Making Web Pages Accessible

According to Technology Policy 99-3, all official New York State Web sites were to meet the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) 14 Web accessibility guidelines under priority-level one by September 30, 2000. Web page authors must consult the most current version of this widely referenced set of standards, available online at www.w3.org/tr/1999/wai-webcontent-19990505, to gauge the accessibility of their pages. Below, however, are some general accessibility guidelines:

Images

• Use the "alt" tag to describe images.
• Provide text links if using graphical elements for navigation.
• Keep graphics as small as possible (graphics should not exceed 50KB).

Downloads and plug-ins

• Use file compression, when possible, for faster download.
• File size should accompany all downloadable files.
• Provide concise how-to information for plug-ins or extras needed to access items.

Page layout

• Optimize pages for viewing on as many screen resolutions as possible (640 x 480, 800 x 600, etc.).
• Follow the W3C guidelines; code tables and frames for ADA compliance.
• For added ease-of-use, maintain a consistent layout throughout the site.