Making Accessible Websites for the UN

• GUIDELINES
• Introduction
• Page Design: Visual Elements
  • Alternative Text
  • Do Not Rely on Colour Alone
  • Colour Contrast
  • Use Markup Rather Than Images
  • No Flickering, Blinking or Moving Content
• Page Design: Coding
  • Documents Readable Without Style Sheets
  • Frames
  • Create Valid Documents
  • Controlling Layout and Presentation
  • Layout Tables
  • Using Relative Units
  • Identify the Main Language
• Textual Content
  • Changes in the Natural Language
  • Simple and Clear Language
  • Data Tables
  • Titles
  • Lists
  • Quotations
  • Metadata
  • Acronyms and Abbreviations
• Navigation
  • Meaningful Link Titles
  • Sitemap
  • Avoiding Pop-ups and Links Opening in New Windows
  • Consistent Navigation
  • Logical Tab Order
  • Provide Information About Documents
  • Skip Links
• Scripts and Forms
  • Programmatic Elements
  • Accessible Dynamic Content
  • No Auto-Refresh
  • No Client-Side Automatic Redirects
  • Labels and Forms
  • Device Independence
• Accessible Alternatives
  • Up-to-Date Equivalents
  • HTML Alternatives for Non-W3C Technologies
• Validation Procedures

Frequently Asked Questions

Are PDF documents accessible?

A PDF document can be accessible if accessibility has been taken into account when it was produced. The accessibility criteria are similar to ones for HTML pages:

• Well structured content with headings
• Alternative text for images
• Sufficient color contrast

Are dropdown / fly-out menus accessible?

We generally do not recommend the use of dropdown / fly-out menus.

However, to be accessible, the menu must fulfill the following conditions:

• Users can increase the font-size of the menu items
• All menu items can be accessed when JavaScript is disabled
• The menu can be navigated using the keyboard only

Is JavaScript accessible?

It is possible to use JavaScript on an accessible page. To do so, make sure the implementation of your script follows these rules:

• All the content is still accessible when JavaScript is deactivated -- even if it is displayed differently
• The features controlled by JavaScript can be operated with the keyboard

 
Which validation tool(s) can I use to check for accessibility?

There are a number of automatic validation tools that can provide partial accessibility validation. They can be used for preliminary validation purposes.

However, not all checkpoints can be validated automatically. Furthermore, automated tools sometimes yield incorrect or misleading results.

Once the issues identified with an automated tool are solved, it is imperative to complete the evaluation manually. This site provides a set of validation procedures for content providers, designers and developers.

Can a page that use tables for layout be accessible?

It is generally considered best practice to use CSS for layout.

However, in case of legacy pages, it may not be necessary to convert your page to a full CSS-controlled layout for accessibility purposes.

See the guidelines for uses of layout tables.

What is a screen reader?

A screen reader is a software that renders what is displayed on a script in audio or braille format.
You can see a video of a screen reader demonstration on the UN website.