ADA Compliance Guide [Next Gen] Follow
Your Propertybase Website and Website Accessibility
Please Note: This resource article is intended to help educate and in no way should it be construed or relied upon as legal advice. Propertybase can’t provide legal advice about making your site compliant with specific web accessibility laws or acts.
There are many factors that go into ensuring a website is accessible. Accessible websites are parsable by screen readers and other assistive technologies for those who are visually impaired or have other disabilities that present challenges to accessing information while online. Propertybase is acutely aware of the Website Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, which clients can also become familiar with.
Our Website Builder provides a foundation with many tools you can use in order to make your website accessible to more people; however, as web technologies evolve and devices strive to keep up its imperative to remain diligent. Keep these points in mind as you continue creating content on your website.
Images
Provide text alternatives for any non-text content. When scanning a page, screen readers identify images and read the descriptive text (alt text) to visitors. When adding alt text, take a moment to consider why you’ve used the image in the first place. Is it to convey information, or is it decorative? What do visually-impaired visitors need to know about the image to understand its purpose? It is best practice is to briefly describe the image as simple as possible.
Purely decorative images, like graphics separating content or abstract background images, do not fall under WCAG.
From the content editor, you can upload your image and add alt text to describe the appearance and function of the image on a page within your site.
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Page titles
The page title should reflect the content on the page, so ensure that every page has a title that introduces its topic or purpose, and differentiates it from other pages across your site.
You can also add a page description that provides more context. These fields also help with your site’s SEO.
To do so, go to admin > website > create button > cms page
Text
Headings
Screen readers scan pages for HTML tags to understand their structure and allow visitors to navigate quickly between sections. Much like any printed material, headings and sub-headings help readers skim the content to identify what each section is about.
Headings are ranked <h1> through <h6>, with the <h1> representing the most important section on the page, and sub-sections organized with <h2> level headings. Those sub-sections can themselves be divided with <h3> level headings, and so on.
All pages should at least have a <h1> level heading giving the title of the page.
Do not skip heading levels to be more specific (for example, do not skip from <h2> to <h5>). It is permissible to skip headings in the other direction if the outline of the page calls for it (for example, from <h5> to <h2>).
Do not use bold instead of a heading. One of the most common accessibility mistakes is making text bold when a heading is needed. Though the text may look like a heading, the underlying code is not set correctly, and screen readers will not be able to identify the proper formatting.
Use the content block in the CMS content section to structure your text. admin > website > create button > cms page
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Links
When trying to break down barrier of entry, we can’t assume even the simplest of formatting will be understood. Ensure the purpose of each text link or button can be determined from the text alone. For example:
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“To view new listings, visit our new listings page.” |
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“To view new listings, click here.” |
Audio
You can help visitors with hearing impairments access your audio content, like podcasts, by adding a transcript of the content.
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Videos
When embedding a video media file be sure to include synchronized captions using the integrated closed captioning features. YouTube, Wistia and Vimeo make these readily available.
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Colors
Contrasting design elements make it easier for users to see content and separate the foreground from the background. Choose colors that maximize contrast and avoid grouping colors that are difficult to differentiate with color blindness, like blue and purple. You can change your website’s branding colors in Website Builder. /admin/settings/super_theme?goto=st_branding
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FAQ
Is my site accessible?
Propertybase follows web design standards and best practices. As web technologies evolve and devices strive to keep up, it is near impossible to achieve 100% accessibility. Per the Propertybase Master Subscription Agreement Section 6.1 Customer Data, clients are responsible for the accuracy, quality, integrity, legality, reliability, appropriateness, and intellectual property ownership of Customer Data. You can review this preliminary web accessibility checklist.
Is Propertybase working to improve accessibility?
Yes. Propertybase takes website accessibility seriously. Our development team continuously makes adjustments to meet the changing needs and abilities of all website users. We're currently in the process of reviewing our services to improve user experience further, and seeking to make it easier for our customers to make their sites as accessible as possible. This article will be continuously updated to reflect future changes or updates.
Please Note: This resource article is intended to help educate and in no way should it be construed or relied upon as legal advice. Propertybase can’t provide legal advice about making your site compliant with specific web accessibility laws or acts.