ADA Accessibility Recommendations

Complying with the ADA is important for every website to consider. Below are a few samples of the types of tasks that should be included as part of the project to make your site ADA compliant:

1. One option that we did for the New York Law School was to supply an “ADA” version of the site. It uses the same content, but arranges the code on the site in such a way that text only browsers can better read the page to facilitate easier access to the content. We also turn off JavaScript allowing for better navigation and change the style-sheets so that everything is in black and white.
2. Another technique is to make sure “Alt” tags are used for your assets. When a screen reader or text browser encounters an image without an alt tag, the word "[image]" is displayed on screen, and the person browsing this page has no idea what the image is or why it is there. “Alt” tags let you include a short description of the image in question, so your viewers can "see" what they are missing. It is also good practice for Search Engine Optimization.
3. There are certain types of functionality that should not be included on an ADA compliant site. For instance, blink tags and image maps should not be part of the site.
4. Video and sound files should use techniques like transcripts and closed captioning for people who are hearing impaired.
5. Make call to action jump out at users by using large buttons or text.
6. Be specific with your instructions on the page. Aviod ambiguous text.
7. Aviod using JavaScript for important information.
8. Add content in HTML rather then in a PDF format.
9. Don't use "Click here' for hyperlinks. Be specific on where the user would be taken.
10. Lable all form elements. All labeling should be semantic.