Content
The Department of Justice issued accessibility guidance in 2024 as a rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), establishing a clear accessibility standard for digital content and tools. The deadline for university compliance of Title II is April 24, 2026. Additional information about Title II is available on the UNL ADA website.
All digital content posted by anyone at the university must meet digital accessibility guidelines before being published. This includes any UNL website (both public and internal facing), web applications, social media posts and more.
Review the guidelines below and be sure to forward this email to anyone creating or updating websites or online applications at the university.
Images
Add alternative text
All images and graphics must have alternative text added. Alt text should be clear, concise, and describe the visual details of an image. If any text is included on top of the photo — or on a graphic — it must be included in full in the alt text. More information about alt text best practices is available on the WDN website.
Text on images
Text should not be presented as part of an image unless it’s essential to the information being conveyed. Screen readers are unable to interpret text that’s part of an image. If absolutely necessary, make sure the text is large enough to read on all devices, has sufficient color-contrast and is also conveyed in the alt text for the image.
Copy and Formatting
Headings
Headings are used to convey the structure of the page and when applied correctly, the page becomes much easier for sighted and screen reader users to navigate. When using UNL CMS, typically every new page Section will be an H2, with other information grouped within that section ordered from H3 through H6.
Don’t use headings for styling just to make text larger or smaller.
Contextual links
When creating links on your site, avoid using the full URL as link text or non-contextual links like “click here.”
Use Example: Learn more about using UNL CMS on the Web Developer Network website.
Broken Links
Regularly check to make sure that all links on your site (internal or external) are working. In your WebAudit report, these are automatically scanned and listed by page in the “Link Checker” section.
Video
When uploading your video to Mediahub, captions will be automatically generated. Please review these captions and make them live as soon as possible after your video has finished processing. If you are uploading videos to platforms outside of Mediahub (like YouTube or social media platforms), you must include captions on those videos as well.
Files (PDF, Docx)
When uploading and linking files on your website, you must make sure that these files have been created in an accessible way before linking them. The Web Developer Network website has resources for creating accessible files in InDesign as well as in Microsoft Word. Keep in mind that linking any file creates usability issues on a mobile device and consider that if you want your content to be easily accessible by any user of your website, it should be a web page.
Framework
The UNL Web Framework is built with accessibility at the forefront. If your site is on UNL CMS, it will automatically be compliant with WCAG 2.1 AA standards at a base level provided you're following the aforementioned guidelines when creating and adding content. If you're using the Web Framework on a custom application or non-UNL CMS site, you should use the Web Accessibility Evaluator to double-check your site.
Helpful Accessibility Resources
For more information about creating accessible content of all kinds on your website, visit the Center for Transformative Teaching website or the Section 508 Guide website.
Test any University website or application at the University for accessibility using the Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool.