Quick tips

Here is a list of quick tips for developing accessible web content and sites. For more detailed information on any of the tips, follow the links.

Plan to develop an accessible website.
Choose web tools which facilitate the development of accessible web content and sites.
Follow design guidelines for each design element
- Writing style
  Use a plain, clear and inclusive writing style.
- Mark-up and style sheets
  Use mark-up to convey information rather than images. Control layout and presentation by using style sheets.
- Colour
  Make available without colour any important information which is conveyed with use of colour.
- Graphics
  Provide alternative text equivalents for simple graphics and a long description for complex graphics.
- Forms
  Associate form labels with their elements by placing them immediately above or to the left of the element.
- Frames
  Use the 'title' attribute to title each frame to enable adaptive technologies to identify and navigate through frames.
- Moving text and flashing screens
  Use style sheets with scripting to create movement as this allows users to turn off or override the effect more easily.
- Multimedia
  Add an audio description which describes visuals in multimedia and provide a transcript for audio. Also make use of all accessibility features for any Macromedia Flash content.
- Tables
  Identify row and column headers for data tables and use mark-up to associate data cells and header cells for data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers.
- Applets and Scripts
  Provide equivalent information on an alternative accessible page if content cannot be accessed because scripts, applets or other objects are turned off or not supported.
- Navigation mechanisms
  Provide navigation mechanisms in a clear and consistent manner.
- PDF documents
  Provide information to users on how they can access PDF documents easily. Create PDF files in Acrobat 6 or greater.
- General
  Provide a link to an alternative page which has equivalent information if you cannot create an accessible page. Always include a link to a page that describes the accessibility features of your site.
Test site for accessibility with a range of users, browsers and computers.
Inform users on how they can maximise their web accessibility.