Checklist of Checkpoints for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
For full details, see http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/full-checklist)
Priorities
Each checkpoint has a priority level assigned by the Working Group based
on the checkpoint's impact on accessibility.
Priority 1
A Web content developer must satisfy this checkpoint.
Otherwise, one or more groups will find it impossible to access information
in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint is a basic requirement for
some groups to be able to use Web documents.
Priority 2
A Web content developer should satisfy this checkpoint.
Otherwise, one or more groups will find it difficult to access information
in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint will remove significant barriers
to accessing Web documents.
Priority 3
A Web content developer may address this checkpoint.
Otherwise, one or more groups will find it somewhat difficult to access
information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint will improve access
to Web documents.
Some checkpoints specify a priority level that may change under certain
(indicated) conditions.
Priority 1 checkpoints
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In General (Priority 1)
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1.1 Provide
a text equivalent for every non-text element (e.g., via "alt", "longdesc",
or in element content). This includes: images, graphical
representations of text (including symbols), image map regions,
animations (e.g., animated GIFs), applets and programmatic objects,
ascii
art, frames, scripts, images used as list bullets, spacers, graphical
buttons, sounds (played with or without user interaction), stand-alone
audio files, audio tracks of video, and video.
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2.1 Ensure
that all information conveyed with color is also available without
color, for example from context or markup.
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4.1 Clearly
identify changes in the natural language of a document's text and
any text equivalents (e.g., captions).
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6.1 Organize
documents so they may be read without style sheets. For example,
when an HTML document is rendered without associated style sheets,
it must still be possible to read the document.
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6.2 Ensure
that equivalents for dynamic content are updated when the dynamic
content changes.
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7.1 Until
user agents allow users to control flickering, avoid causing the
screen to flicker.
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14.1 Use
the clearest and simplest language appropriate for a site's content.
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And if you use images and image maps (Priority 1)
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1.2 Provide
redundant text links for each active region of a server-side image
map.
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9.1 Provide
client-side image maps instead of server-side image maps except
where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric
shape.
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And if you use tables (Priority 1)
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5.1 For
data tables, identify row and column headers.
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5.2 For
data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column
headers, use markup to associate data cells and header cells.
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And if you use frames (Priority 1)
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12.1 Title
each frame to facilitate frame identification and navigation.
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And if you use applets and scripts (Priority 1)
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6.3 Ensure that
pages are usable when scripts, applets, or other programmatic objects
are turned off or not supported. If this is not possible, provide
equivalent information on an alternative accessible page.
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And if you use multimedia (Priority 1)
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1.3 Until
user agents can automatically read aloud the text equivalent of
a visual track, provide an auditory description of the important
information of the visual track of a multimedia presentation.
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1.4 For
any time-based multimedia presentation (e.g., a movie or animation),
synchronize equivalent alternatives (e.g., captions or auditory
descriptions of the visual track) with the presentation.
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And if all else fails (Priority 1)
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11.4 If, after
best efforts, you cannot create an accessible page, provide a link
to an alternative page that uses W3C technologies, is accessible,
has equivalent information (or functionality), and is updated as
often as the inaccessible (original) page.
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Priority 2 checkpoints
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In General (Priority 2)
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2.2 Ensure
that foreground and background color combinations provide sufficient
contrast when viewed by someone having color deficits or when viewed
on a black and white screen. [Priority 2 for images, Priority 3
for text].
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3.1 When an
appropriate markup language exists, use markup rather than images
to convey information.
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3.2 Create
documents that validate to published formal grammars.
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3.3 Use
style sheets to control layout and presentation.
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3.4 Use
relative rather than absolute units in markup language attribute
values and style sheet property values.
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3.5 Use
header elements to convey document structure and use them according
to specification.
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3.6 Mark
up lists and list items properly.
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3.7 Mark up quotations.
Do not use quotation markup for formatting effects such as indentation.
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6.5 Ensure
that dynamic content is accessible or provide an alternative presentation
or page.
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7.2 Until
user agents allow users to control blinking, avoid causing content
to blink (i.e., change presentation at a regular rate, such as turning
on and off).
