ABC Accessibility
Access keys
Most browsers support jumping to specific links by typing keys defined on the web site. On Windows, you can press ALT + an access key; on Macintosh, you can press Control + an access key.
The home page and all archives define the following access keys:
- Access key 1
- Home page
- Access key 4
- Search box
- Access key 9
- Feedback
- Access key 0
- Accessibility statement
Standards compliance
- All pages in this site validate as HTML 4 Strict.
- All pages in this site use structured semantic markup.
Navigation aids
- All pages on this site include a consistent set of global navigation links.
- All pages on this site include a search box (access key 4).
Links
- Many links have title attributes which describe the link in greater detail, unless the text of the link already fully describes the target (such as the headline of an article).
- Wherever possible, links are written to make sense out of context. Many browsers (such as JAWS, Home Page Reader, Lynx, and Opera) can extract the list of links on a page and allow the user to browse the list, separately from the page.
- Link text is never duplicated; two links with the same link text always point to the same address.
- There are no “
javascript:” pseudo-links. All links can be followed in any browser, even if scripting is turned off. - There are no links that open new windows without warning.
Images
- All content images used on this site include descriptive ALT attributes. Purely decorative graphics include empty ALT attributes.
Visual design
This site and all its pages use cascading style sheets for visual layout. Nowhere are tables used for layout
- Internet Explorer has a limited text resizing feature (”View” menu, “Text Size”), but it only works with relative font sizes. This site only uses relative font sizes
- If your browser or browsing device does not support stylesheets at all, the content of each page is still readable.
Accessibility references
- W3 accessibility guidelines, which explains the reasons behind each guideline.
- W3 accessibility techniques, which explains how to implement each guideline.
- W3 accessibility checklist, a busy developer’s guide to accessibility.
- U.S. Federal Government Section 508 accessibility guidelines.
Accessibility software and services
- Total Validator , a free service to analyze web pages for compliance to accessibility guidelines.
- HTML Validator, a free service for checking that web pages conform to published HTML standards.
- Web Page Backward Compatibility Viewer, a tool for viewing your web pages without a variety of modern browser features.
- JAWS, a screen reader for Windows. A time-limited demo is available.
- Lynx, a free text-only web browser.
Related resources
- WebAIM, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving accessibility to online learning materials.
- Designing More Usable Web Sites, a large list of additional resources.
