Online Communication Administrators

Hello from NASN! We covered the topic of Accessibility. The following information is shared to provide a foundation on the topic of Website Accessibility. Please keep in mind that I am not an accessibility expert but share what I know with the goal of awareness and some actionable things you can do to make your website's content more accessibility. Thank you all for your time! Please share any thoughts or feedback you have in this thread.

ACCESSIBILITY

Four principles of website accessibility: 

• Perceivable: Consumer can get the information whether or not they can see or hear
• Operable: Consumer can get the information whether they use a mouse or just a keyboard
• Understandable: Consumer can get the information whether or not they understand complicated language; and the content appears and operates in predictable ways
• Robust: Consumer can get the information using any browser, any device, and/or any assistive technologies such as a screen reader

ACCESSIBILITY AT NASN

• US Standards (see below) may apply to non-profits that receive federal funding.
• An accessibility audit for NASN.org including the online communities was conducted in 2021 and will be redone during the next redesign.
• Website includes an accessibility statement: https://www.nasn.org/accessibility

TECHNICAL GUIDELINES

• W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines): https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG/
• W3C Introduction to Accessibility: https://www.w3.org/WAI/fundamentals/accessibility-intro/
• W3C Introduction video: https://www.w3.org/WAI/videos/standards-and-benefits/

US GOVERNMENT STANDARDS

• Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA: https://www.ada.gov/resources/web-guidance/
  • Checklist for State and Local Governments: https://www.accessibility.works/blog/ada-title-ii-2-compliance-standards-requirements-states-cities-towns/
• Information and Communication Technology 508 Standards and 255 Guidelines: https://www.access-board.gov/ict/
• Section 508 compliance assistance: https://www.section508.gov/

EU ACCESSIBILITY ACT

• The Regulation: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32019L0882
• Key Takeaways: https://www.snapsight.com/live-channel/2e6f5746-2b97-487c-b2ef-e72de8252236/96f6a55e-5bdf-401f-849d-55a5348d96b1/presentation?tab=takeaways&lang=English

CMS (CONTENT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE) RESOURCES (your web hosting platform)

• Documentation: Best Practices - Accessibility https://support.higherlogic.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032700212-Best-Practices-Accessibility
• Webinar: Accessibility https://higherlogic.zoom.us/rec/play/nTXgD_cDh8m1TWF0_AkzEmEHB0CB0abss0juCqr9lU9e9URZBO1mbGeRZ39pJQjfznh9C0K7XixGg9an.R1fiLSm2-FvM7X9x
  passcode: TNU^3npA
  • KEY TAKEAWAYS
    • Your CMS meets the WCAG technical guidelines, version 2.1 to an AA level of compliance
    • Your CMS has been verified accessible against the VPAT (Volunteer product accessibility template)

GENERAL TIPS 

• Use the text editor to format text: Paragraphs, Headers
• Use Alt Text for images that support the message you are communicating
• Give links unique and descriptive names (a link is a promise)
• Use color with care
• Design forms for accessibility
• Use tables for tabulated data only and not to create a layout for your page
• Make sure content can be accessed with a keyboard
• If you have dynamic content on your site that requires custom programming technologies, make sure it has been designed in alignment with the Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) suite of web standards: https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/aria/ [this could apply if you were working with a 3rd party designer to create something for your website - for instance, a dynamic map that changes its form based on the end user's location]

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Accessibility Evaluation Tool https://wave.webaim.org/
• Color Contrast Checker https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/
• Making Documents accessible:
  • Training from Microsoft https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/accessibility-video-training-71572a1d-5656-4e01-8fce-53e35c3caaf4
  • Training documentation from Adobe https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/creating-accessible-pdfs.html
  • Training video on PDF Accessibility from the National Clearinghouse of Rehab Training Materials on these two videos: https://youtu.be/PJvDoArpZ0g?si=26ubUp1dxHAe5CTW & https://youtu.be/2YL6PklVgag?si=Mca_3ZwKRHKbzsCN
• Live Meetings: https://www.accessibility.com/blog/ways-to-make-classes-more-accessible

------------------------------
Sharon Conley BA
Director of Web Operations and Member Experience
South Portland, ME United States
------------------------------