Web Accessibility Training 

In this web accessibility training course you will learn web and digital accessibility skills for web, documents, and mobile content. This self-paced course cover the most important aspects of Web Accessibility and will teach you how people with disabilities use the web and different types of assistive technologies.

Course Length

Approximately 8 hours of reading assignments and videos that may be completed at your own pace.

Software required for this Web Accessibility Training

1. Microsoft Word
2. Adobe Acrobat Professional
3. Web browser
4. WP ADA Compliance Plugin

Web Accessibility Training Topics

Content authors should complete the following reading assignments related to digital technology accessibility. (all topics are produced and hosted by WebAim.org)

• Introduction to Web Accessibility (30 min)
• Alternative Text (30 min)
• Appropriate Document Structure (5 min)
• Creating Accessible Tables
  • Layout Tables (5 min)
  • Data Tables (5 min)
• How Blind People Use the Web (10 min)
• Screen Readers and Links (5 min)
• Screen Reader Video (5 min)
• PDF Accessibility
  • Defining PDF Accessibility (5 min)
  • Converting Documents to PDF (5 min)
  • Acrobat and Accessibility (15 min)
  • Accessible Forms in Acrobat XI  (15 min)
• Use of Colored Text or Cues (5 min)
• Creating Accessible Word Documents (MS Office Users) (20 min)
• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (10 min)
• Captions, Transcripts, and Audio Descriptions (audio and video content) (5 min)
• Ensuring Users can Complete and Submit Forms (for programmers) (15 min)
• Create Accessible PowerPoint Files  (MS Office Users) (10 min)
• Using NVDA to Evaluate Web Accessibility (screen reader testing) (90 min)

Using the WP ADA Compliance Check Plugin to complete accessibility testing

Whatch the video and complete the reading assignment.

• Review the getting started video.
• Using the WP ADA Compliance Plugin to locate and correct issues

Creating Accessible PDF Files

opens in a new windowWatch the video and complete the listed steps.

The following steps apply to any Word Document.

1. Open a Word Document
2. Go to the “File” tab and then choose Info.
3. Look for “Properties” on the right and click in the “Title” field.
4. Enter an appropriate and descriptive title.
5. Click on the “Home” tab.
6. Add ALT text to all images by right clicking on each image and choosing “Format Picture”.
7. Choose “Alt Text”.
8. Enter appropriate alt text in the “Description” field.
9. Click “Close”.
10. Mark header rows in data tables by placing your cursor in the top row of each data table.
11. The “Table Tools” tab is now visible at the top of the page. Click on the “Design” tab.
12. Place a checkmark next to Header Row.
13. Click on the “Layout” tab.
14. Click “Repeat Header Rows”.
15. Correctly define the page structure by assigning page headings (H1 through H6).
16. Remove any blank spaces, instead padding should be added to text using the spacing options under paragraph settings.
17. Click the “Acrobat” tab
18. Click “Preferences”
19. Verify the “Enable Accessibility and Reflow with tagged Adobe PDF” feature is checked.
20. Verify the “Enable advanced tagging” feature is unchecked.
21. Click “Ok”
22. Choose “File” and then “Save as Adobe PDF”
23. Choose a location to save the file
24. Click “Save”. After the conversion takes place. Open the PDF document in Adobe Acrobat Professional. 
25. Choose “Accessibility”
26. Click “Accessibility Check”
27. Look for the Accessibility Center on the left and expand the “Document” section.
28. From the menu at the top, choose “File” and then “Properties”
29. On the “Description” tab enter an appropriate tile in the “Title” field.
30. Click “OK”
31. Right click on each item that has failed and choose “Fix”.
32. Click on the “Tags” icon, the last icon in the toolbar on the left and verify that the page structure is accurate. Ensure that headings H1 – H6 are correctly nested and accurately tagged. Ensure that table headings are marked.
    1. Clicking on the arrow next to a tag will allow you to view the contents of the tag. 
    2. Empty tags should be removed: right click on the tag and choose “Delete Tag”.
    3. If the tag is inaccurate, right click over the tag and choose “Properties”, from the type dropdown choose the correct tag and then click “Close”. 
33. Choose “Accessibility Check” from the menu on the right.
34. The report should not indicate any issues.

Other Web Accessibility Training Resources

1. Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
2. Web Accessibility Courses
3. Minimize Legal Risk with this Checklist
4. The Business Case for Digital Accessibility