Use this checklist as a planning tool before, during, and after the development of your course materials.  This checklist helps you design a lean, clean, accessible and usable web course.  All of the items in the checklist address issues related to basic accessibility and usability.  Click on "more..." for examples and more information.

Copyright Clearance

• Copyright clearance was obtained for all materials inside the course that do not fall under the TEACH Act or Educational Fair Use. more...

Functionality

• All web pages and media components function correctly on major operating systems and different browsers supported by ITS. more...
• All necessary plug-ins or software to run video, animation, audio,  presentations, and / or course content files are easily accessible and usable on all student computer systems supported by ITS. more...
• Links to external URL's outside of the course connect to the intended pages without errors and open in a new window. more...
• Printed materials are easily read.
• The web pages require minimal scrolling using a standard 1024 x 768 screen resolution. more...
• For media or other elements that exceed a 30 sec. download time, clearly state the file size and expected download time at your learners' lowest connection speed. more...
• Graphics and video are compressed and/or sized for optimum web delivery and images are not stretched and distorted. more...

Accessibility Standards

• All Images have "alt" or "longdesc" tags. more...
• Images may be used to complement text, but should not be used to replace it.
• The "longdesc" tag is used to describe graphs and charts.
• Images that are linked will have "alt" tag text that is brief and describe where the link will take you.
• The web page uses relative sizes for text height versus an absolute unit. more...
• Line by line reading of a table makes sense. more...
• Cascading Style sheets (CSS) do not reduce usability in a browser that does not support them. more...
• When frames are used a complete NOFRAMES alternative is provided to the user.
• All information conveyed with color is also available without color. more...
• All foreground and background color combinations provide sufficient contrast when viewed by someone having vision difficulties or when viewed on a black and white screen. more...
• Client-side scripting languages (i.e., Javascript) used on web page do not detract from the page's accessibility when viewed in browsers not supporting this feature.
• An equal alternative, equivalent, and accessible (across browsers and accessibility devices) web page is provided when the author was not able to create an accessible web page.  more...
• All web pages checked and validated with W3C validator. more...

Layout and Organization

• Sans serif font is used in paragraph text for readability. more...
• CSS Style sheets are used correctly for all presentation aspects of the web page. more...
• Distracting background images are not used on pages containing textual information. more...
• Active and Visited Links are clearly identified with a unique color. more...

Navigation

• Site navigation is clear with a consistent hierarchy and is easy to understand. more...
• The heading levels are easy to identify. more...
• Custom navigation complements the built-in navigation. more...
• Information is not too deeply buried. more...
• Long documents with more than three pages (1000 words of text) have internal navigation. more...