Website ADA Compliance

Website ADA Compliance Checklist: 

Level A

  1. Text

Controls or input fields must have a name describing their purpose and all media should include a text alternative that describes or defines the object. Titles should be included frequently that describe the topic being presented.

  1. Content

Content should be presented in multiple ways to accommodate different audiences. These ways include a variation of layouts, structure, logic, and instructions if necessary. Content shouldn’t include obsessive moving, blinking or scrolling and repeating blocks of content on multiple pages should be able to be skipped or bypassed.

  1. Color

Color should not be used to convey visual information or distinguish visual components, indicate actions, or prompt for a response.

  1. Keyboard Controls

Users must be able to navigate through the entire website with a keyboard interface without specific timings for individual keystrokes.

  1. Audio

In the case that audio is playing on a page for more than 3 seconds, the user must be able to either stop the audio or the audio volume should be controlled independently from the volume level of the system.

 

Level AA

  1. Text Contrast

The text content and images should have a contrast ratio of 4.5:1. Large scale text and images need to have a contrast ratio of 3:1. Text or images that are part of the user interface and serve only design purposes don’t have contrast requirements and a logo design has little to no contrast requirements.

  1. Keyboard Controls

Users must be able to navigate through the entire website with a keyboard interface without specific timings for individual keystrokes.

  1. Video / Audio

Captions should be provided for all live audio or video content.

  1. Secure Input

Make sure that security, legal and financial data transactions are secure. The user should be given the opportunity to recheck input data and a confirmation mechanism should be provided before finalizing the transaction.

  1. Consistent Navigation

Navigation that is repeated throughout multiple pages should be navigated in the same order each time they are repeated. A consistent navigation process will help eliminate ambiguity.

 

Level AAA

  • Sign Language

Support all prerecorded audio content with sign language interpretation. Avoid any background audio or sounds presented during prerecorded speech content.

  • Content Size

The width of blocks of content must not exceed 80 characters or glyphs. Line spacing must be at least 1.5 spaces within paragraphs and paragraph spacing must be at least 1.5 times larger than the line spacing. Content should be organized with section headings.

  • Interruptions

Avoid interruptions that might occur and allow users to postpone or suppress interruptions, except in the case of an emergency. Make sure the web pages don’t have content flashes more than 3 times per second.

  • Reading Level

Provide content for people who require a more advanced education level than lower secondary education (completion of 9th grade) to understand. Include a mechanism to identify definitions of unusual words and/or phrases.

  • Provide Help

Provide users with context-sensitive help. Prevent user input errors by providing users with the options to reverse the submission of information, correct the info, allow review and confirm before finalizing the submission.