Websites

Small, consistent choices—like clear headings, descriptive links, and strong color contrast—make a big difference. As you start to apply these practices, you will see that accessibility and good user experience go hand in hand.

Web accessibility draws on several Core Concepts. If you focus on these areas as you create or update pages, you will address many of the most common barriers.

• Titles & Headings - Use clear, descriptive page titles and headings that reflect the content that follows. Headings should follow a logical order (H1, H2, H3) to help both users and assistive technologies understand how the page is organized.
• Image Alt Text - Provide meaningful alternative text for images and icons that convey information. Alt text helps users who cannot see images understand the purpose of the visual. For purely decorative images, mark them as decorative so they are skipped.
• Hyperlinks - Use link text that clearly describes the destination or action, rather than “click here” or bare URLs. Descriptive links help all users scan the page and are essential for people who navigate by tabbing through links.
• Color Contrast - Ensure that text, icons, and important visual elements have sufficient contrast against their background so they are easy to read on different screens and in different lighting conditions. Avoid using color alone to convey meaning.
• Navigation & Order - Arrange headings, content, and interactive elements in a logical sequence that matches how you expect people to move through the page. Make sure keyboard users and screen readers encounter content in a sensible order and can reach all controls.
• Copy Formatting - Use short paragraphs, clear spacing, and lists to make content easier to scan. Avoid large “walls of text,” overuse of bold or italics, or inconsistent formatting that can make content harder to read.
• Captions & Transcripts - When you embed video or audio, ensure captions and transcripts are available and clearly linked so users who cannot hear or play audio can still access the information.
• Technical - Working in UC‑approved and supported web systems means you can rely on templates and components that are already designed with accessibility in mind and do not need your own dedicated technical resource for every page. If you choose to build sites or use independent third‑party systems outside of UC’s supported platforms, your team becomes responsible for ensuring that the underlying templates, components, and framework are accessible.

UC’s centrally supported content management system (CMS) is itself an important accessibility tool. It provides approved templates and components designed with accessibility in mind, so you do not have to build everything from scratch. Using the central CMS gives you access to layouts, navigation, and form patterns that already follow UC accessibility standards, reduces the need for your own technical resources to design and maintain accessible structures, and keeps your site visually and technically aligned with UC’s broader web presence. You are not required to use the central CMS, but choosing UC‑approved tools generally makes it easier to create and maintain accessible content over time

If you manage UC web content, you should have access to Siteimprove, the university’s primary tool for monitoring and improving web accessibility. Siteimprove can scan your site for common accessibility issues, highlight specific pages and elements that need attention, and help you track progress over time as you make fixes. If you are responsible for a UC website and are not sure whether you have Siteimprove access, use the Siteimprove access request form to get connected.

Even with UC’s CMS and Siteimprove, it is useful to know a few free tools you can run yourself. Color contrast checkers let you enter or sample text and background colors to confirm they meet recommended contrast ratios. Browser-based accessibility checkers, such as WAVE or similar extensions, can quickly flag missing alt text, low contrast, and structural issues on individual pages. Trying your pages with built‑in tools like VoiceOver (Mac), Narrator (Windows), or free screen readers like NVDA, and navigating with the Tab key, helps you experience your site more like someone using assistive technology and spot issues that automated tools may miss.