Site Checklist

Contents

Please review your APS website to be sure it meets CMS site requirements. All APS websites should meet these site requirements.

Web pages are accessible

Use one of these tools to make sure your web content is accessible.

• WAVE Accessibility Check – Single page checker
• Siteimprove Accessibility Platform – for department and school webmasters

What is Accessibility? The District is required to provide accessible online content.

Headings are in the correct order

• Headings outline topics and subtopics of a page or document.
• Headings are used to make a logical outline of a page or document.
• Related video: Why headings are so important?

Images contain alt text

• Images that are not linked utilize alternative text that describes the image for accessibility compliance
• Images that are linked use the alternative text to describe where the visitor will go, rather than a description of the image
• Related tutorial: Guidelines for Web Content Best Practices 
• Related video: Screen Reader Alt Attribute Test

PDFs are tagged and accessible

• All PDFs on the site have been tagged for accessibility and are not scanned documents so that screen readers can read the contents of the PDF 
• Related tutorial: Guidelines for Web Content Best Practices

Documents do not replace web content

HTML is preferred for information on the web. Documents can easily be converted into web pages on the APS website. Why not to use documents:

• Visitors might not have the proper software (e.g., Microsoft Office) to open the files.
• It can be hard, or impossible, to open and view files from mobile devices.
• Findability suffers (for users, and with the site search).
• Managing documents can be difficult for the people updating your website.

Links describe the destination

• All links on the site show descriptive link text, and not the actual website URL. The link should describe the destination when clicked. 
• Verbiage such as "click here," "learn more," or "more info" should not be used for links.
• Links should also open in the same window and not in a new window.  
• All email links show the email address: xxxxx@aps.edu
• Related video: Why use descriptive link text?

Media is captioned

• Videos on the site should be captioned for accessible access
• Related tutorial: Information about accessible videos

Additional recommendations

• Department contact information contains the street address, if applicable, email address, and phone number
• All phone numbers are formatted: (505) 123-4567 ext. 1234

This page was last updated on: June 29, 2020.