placed over photographs or gradients.
• Provide captions for prerecorded video and transcripts or equivalent access for audio content.
• Avoid auto-playing media. Provide user controls for motion, audio and carousels.
• Use tables for tabular data, not visual layout; identify table headers correctly.
• Use accessible PDFs and Office documents when HTML is not practical.

Testing

• Use automated tools such as Siteimprove and browser accessibility checks (WAVE tool) as a first pass.
• Perform keyboard-only testing for menus, dialogs, forms, carousels and interactive widgets.
• Verify zoom/reflow at 200% and responsive behavior at narrow viewport widths.
• Check color contrast with a recognized contrast analyzer.
• Test representative experiences with a screen reader when introducing or changing complex interactions.