Stanford Online Accessibility Program

Resources and Information

This is intended to be your one-stop location for Policies, Guidelines, White-papers and more covering the general topic of online accessibility. If the information you are looking for is not already listed here, please be sure to ask us.

• 10 "Must Read" articles on AJAX and Accessibility
  Collected below is a series of articles and opinions that hopefully will leave you with the same conclusion - if you’re going to use AJAX, you had better be prepared to works twice as hard, and possibly even maintain 2 versions of your web properties: there really is no other way.
• Alert Boxes, Error Messages, and Pop-up Windows
  Don't hide warnings, disclaimers or error messages with JavaScript or other client-side scripting. If a message is important, it is always important.
• "And the survey says…"
  Often, decisions and compromises must be made in projects large and small. Experienced decision makers surround themselves with factual data so that they can weigh the benefits and risks of any crucial decision.
• Beyond ALT Text: Making the Web Easy to Use for Users with Disabilities
  Beyond ALT Text - Jakob Neilson
• Building a Case for Accessible Web Design
  There are numerous reasons why creating an Accessible Web site is in your best interest.
• Colors and Accessibility Issues
  It is not the use of color that is an issue in terms of accessibility - rather, it is the use of colour as the only means to convey information or insufficient color contrast that poses potential problems.
• Creating Accessible Forms
  Forms are an important part of any web site. Forms allow for interaction between a site and people visiting or using the web site in the shape of information collection - either for dynamic re-processing (aka AJAX), or simply used as a submission tool (feedback or reporting form). In order to ensure the widest possible usage of forms on your web site, the forms must be created with accessibility and usability in mind.
• Defining Universal Web Accessibility
  When we speak about web accessibility we must acknowledge and understand the various types of impairments and barriers that may impact on how users will interact with your web content.
• Hyperlinks
  Clearly indicating the destination of your hyperlink allows all users to decide if they wish to pursue the link now, in the future, or not at all.
• Understanding Adaptive Technologies
  Adaptive technologies can be considered both hardware and software tools used by people with disabilities to access information from a computer.
• Words With Dignity
  Often, web developers and others responsible for producing accessible web content are at a loss to describe the various forms of disability their users may be dealing with.
• Writing for the web
  Preparing content for the web is much more than just copying text from your favorite word processor and pasting it into the framework of a web page.
• Factsheet on Persons with Disabilities
  Factsheet on Persons with Disabilities
• Functional Requirements for an Accessible Streaming Media Technology
  Multi-media, as its name implies, is content that deploys multiple streams of information delivery simultaneously, with the total of those streams delivering the complete information package to the end user. However, when one or more sensory receptors are not present or functioning, ensuring that the complete package is none-the-less delivered becomes a challenge to both the content author, as well as the end user.
• Foreign Languages on the Web
  A web page (or specifically series of web pages) written in English also features extensive tracts of Classical Latin text - text originating from the 12th and 13th century. The W3C WCAG1 guidance states: Clearly identify changes in the natural language of a document's text and any text equivalents (e.g., captions). (Priority 1, Checkpoint 4.1)
• White Paper: Foreign Languages on the Web
  A web page (or specifically series of web pages) written in English also features extensive tracts of Classical Latin text - text originating from the 12th and 13th century. The W3C WCAG1 guidance states: Clearly identify changes in the natural language of a document's text and any text equivalents (e.g., captions). (Priority 1, Checkpoint 4.1)
• Video Demonstrations of Adaptive Technology
  Videos demonstrating various Adaptive Technologies used by people with disabilities.
• Skip Navigation Link / Skip To Content Link
  By now, most web developers understand that for users of screen reading software, the software reads aloud the page content in the order with which it appears in your source code. While you may be able to style chunks of content on your page to appear in a certain order or place on the page, the screen readers continue to process the information in a linear format, regardless of that visual styling.
• Section 508 Checklist
  The Section 508 checklist
• W3C Checklist of Checkpoints for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
  Checklist of W3C Checkpoints for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
• Web Accessibility Standards and Guidelines - An Overview
  When developing web content, there are a number of different Standards and Guidelines that can be referenced.
• IBM Web accessibility checklist - version 3.5
  IBM has long committed themselves to creating accessible web content. They have published their own internal Accessibility Development Standards which they apply to all of the web content they produce.

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