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Accessibility Guidelines

Accessibility Guidelines

Indiana University’s commitment to web accessibility mirrors our institutional policies and core values, strongly emphasizing our dedication to inclusivity and ensuring accessible experiences for everyone. All IU Blogs site owners and content creators are required to maintain the accessibility of their blogs and content.

Siteimprove is a cloud-based web governance tool provided free by University Information Technology Services (UITS) to all IU Blogs site owners to monitor for accessibility issues. Learn more about Siteimprove.

Common Siteimprove Errors and Solutions

“Page language has not been identified” and “page missing a title”
This is caused by a WordPress plugin and requires an exception to be submitted to Siteimprove. Please report this error to the IU Blogs Administrators.

“Text is clipped when resized”
The purpose of this error is to notify the developer when text size can not be scaled up to 200%. This error will occur on IU Blogs sites hidden behind IU Login. The button labeled “Use IU Login” is incorrectly styled. The IU Blogs Administrators are working with the vendor to resolve this issue. You may ignore this error only if it occurs on the IU Blogs login page for your IU Blogs site.

“Container element is empty”
The recent comments widget, without comments, has an empty <ul> tag. The IU Blogs Administrators are working with the vendor to resolve this issue.

“Button missing a text alternative”
Remove the role attribute (role=”button”) from all buttons or add text for the button.

The JetPack plugin was removed in Fall 2023 because it did not meet Indiana University’s accessibility requirements. Remove all JetPack slideshows from your site.

Please see the following reference documents for more information:

“Links are not clearly identifiable”
Removing the styling distinctions of a link will cause this error. For instance, removing the IU Blogs theme default link underline will throw this error.

Those IU Blogs sites using the IU Kelley theme will see this error. The IU Blogs Administrators are working with the Kelley School of Business to resolve this issue.

“Inline frame missing a text alternative”
Inline frames or iframes embed content such as audio and video onto a page. Remove broken or unneeded iframes. Add text alternatives to inline frames. See the MDN document “The Inline Frame element” for more information.

“Image missing a text alternative”
Images require a text alternative that conveys the purpose and function of the non-text content. Use a text alternative even if there is a caption. See the IU Knowledge Base document “Alternative text for images” for instructions on creating effective text alternatives.

“Link missing a text alternative”
Links need to display accessible text that describes the intent of the linked page. Do not use vague text descriptions such as “Click here” and “Learn more.” Unlike images, links do not have an HTML “alt” attribute.

<a href=”https://blogs.iu.edu”>Text alternative goes here.</a>

See the Siteimprove help document “Accessibility rule: Link without a text alternative, explained” and the IU Knowledge Base document “Write link text for accessibility” for more information.

“Decorative image is exposed to assistive technologies”
Images require a text alternative unless they are meant to be decorative. Remove the HTML “alt” attribute from any image intended to be a decorative image. Otherwise, provide an alternative text for the image.

This error will occur when nesting an image within a link, and the image does not have a text alternative. Images nested within a link should not be decorative and must have a text alternative.

See the IU Knowledge Base document “Alternative text for images” for instructions on creating effective text alternatives.

“Element IDs are not unique”
An HTML ID is used to identify HTML elements on a page and must be unique. Do not use duplicate IDs on a single page. Remove any IDs that are not needed. Change duplicate IDs to make them unique. See the MDN document “id” for more information about HTML IDs.

“Empty headings”
A heading is an HTML element that signifies a title or subtitle. There are six levels of headings ranging from h1 to h6. Headings must have content. Resolve this error by adding text to the header or deleting the header tags. See the IU Knowledge Base document “Headings and web page accessibility” for instructions on how to use headings.

“Color contrast does not meet minimum requirement”
This accessibility error happens when the text color and background color have too little contrast between them. It is recommended not to use custom text colors. Use text and background colors that, when displayed together, meet the minimum requirement for contrast.

Those IU Blogs sites using the IU Kelley theme will see this error. The IU Blogs Administrators are working with the Kelley School of Business to resolve this issue.

See the IU Knowledge Base document “Check color contrast on a website” for more information.

“Hidden element has focusable content”
The “Subscriptions” plugin can enable a floating subscription button at the bottom of every page of your IU Blogs site. This floating subscription button throws this accessibility error. The IU Blogs Administrators are working with the vendor to resolve the issue. Until a resolution is provided by the vendor, all floating subscription buttons should be disabled.

The following are instructions on how to disable the floating subscription button.

  1. Navigate to your IU Blogs site Dashboard.
  2. Click the “Subscriptions” link in the left menu column.
  3. Click the “Settings” link in the left menu column under “Subscriptions.”
  4. Uncheck “Will place a subscription button permanently in the bottom right of your site.”
  5. Click the “Save Changes” button.

 

Accessibility Guidelines

Please implement the following accessibility guidelines on your IU Blogs site and share them with your content editors and contributors.

  • Use the “Paste as Text” button when copying from other applications like Microsoft Word. “Past as Text” removes unwanted formatting and HTML elements. This button is among the menu buttons of the text editor for every post and page.
  • Always use alternative text (alt text) even if there is a caption.
  • Always use alternative text (alt text) on iframes and when wrapping an image with a link.
  • Do not remove the underline from links. Links without an underline are not clearly identifiable.
  • Do not change the color of the text from the default. Text with lighter colors does not meet color contrast requirements.
  • Do not wrap an image with a heading.
  • Tables must be accessible. For more information, see https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/tables/.
  • Do not use HTML tables to organize content or justify images. Use the built-in layout and editing tools provided by WordPress.

Additional accessibility resources are listed in the IU Knowledge Base document “Accessibility resources at IU.”

 

Retire Your IU Blogs Site

Do you no longer want your IU Blog site? Contact the IU Blogs Administrators to request the removal of your site.

 

Limited Support

Limited support is available form the IU Blogs Administrators.

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