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Making library website content accessible can seem overwhelming. It takes time and effort to ensure that your library’s website is as accessible by as many people as possible. A three-step strategy with defined objectives broken down into smaller tasks can help you make manageable progress towards the overall accessibility goal. The strategy is:
- Step 1: Remove
- Step 2: Revise
- Step 3: Comply
Step 1: Remove
The first step is to clean up your library website and remove outdated content. This will allow you to focus on making only the up-to-date and most important website content accessible. This involves deleting outdated webpages, PDFs, and documents, as well as removing images that are not in use.
Back to topStep 2: Revise
After you have removed content that is no longer being used or needed, focus on making your remaining website content accessible. Add headings and subheadings to webpages with lots of text, update hyperlinks to be descriptive, check images for alt text, and consider converting PDFs and documents to webpages.
This is the time to replace content that is less or inaccessible with content that is more accessible. Refer to the table below for some examples. Use the best practices outlined in this toolkit on text, color, headings, hyperlinks, and alternative text as you revise your website content.
Instead of: | Use: |
|---|---|
Posting a PDF or Word document | An HTML webpage with defined headings and subheadings |
Placing an image that contains lots of embedded text on a webpage | A simplified image, with fewer words and descriptive alternative text |
Using “click here” or a long URL for hyperlinks | Short, meaningful text that describes where the link will take the user |
Infographics/data visualization | Include stats, check color contrast (don’t rely on color alone) |
Step 3: Comply
Going forward, ensure that new digital content is accessible from the start. Implement workflows to complete accessibility steps as you add new information to your website. Getting into the practice will boost your skills and help your website maintain compliance so that it is accessible for anyone who needs it.
Workflow Suggestions
- Add a heading structure when creating webpages.
- If your library’s website platform allows, add alt text to an image at the time of upload.
- Post library board agendas and minutes as HTML webpages instead of PDFs.
- Choose a palette of colors for your website that meets color contrast requirements and use it throughout.
Tips for Success
- Reach out to your city to see if they have access to any additional resources or tools that may be helpful in this process.
- Set a timer and work on your website in short bursts, even 15 or 30 minutes at a time makes headway.
- Track your progress on a spreadsheet; include the webpage title, URL, status, and any notes that may be helpful.
- Even if your website is not able to meet the federal deadline for accessibility compliance, making progress shows you’re taking the requirement seriously and intend to keep working towards the goal.