Accessibility

All sites available to the public, including Kent State University’s publicly accessible websites, must be compliant with WCAG 2.1.

Accessibility Training for Webmasters

Want to make your Kent State website accessible to all users? Join the Accessibility for Webmasters training series to learn key web accessibility principles, audit and fix issues using Siteimprove, and develop a long-term accessibility strategy for your department.

The training also covers best practices for creating accessible Word documents and PDFs, including:

  • Proper document tagging
  • Using heading styles for clear structure
  • Adding alternative text for images
  • Handling scanned documents effectively

accessibility training

Accessibility Examples (Correct and Incorrect Usage)

See real examples of the changes needed to make your website compliant with WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

accessibility examples

 

Requirements at a Glance

Ensuring accessibility goes beyond compliance—it improves user experience for everyone. Below are key guidelines to help make your website, documents, and multimedia content accessible to all users.

Images
  • Images should not be used as buttons or links.
  • Images should not contain text unless absolutely necessary.

Alt Attributes

Alt attributes provide a text alternative when images are not displayed.

  • Alternative text (alt attributes) must be added to all images.
  • Alt attributes must convey meaning rather than appearance.
  • As with captions, student names should not be used unless featuring a student in a success story or news release. Otherwise, use a generic description in the caption or alt attribute, such as: "A freshman anthropology major studies in the department lounge.
Animations
  • Animations must respect user preferences. Ensure animations can be paused and avoid auto-playing animations that last longer than 5 seconds.
  • Do not use blinking text. Visitors cannot stop the text from blinking.
Links

Links should be descriptive and clear. Avoid vague phrases like 'click here' or 'read more.' Ensure links make sense when read out of context by screen readers.

  • Incorrect: To find out more information about our wellness programs, click here.
  • Correct: Find more information about our wellness programs.
Background and Font Color
  • Ensure text has a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text against its background. Use tools like WebAIM’s Contrast Checker to validate color contrast.
  • The primary background color should be white. If a background color is used, ensure proper contrast.
  • Do not rely on color alone to convey meaning (e.g., "click the red arrow").
Large Pages

For long documents, include a table of contents at the top and navigation links for easy access.

Documents

Use caution when uploading PDFs and PowerPoint files, as they can present accessibility challenges. PowerPoint files may not be fully readable by screen readers, and PDFs require specific software to open. To ensure accessibility, provide an alternative format, such as an HTML page or an accessible Word document. Refer to Student Accessibility Services for guidelines on creating accessible content.

PDF Usage

Forms

Design forms with accessibility in mind. Include clear instructions and maintain consistent placement of labels for form fields.

Web Form Policies

Videos

If the video host allows, enable closed captioning. Auto-generated captions (e.g., from YouTube) can assist but must be reviewed for accuracy. If closed captions are unavailable, transcribe the video and provide a link to the transcript. Videos are considered content and must be captioned for accessibility. For official content, use professional captioning services to ensure compliance.

Complete ADA Compliance Information
© 2025 Kent State University All rights reserved.