Creating Accessible Web Content

Quick Tips for Creating Accessible Web Pages

Web accessibility is grounded in established standards, but you don’t have to know every detail of WCAG to start making better pages today. The practices below will help content managers and web contributors address the most important issues and move CWU’s site toward full accessibility.

Accessible Images and Alternative Text

• All images include meaningful alternative text unless marked as decorative.
• Images used as links describe the destination, not the image.
• Do not use words like 'link' or 'link to' in alt text.

Accessible Video

• All videos include accurate captions, even if there is little or no spoken audio.

Accessible Documents and PDFs

• All uploaded documents (PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) are fully accessible.
• PDFs pass Adobe Acrobat's Accessibility Checker with no errors.
• Manual checks completed: logical reading order and color contrast.
• Scanned PDFs are avoided; if used, they are fully remediated.

Links

• Links use descriptive text indicating the destination.
• No links use generic non-descript text such as 'Click here' or 'this link'.
• URLs are not shown as link text except in proper bibliographic citations.
• All links open in the same window unless linking outside the CWU domain.
• No empty links are present.
• Links to documents or media clearly indicate file type (e.g., (pdf), (mp4)).

Headers and Sub-Headers

• Each page contains only one H1 heading.
• Headings follow logical structure: H2 follows H1, H3 follows H2, etc.
• Headings reflect structure—not used for styling.
• No empty headings exist on any page.

Web Pages

• Each page has a unique, descriptive page title.
• Page content is written in plain, clear language.
• Dense content is broken up with headings and lists.

These practices support WCAG 2.1 AA and help ensure that CWU’s web content is usable by the widest possible audience.

Additional Resources

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

CWU is working toward aligning its public-facing websites with the WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA standards. These guidelines define what it means for content to be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for users with a wide range of abilities and technologies.

You can review the full guidelines for reference or when you need to confirm specific criteria.

Evaluate Your Website

To begin assessing the accessibility of your pages:

• Use automated checking tools (such as browser extensions or enterprise tools adopted by CWU) to identify common issues like missing alt text, low color contrast, or incorrect heading order.
• Combine automated checks with manual review, including keyboard testing and visual review for headings, links, and structure.

Additional Reading

For additional background and practical guidance on accessible web content, you can consult reputable external resources such as:

• Introductions to web accessibility by W3C 
• Take a free accessibility course
• Tutorials on creating accessible multimedia, documents, and complex content