ACCESSIBILITY HEURISTICS, V1.

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10 GENERAL RULES FOR ACCESSIBLE DESIGN

CONTACT INFO HEURISTICS

DENIS BOUDREAU INTERACTION METHODS AND MODALITIES
Principal a11y consultant Users can efficiently interact with the system using the input method of
[email protected]
@dboudreau
their choosing (i.e. mouse, keyboard, touch, etc.).
NAVIGATION AND WAYFINDING
APARNA PASI
Users can easily navigate, find content, and determine where they are at
Accessibility team lead
[email protected] all times within the system.
@satyaaparnap STRUCTURE AND SEMANTICS
PAST CONTRIBUTORS
Users can make sense of the structure of the content on each page and
Caitlin Geier understand how to operate within the system.
@caitlingeier
ERROR PREVENTION AND STATES
Interactive controls have persistent, meaningful instructions to help
prevent mistakes, and provide users with clear error states which
indicate what the problems are - and how to fix them - whenever errors
are returned.
CONTRAST AND LEGIBILITY
Text and other meaningful information can be easily distinguished and
read by users of the system.
LANGUAGE AND READABILITY
Content on the page can easily be read and understood by users of the
system.
PREDICTABILITY AND CONSISTENCY
The purpose of each element is predictable, and how each element
relates to the system as a whole is clear and meaningful, to avoid
confusion for the users.
TIMING AND PRESERVATION
Users are given enough time to complete their tasks and do not lose
information if their time (i.e. a session) runs out.
MOVEMENT AND FLASHING
Elements on the page that move, flash, or animate in other ways can be
stopped, and do not distract or harm the users.
VISUAL AND AUDITORY ALTERNATIVES
Purely visual or auditory content that conveys information has text-
based alternatives for users who can’t see or hear.
Web Accessibility Quick Checklist for Designers, v0.5

No. Heuristic Statement Checkpoints Rating

★ ✔ ✖ N/A
1 INTERACTION METHODS Users can efficiently interact with the Are any of the interactions designed to be mouse specific?
AND MODALITIES system using the input method of their Is every functionality designed to be fully keyboard accessible?
choosing (i.e. mouse, keyboard, touch, Are features designed to be fully functional using touch screens?
etc.). Are the design interactions realistic from a tabbing, touch or voice perspective?
Can the design interactions be operated through voice commands?
Is the number of tab stops limited by combining adjacent links?
Are target areas and calls to action set to be at least 44x44 pixels?
2 NAVIGATION AND Users can easily navigate, find content, Is there a clear, visible indicator set on all active elements as they receive focus?
WAYFINDING and determine where they are at all times Does the page have meaningful title text, with page-specific information going first?
within the system. Are the page title element and H1 the same or similar?
Does the page have meaningful headings for each major section?
Can the links’ purpose be defined from link text alone, or their immediate context?
Is a “skip link” provided as the very top of the page, and is it revealed on focus?
Does the organization of navigational elements facilitate wayfinding?
3 STRUCTURE AND Users can make sense of the structure of Is content that looks like headings defined as such?
SEMANTICS the content on each page and understand Is the heading structure hierarchy skipping any levels?
how to operate within the system. Is information conveyed through sensory characteristics also supported in text?
Are navigation mechanisms structured using lists?
Are data tables clearly assigned header columns and/or rows?
Do groupings of form elements share a common group label?
Are all form controls assigned a visible, meaningful text label?
4 ERROR PREVENTION AND Interactive controls have persistent, Are labels and instructions worded in text, to provide users with adequate support?
STATES meaningful instructions to help prevent Are labels and instructions displayed in close visual proximity to their controls?
mistakes, and provide users with clear Are form errors indicated in ways that don’t rely on sensory cues alone?
error states which indicate what the Are persistent, visible labels specified on all form controls?
problems are - and how to fix them - Are required fields identified as such in the label text?
whenever errors are returned. Are inline error messages provided, with suggestion on how to fix them?
Are users expected to remember data from one page to another?
5 CONTRAST AND Text and other meaningful information can Is information conveyed by means other than just color alone?
LEGIBILITY be easily distinguished and read by users Is the foreground/background contrast ratio of text at least 4.5:1 (3:1 for large text)?
of the system. Is link text copy assigned a contrast of at least 3:1 against its surrounding text?
Is the foreground/background contrast ratio of meaningful graphics at least 3:1?
Is the design exempt of images with embedded text in them?
Is line-spacing set to at least 1.5 in paragraphs, and twice as much between them?
Are the selected typefaces easy to read and do they render properly on mobile?
6 LANGUAGE AND Content on the page can easily be read Are changes in language within the page specified for assistive technologies?
READABILITY and understood by users of the system. Is content designed using multiple levels of headings and subheadings?
Is content designed in short blocks of text that are easier to manage cognitively?
Are headings and form labels worded so they are meaningful to users?
Are important points formatted into lists that are easy to scan visually?
Is the content made easier to understand by leveraging plain language principles?
Is sufficient padding and leading provided to make content easier to read?
7 PREDICTABILITY AND The purpose of each element is Are users informed when setting focus on a control triggers a change of context?
CONSISTENCY predictable, and how each element relates Are users informed when providing input triggers a change of context?
to the system as a whole is clear and Are repeated navigation patterns consistently presented throughout the interfaces?
meaningful, to avoid confusion for the Are recurrent functionalities consistently identified throughout the interfaces?
users. Does the design support both portrait and landscape orientations?
Are functionalities and features designed to be easily discoverable?
Does the design minimize the number of steps required to complete an action?
8 TIMING AND Users are given enough time to complete Are users provided with a mechanism to ask for time extensions ahead of time?
PRESERVATION tasks and do not lose information if theirAre upcoming session timeouts clearly identified as such in the design?
time (i.e. a session) runs out. Can users turn off, adjust or extend time limits when sessions are about to run out?
Does the design offer options to postpone or suppress interruptions?
Can users request content updates, instead of content being updated automatically?
Is there a mechanism to allow data recovery after users re-authenticate?
Can users save data while filing out forms, so it can be used after re-authentication?
9 MOVEMENT AND Elements on the page that move, flash, or Can moving or animated content be paused, stopped, or hidden?
FLASHING animate in other ways can be stopped, and Can auto-updated content be fully controlled by the users?
do not distract or harm the users. Can the rate at which content is auto-updated be controlled by the user?
Are video and audio files not set to auto-play?
Is audio volume adjustable via a visible control?
Are there any flashing or blinking effects faster than 3 times per second?
Are users required to react quickly to information or user interface features?
10 VISUAL AND AUDITORY Purely visual or auditory content that Are informative images provided with meaningful alt text describing their content?
ALTERNATIVES conveys information has text-based Are active images provided with meaningful alt text describing their purpose?
alternatives for users who can’t see or Are decorative images identified so they can be ignored by assistive technologies?
hear. Are complex images given alt text and an extended full text description?
Is a transcript placeholder designed for audio-only and video-only content?
Are synchronized captions provided for pre-recorded videos?
Are audio description tracks provided for pre-recorded videos?