{"id":896,"date":"2025-09-03T12:19:27","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T17:19:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/digital-accessibility\/?post_type=documentation_guides&#038;p=896"},"modified":"2025-09-09T13:01:52","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T18:01:52","slug":"digital-accessibility-fundamentals-checklist","status":"publish","type":"documentation_guides","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/digital-accessibility\/documentation-guides\/getting-started\/digital-accessibility-fundamentals-checklist\/","title":{"rendered":"Fundamentals Checklist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"uwm-l-row\">\n<div class=\"uwm-l-col\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-digital-accessibility-principles\">Digital Accessibility Principles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The POUR principles provide a framework for making digital content accessible by ensuring it is perceivable, operable, understandable and robust for all users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Perceivable<\/strong> \u2013 Information and interface elements must be presented so users can perceive them with their senses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Operable<\/strong> \u2013 Users must be able to interact with the interface.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Understandable<\/strong> \u2013 Information and the operation of the interface must be clear.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Robust<\/strong> \u2013 Content must work reliably across different technologies, including assistive technologies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-titles-amp-headings\">Titles &amp; Headings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Add a unique title to your web page or document that matches the content of the page.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use one &lt;h1&gt; level heading for the title of a document or webpage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use headings in order from &lt;h1&gt; through &lt;h6&gt; without skipping levels.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-color-contrast\">Color Contrast<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Check the contrast of text and other elements.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Minimum contrast ratios:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Normal-size text&nbsp;\u2013&nbsp;4.5:1<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Large text (18+ point font) \u2013 3:1<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>UI elements like icons, buttons, text boxes \u2013&nbsp;3:1<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoid using images behind text because it can be distracting and make the text more difficult to read.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use a solid-color background to get a better contrast ratio with text.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoid relying on color to convey information.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-text-styling\">Text Styling<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use plain, preferably sans serif fonts for paragraph text.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use at least 12-point font.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Keep text styling simple, with minimal bolding, italics, underlines and capitalization.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Apply title case and sentence case when appropriate; never use all caps.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-magnification\">Magnification<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use high-quality images that won&#8217;t blur when magnified.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoid using images of text, which might pixelate.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Give content enough space (between paragraphs, between lines of text, around images and other elements, etc.) to support enlarging the content.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-readability\">Readability<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use plain language.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Support content scanning with good headlines, bullet points and content summaries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Communicate content sections through visual design.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-alt-text\">Alt Text<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Keep alt text to 150 characters or fewer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Describe the &#8220;why&#8221; of the image as well as the &#8220;what.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Keep alt text and image captions unique.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use longer image description for more complex images.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-image-descriptions\">Image Descriptions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Add longer image descriptions to the main text of the page.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Describe major themes or takeaways from the image.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-tables\">Tables<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Set heading rows or columns to label data in the table.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoid complex tables with multiple heading rows.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Contextualize the table within the content of the page.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-links-amp-buttons\">Links &amp; Buttons<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use unique, descriptive text.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Make links stand out (typically blue and underlined).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ensure good contrast between the link and regular text (3:1 contrast ratio minimum).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use concise labels for buttons.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Open new content in the same web browser tab (unless you know a new tab is required).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Notify users in the text if a link will open a new tab or window.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Notify users if a link will open or download a special file type like a PDF.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-consistent-help\">Consistent Help<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Include contact information in a consistent spot in your content.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"uwm-l-col uwm-l-col--4 uwm-l-offset--1\"><div class=\"content_block\" id=\"custom_post_widget-1095\"><nav aria-label=\"Sidebar\" class=\"uwm-p-navigation-list uwm-p-navigation-list--gold-border \"><div class=\"uwm-p-navigation-list--title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/digital-accessibility\/documentation-guides\/getting-started\/\">Getting Started with Digital Accessibility<\/a><\/div><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/digital-accessibility\/documentation-guides\/getting-started\/why-digital-accessibility-is-important\/\">Why Digital Accessibility is Important<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/digital-accessibility\/documentation-guides\/getting-started\/digital-accessibility-at-universities-of-wisconsin\/\">Digital Accessibility at Universities of Wisconsin<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/digital-accessibility\/documentation-guides\/getting-started\/what-is-in-scope-for-compliance\/\">What is in Scope for Compliance<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/digital-accessibility\/documentation-guides\/getting-started\/risk-of-non-compliance\/\">Risk of Non-Compliance<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"current\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/digital-accessibility\/documentation-guides\/getting-started\/digital-accessibility-fundamentals-checklist\/\"><span aria-current=\"page\">Fundamentals Checklist<\/span><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/digital-accessibility\/documentation-guides\/getting-started\/recommended-actions-how-to-prioritize\/\">Recommended Actions &amp; How to Prioritize<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"parent":655,"menu_order":5,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"tags":[],"documentation_guides_category":[],"class_list":["post-896","documentation_guides","type-documentation_guides","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Fundamentals Checklist - 51ÁÔÆæ 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