ADA: What Makes a Web Site Accessible

(So that Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) codes may be better distinguished, they are capitalized. Your Webmaster will be able to determine which tags may be used based on the version of HTML your site is written in.)

Use ALT (alternative) tags on graphics. You may be using a graphic as a disclosure. FDIC membership is a common example as well as using your bank logo, a picture of your brick and mortar building and even employees pictures on your pages. They are there to say something, to promote brand recognition and a personalized feel. If the graphic cannot be seen what will be in its place, a red X? By using ALT tags, text will appear if the graphic does not and it can appear when the mouse is over the graphic, better explaining it. Alternative text should be descriptive such as "Member FDIC" or "First National Bank's downtown branch". The description can even include other text such as a telephone number, address or your hours.

Provide the transcript for any audio-based content. The user who cannot hear the audio portion needs to be able to know what was said whether this is a welcome message or instructions pertaining to a product or service. As broadband Internet connections grow, this technology will be used more and more.

Ensure your site is color coordinated. If you use colors to denote the importance or category of text or a table's cell, will that color be seen as intended? Red and green, stop and go, are two often confused colors. A person who is color blind does not see in black and white, but the colors can blend and become undistinguishable from one another. This means they cannot see your importance if it is color dependent.

Use a LINK tag to redirect a user from a page with accessibility problems, to one without them.

Use a NOFRAMES tag to allow the user to avoid navigational problems and confusion over the text. The text in the left frame may be read with the text in all frames to the right. By design for a sighted person this is not meant to happen. While the left frame is generally used for navigation or advertising, when read with other content it will not make sense.

Tables should be used for data that needs to be in a tabular format and not as a formatting practice. Screen readers go left to right, one line at a time, as mentioned above. Below are two screen shots. One is part of a table depicting deposit account terms. The second is that same table as it would be spoken by a screen reader or as seen in a text based browser. In this view, you can see the problem, a user with a screen reader would hear it and certainly not understand the intended disclosure. Going left to right, one line at a time the title lines are omitted from the real content.

Tables should also include a TABLE SUMMARY and CAPTION to describe the tables content.

Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) documents cannot be read with a screen reader. Adobe offers a tool to convert PDF documents to HTML or ASCII text which can be. You may choose to link to the Adobe site (http://access.adobe.com/) or provide PDF files in an alternative form yourself. Use the TITLE attribute (not the tag) to describe links on your site. This better informs the user of the links purpose.

These are a few of the things that can be done to help you make your site ADA compatible. There are many Internet sites to assist in this process. In many ways the Web is self-perpetuating and by searching, you'll find all the online resources you'll need to improve your site. One of the best accessibility information sites is the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative (W3C WAI) site (http://www.w3.org/WAI/). This is a master site dedicated towards improving accessibility on the Web for everyone. There are other excellent sites to refer to such as IBM's Accessibility Center (http://www-3.ibm.com/able/accessweb.html), which contains a checklist you may use in your sites review, and WebAble (http://www.webable.com/index.html) which has content, tools and links for more information.

A Table As It May Appear In A Browser Window
Minimum Opening Deposit Balance Required To Get APY Minimum Addition Amounts Interest Rate APY One Month Certificate of Deposit $500.00 $500.00 n/a 3.75% 3.82% The Same Table Being "Read" To A User
Minimum Opening Deposit
Balance Required To Get APY
Minimum Addition Amounts
Interest Rate
APY
One Month Certificate of Deposit
$500.00
$500.00
`n/a
3.75%
3.82%

Copyright © 2001 Compliance Action. Originally appeared in Compliance Action, Vol. 6, No. 10, 9/01