Resources and How-to's

As members of the LSU campus community, all employees have an accessibility responsibility, particularly those who:

  • Prepare documents
  • Manage social media accounts
  • Design graphics
  • Review or approve purchases
  • Manage websites, databases, online calendars
  • Onboard new employees

Basic Accessibility Checklists

Webpage Accessibility Checklist

  • Semantic Headings - Header tags (h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6) should be used to present semantic meaning or hierarchical order. Header tags should not be used only as a means to modify the appearance of text. For instance, don’t use header markup simply because it’s large, bold text. Assistive technology relies upon the default semantic meaning t hat is associated with HTML elements. In particular, the h1 should be used to described the purpose or title of the page. Headers like h2, h3, etc. should be used for headlines or the identification of page sections. Header tags should be used in order and not skipped over.
  • Avoid All Caps - Screen readers may read text that is written in all caps in the HTML and visually as the letters instead of the words. (Please note, in LSU web styles, some buttons are visually displayed in all caps, however the text in the HTML is written in title case or lowercase.)
  • Lists - Use lists to group similar information, such as links in navigation menus. Lists promote visual groups of information, which is easier for users to consume. Lists also preserve semantic associations for blind users. Lists are well supported with assistive technology.
  • Unordered Lists vs. Sequential Lists - Content structure is important for users using assistive technology. For this reason, it is important to use proper HTML formatting for lists. Unordered lists should utilize the default bulleted list tag <ul>. Sequential lists should utilize the default alpha-numerical tag <ol>; nested sequential lists should be allowed to use the default browser encoding for nested <ol>.
  • Blockquotes should only be used to indicate quoted text; <blockquote> allows assistive technology to render quoted text in a different manner than other text. For this reason, blockquotes should not be applied to text for aesthetic purposed only. (The blockquotes are styled in OU campus to help set this text apart for visual users, however it should not applied for the sole purpose of making text look different.)
  • Links should be clearly labeled, descriptive, and readily identified. Link text should make sense when read by itself; using generic labels like "click here" and "more" without the use of a supplemental description is discouraged.
  • Redundant links should not be used (for example, a common practice is linking an image and adjacent text to the same URL). The result of providing redundant/adjacent links is that assistive technologies, like screen readers, will read the same information twice, which results in impaired navigation.
  • PDFs - When linking to PDFs, the link should be set to open in a new window and the link title should indicate that the browser will be downloading a PDF.
  • Tables - HTML tables should not be used for layout or to control the style of the page elements. They should only be used to convey information. Tables should never be nested. (Please note, the use of the columned intake tables in OU Campus are not HTML tables, when the page is published, the intake tables are converted into appropriately coded HTML divisions and styles.)
  • Videos should be captioned and a text-transcript available for hearing impaired.
  • Images that convey information or meaning must have descriptive alternative text. Charts and graphs may also require additional detailed descriptions so that users can understand their purpose.
  • All PDF, DOCX, PPTX files published as resources to view or download must also be accessible.

Grok Articles

Content publishers in LSU's implementation of Omni CMS have the ability to run an accessibility check each time a page is published. When the Accessibility check indicates a "Known Problem," the content publisher should cancel the publish and correct the error. If the content publisher is unsure of how to correct the problem, they should contact a web developer in the Office of Communications & University Relations or a Web Administrator in the Office of Information and Technology Services for assistance.

Math and Equation Checklists

PDF Guidelines

Creating Accessible PDFs

Adobe Portable Document File, or PDF, is an extremely popular file format used for storing and transferring content that can be read across a wide spectrum of devices and operating systems. However, this file type is notoriously difficult to make accessible. While much work is being done to help address this difficulty, especially in the remediation of older PDFs, there are steps that should be taken when creating new PDFs to help assure accessibility. Please refer to the following resources for additional information:

  1. Creating Accessible PDFs in the Microsoft Office Suite
  2. Creating Accessible PDFs (from the Adobe site)

LSU has purchased an enterprise license for Adobe Creative Cloud, which includes Adobe Pro. Active faculty and staff now have access to download this service.

For more information and instructions to download onto your devices, visit the GROK FAQ article.

Please use the following documents to attempt to troubleshoot errors:

Word Guidelines

PowerPoint

Publisher

Microsoft Publisher does not have the accessibility review tools available in other Microsoft 365 products. When Publisher is used to create PDFs, Adobe Acrobat Pro will need to be used to remediate the document and make it accessible.

Excel

Multimedia

Video Captioning

  • Each caption frame should hold 1 to 3 lines of text onscreen at a time, viewable for a duration of 3 to 7 seconds. Each line should not exceed 32 characters.
  • Each caption frame should be replaced by another caption.
  • All caption frames should be precisely time-synched to the audio.
  • A caption frame should be repositioned if it obscures onscreen text or other essential visual elements.

Best Practices for Caption Style and Formatting:

  • Word translation and spelling should be at least 99% accurate.
  • When multiple speakers are present, sometimes it is helpful to identify who is speaking, especially when the video does not make this clear.
  • Both upper and lowercase letters should be used.
  • The font should be a non-serif, such as Helvetica medium.
  • Non-speech sounds like [MUSIC] or [LAUGHTER] should be added in square brackets.
  • Punctuation should be used for maximum clarity in the text.
  • Captions should preserve and identify slang or accents.

Additional Resources for Captioning

Email and Social Media