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7.4 Until
user agents provide the ability to stop the refresh, do not create
periodically auto-refreshing pages.
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7.5 Until
user agents provide the ability to stop auto-redirect, do not use
markup to redirect pages automatically. Instead, configure the server
to perform redirects.
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10.1 Until
user agents allow users to turn off spawned windows, do not cause
pop-ups or other windows to appear and do not change the current
window without informing the user.
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11.1 Use
W3C technologies when they are available and appropriate for a task
and use the latest versions when supported.
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11.2 Avoid
deprecated features of W3C technologies.
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12.3 Divide
large blocks of information into more manageable groups where natural
and appropriate.
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13.1 Clearly
identify the target of each link.
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13.2 Provide
metadata to add semantic information to pages and sites.
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13.3 Provide
information about the general layout of a site (e.g., a site map
or table of contents).
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13.4 Use
navigation mechanisms in a consistent manner.
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And if you use tables (Priority 2)
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5.3 Do
not use tables for layout unless the table makes sense when linearized.
Otherwise, if the table does not make sense, provide an alternative
equivalent (which may be a linearized version).
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5.4 If a
table is used for layout, do not use any structural markup for the
purpose of visual formatting.
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And if you use frames (Priority 2)
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12.2 Describe
the purpose of frames and how frames relate to each other if it
is not obvious by frame titles alone.
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And if you use forms (Priority 2)
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10.2 Until
user agents support explicit associations between labels and form
controls, for all form controls with implicitly associated labels,
ensure that the label is properly positioned.
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12.4 Associate
labels explicitly with their controls.
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And if you use applets and scripts (Priority 2)
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6.4 For
scripts and applets, ensure that event handlers are input device-independent.
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7.3 Until
user agents allow users to freeze moving content, avoid movement
in pages.
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8.1 Make
programmatic elements such as scripts and applets directly accessible
or compatible with assistive technologies [Priority 1 if functionality
is important and not presented elsewhere, otherwise Priority 2.]
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9.2 Ensure
that any element that has its own interface can be operated in a
device-independent manner.
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9.3 For
scripts, specify logical event handlers rather than device-dependent
event handlers.
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Priority 3 checkpoints
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In General (Priority 3)
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4.2 Specify
the expansion of each abbreviation or acronym in a document where
it first occurs.
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4.3 Identify
the primary natural language of a document.
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9.4 Create
a logical tab order through links, form controls, and objects.
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9.5 Provide
keyboard shortcuts to important links (including those in client-side
image maps), form controls, and groups of form controls.
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10.5 Until
user agents (including assistive technologies) render adjacent links
distinctly, include non-link, printable characters (surrounded by
spaces) between adjacent links.
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11.3 Provide
information so that users may receive documents according to their
preferences (e.g., language, content type, etc.)
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13.5 Provide
navigation bars to highlight and give access to the navigation mechanism.
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13.6 Group
related links, identify the group (for user agents), and, until
user agents do so, provide a way to bypass the group.
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13.7 If search
functions are provided, enable different types of searches for different
skill levels and preferences.
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13.8 Place
distinguishing information at the beginning of headings, paragraphs,
lists, etc.
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13.9 Provide
information about document collections (i.e., documents comprising
multiple pages.).
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13.10 Provide
a means to skip over multi-line ASCII art.
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14.2 Supplement
text with graphic or auditory presentations where they will facilitate
comprehension of the page.
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14.3 Create
a style of presentation that is consistent across pages.
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And if you use images and image maps (Priority 3)
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1.5 Until
user agents render text equivalents for client-side image map links,
provide redundant text links for each active region of a client-side
image map.
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And if you use tables (Priority 3)
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5.5 Provide
summaries for tables.
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5.6 Provide
abbreviations for header labels.
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10.3 Until
user agents (including assistive technologies) render side-by-side
text correctly, provide a linear text alternative (on the current
page or some other) for all tables that lay out text in
parallel, word-wrapped columns.
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And if you use forms (Priority 3)
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10.4 Until
user agents handle empty controls correctly, include default, place-holding
characters in edit boxes and text areas.
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