Digital Accessibility Basics: Web Content
Audience
Anyone who creates, maintains, or manages university websites or web-based content on behalf of the University of Northern Iowa. This includes web editors, site owners, content contributors, marketing and communications staff, academic and administrative units, and others responsible for maintaining online content.
What to Focus On
When creating or updating web content, prioritize:
- Clear structure and predictable navigation
- Content and functionality that work with keyboards and assistive technologies
- Text alternatives, readable design, and accessible interactions
Not every practice applies to every page. Apply the relevant practices when creating or updating web content. For existing content, start with pages and forms people need for current courses, employment, and university programs or services, including content behind a login. Prioritize high-impact or frequently used areas.
Accessibility Checklist
Use the checklist below to guide creation and remediation of web content. Not all items will apply in every situation.
✅Structure and Navigation
- Use a logical heading hierarchy (H1, H2, H3) to organize page content
- Do not skip heading levels
- Ensure navigation and content structure are consistent and predictable
- Ensure all content and functionality are operable using a keyboard
✅Images and Media
- Provide descriptive alternative text for meaningful images, icons, and graphics
- Mark decorative images appropriately so they are ignored by assistive technologies
- Ensure embedded media follows UNI video accessibility guidance
✅Links and Interactive Elements
- Use descriptive link text that clearly identifies the destination or action
- Ensure buttons, links, and controls have clear and programmatic labels
- Avoid using color alone to convey meaning or status
✅Forms and Inputs
- Label all form fields clearly and programmatically
- Ensure logical tab order and visible focus indicators
- Provide clear instructions and error messages that can be read by screen readers
✅Visual Design and Readability
- Ensure text contrast meets minimum accessibility requirements (4.5:1 for normal text)
- Ensure user interface components meet contrast requirements (minimum 3:1)
- Check that text can be enlarged to 200% without loss of content or functionality
- Check that content reflows without loss of information or functionality at a width equivalent to 320 CSS pixels, generally tested at 400% zoom from a 1280-pixel-wide viewport. Some content, such as data tables, requires a two-dimensional layout
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- Skipping heading levels or using headings for visual styling only
- Posting images or icons without alternative text
- Creating forms without labels, keyboard support, or visible focus
- Relying solely on automated scan results without manual testing
Product-Specific Accessibility Guidance
SiteImprove
SiteImprove is an enterprise website accessibility scanner in use at UNI. Each department will receive a weekly report emailed to them from the SiteImprove system.
Review your website's SiteImprove report for accessibility issues
Editoria11y
Editoria11y is the accessibility checker built into the Drupal Content Management System interface. It presents potential accessibility issues to you as you are adding or changing pages.