Accessibility Guidelines

Website accessibility refers to the intentional practice of developing, designing, and maintaining a website so that all page viewers, including those with disabilities, can understand, navigate, and engage with all aspects of the website. 

Knowing that website accessibility is an essential component of website design and development, the page layouts and content types available in Studio Sites have all been created with accessibility in mind, ensuring:

• Clear and consistent navigation options
• Sufficient contrast between foreground text and background colors
• Mobile responsive designs that automatically adjust content to maximize readability regardless of the size of the screen used to view the page

As you customize and maintain your Studio Site website, ensure the following elements remain accessible to all potential page visitors:

• Images
• Documents
• File names

Image accessibility standards

When adding an image to the T4 Media Library, ensure that you always add appropriate "alternative text" or "alt text" in the Description / Alt text field. 

Providing appropriate descriptions of all images is inclusive to a variety of page viewers, including those that have visual disabilities. Digital assistive reading devices rely on accurate image descriptions to help users understand what is happening in an image on a website.

Example

Appropriate alt text

"Julie Heimbach, M.D., Transplant Center Director, smiles as she sits next to a pediatric patient in a hospital exam room at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota."

Inappropriate alt text

"A medical appointment."
"Provider and patient"
"Julie Heimbach, M.D."

Document accessibility standards

Only PDF documents should be added to the T4 Media Library and linked to content within a Studio Site webpage. However, its often easier to ensure a document is accessible during its initial creation than it is after it has been saved as a PDF. 

Microsoft provides an overview of creating an accessible Word document and how to check for accessibility while you work in Word. 

An accurate and full check of a PDF document for accessibility begins with the original file being created and saved properly. Do not use the Print to PDF function. Always use "Save as Adobe PDF" when creating a PDF file in Microsoft Word.

File naming

Whether you're naming a file that's for a document, presentation, image, or graphic, there are appropriate and inappropriate practices for file naming conventions.

Appropriate and consistent file naming practices positively impacts file users by:

• Fostering a more intuitive understanding of the files they're accessing.
• Ensuring assistive technology has correct and concise information to read to its users.
• Finding information more easily through the use of relevant keywords that improve search engine optimization (SEO).