At UNT Dallas, we’re committed to creating a web experience that’s accessible to everyone—including people with disabilities. That means every page you update or create must meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA.
This page is here to help you understand what that means, and how to make your content accessible. Some of these will seem harmless, but they all are flagged as violations when scanned.
Web accessibility means making sure everyone can use our website—no matter their ability. This includes people who:
Use screen readers (text-to-speech software)
Navigate by keyboard (instead of a mouse)
Have vision impairments or color blindness
Have hearing impairments
Have learning or cognitive disabilities
Following Accessibility guidelines helps everyone, not just assisstive technology users. We all want to be able to easily scan a page for the information we want. These practices make that happen.
As a content editor, you don’t need to write code—but you do need to follow these content rules every time you update a page. These rules help us meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards.
Use the built-in heading styles (H1, H2, H3, H4) in order.
Don’t make text bold to signify a heading, screen readers don't understand that.
In our CMS, always start with H2 when using headings on your page. Page tiles in our CMS are H1 by default and only one H1 should ever be on a page.
Why it matters: Headings help screen readers understand the page structure. They also help all users scan a page quickly.
The spacing between lines of text should only be created by one return key. Don't use multiple returns to create spacing between lines or paragraphs. Heading styles build in additional spacing by default.
Highlight this whole page. Notice all of the spacing between headings is not highlighted, that's because its built-in padding, not a return. Easily check your page like this when editing.
Why it matters: Screen readers see those extra returns as an empty <p></p> or <h2></h2> tag and assume content will be there. When there's not any, it is a confusing experience.
Don’t use “Click here” or similar. Screen readers can jump from link to link, reading each aloud in isolation. "Click Here" tells them nothing. It also forces all users to look around for context.
Use text that tells users where the link goes. This often requires rethinking how you phrase your sentence.
Bad: Click here to learn more about our admissions process
Awful: https://www.untdallas.edu/admissions/index.php Imagine having to listen through all of that.
Good: Discover how our admissions process works
Every image must include alternative text (alt text) that describes what it shows. Our CMS requires this field, it is under the label "alternative description" in the image upload window.
Don’t say “image of...” or “picture of...” the screen reader already announces that.
Keep alt text short—just a few words as if you were describing to a stranger.
Important: Avoid uploading images that contain text. Flyers and other designed pieces are not meant for the web and are major accessibility violations. If you absolutely must, keep text extremely minimal and fully replicate it in the alt text field.
This one can be deceptively difficult. "I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time" is an apt quote from Pascal.
Write clearly and simply. Only state was is needed.
Don’t use complex jargon or long blocks of text.
Consider using bullets; see below.
Why it matters: Clear writing helps people with cognitive disabilities and improves comprehension for everyone.
Use bulleted or numbered list buttons in the editor—not just hyphens or dashes.
Only use numbered lists when the entries are describing a strict sequence of events.
Why it matters: Screen readers recognize real lists and read them correctly.
All videos must have captions, closed captions are acceptable. Youtube auto-captions aren't awful, but you should edit them to add punctionation or fix other quirks.
Why it matters: We all use captions at some point when watching videos. This especially supports users who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Only use tables when you're presenting data.
Don’t use tables to create page layouts.
Only use the table feature in Snippet menu; its code has been made compliant.
PDFs and images do not get deleted just because you remove them from your page. If you take down a PDF or change/remove and image, you must delete it from within the CMS. If you do not, it is still public and findable on Google.
Those files are still associated with our university and the ADA requirements. Delete all files you're not actively displaying on your page.