Status: This is an in-progress, unapproved draft.

Web Accessibility First Aid:
Approaches for Interim Repairs

Page contents

Introduction

Do you need to urgently address accessibility in an on-going web project? This is a concise overview with pointers to help address the most critical issues. Find a more comprehensive accessibility approach for the entire design and development process in Planning and Managing Web Accessibility.

Key Resources for Designers and Developers

What is Accessibility?

If you are new to accessibility, it is often helpful to first get a basic understanding of accessibility:

More Background

When you need more in-depth background:

Identify the Issues

If you already know your accessibility issues, you can skip this section. If you need to identify potential issues, these resources can help:

Detailed Review

When you want to do a comprehensive evaluation:

Consider the Scope

You may not be able to address all the issues on every part of your website at once. To determine which parts you want to improve right away, and which to address in later stages, consider prioritizing:

Within your scope of repair, consider prioritizing what you repair first by focusing on:

Set your Accessibility Target Level

The generally accepted target for accessibility is Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA. This may already be the standard specified in your organizational policy or it may be the legal requirement for your website.

You may need to define a phased approach with different dates for different levels. For example, meet particular WCAG 2.0 success criteria in the next release, and meet all Level A and Level AA success criteria in the following release.

Note that in some cases, some Level AAA success criteria may be fairly easy to meet. For example, refining appropriate link text (2.4.4, Level A) and heading structure (2.4.10, Level AAA) may be easy to address together when revising content.

Tips for Efficient Repair

Longer Term: Planning and Managing

Once you have addressed some of the most critical web accessibility issues on your web project, it is essential you plan to integrate accessibility throughout future design and development processes. The Planning and Managing Web Accessibility guide can help you develop that plan.