Was your website created to be AODA compliant? Is it still compliant?
Did you know that any time you make a content update to the website – that is add text, a picture, a video, etc. – there are things you should be doing to maintain your AODA compliance?
AODA is the Accessibility for Ontarions with Disabilites Act, which for websites requires that public-facing websites for organizations of certain size meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA criteria.
Here are some of the things you can do to help maintain your websites compliance
Ensure that every image that has been added to the site has an “alt” description.
This allows visually impaired visitors who use a screen reader to understand what the image is about.
Make sure there is sufficient contrast between background colours and foreground text.
WCAG 2.0 level AA requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. There’s a great tool where you can check contrast at https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/
Check your headings.
Ensure your page headings and labels are informative and well structured (h1 followed by h2, etc.). More on this at: https://webaim.org/standards/wcag/checklist#sc2.4.6
Some tools to help
There are some excellent tools available for checking compliance which will also provide guidance on what is broken and what needs to be fixed. Some examples are:
- AChecker Web Accessibility Checker: add a page and it will scan it for you. There are options for the level of accessibility you need to meet. In Ontario it is WCAG 2.0 AA
- Wave: They also have browser extensions so that you can check as you work on your site.
- Deque: Another browser based tool
- Accessibe: Select “audit your website” from the Compliance menu. They also offer a widget that does some live front end adjustments to your website and provides users with additional accessibility tools.
And if you’d like to know more specifically about AODA: https://www.ontario.ca/page/how-make-websites-accessible
You don’t have to do this on your own.
We’ve assisted many clients with their AODA compliance, both when the site is launched and by re-checking after time has passed. We’d be happy to discuss and work with you as well.