Use the checklist below to ensure your pages are correctly formatted before publishing. 

  • All headings should be in proper hierarchical order. Page titles act as the H1 so headings in the body should always start at H2 and be structured like one would write a paper.  
  • Page titles should be 60 characters or less.
  • Page titles and headings use keywords that properly identify the content on the page. Avoid vague titles and terms. 
  • Check all links to ensure they work.  
  • Make important keywords and keyword phrases that you want search engines to recognize as bold or italicized.  
  • Remove content that is duplicated from elsewhere on the site and instead link to it.  
  • If there are subpages, they should be referenced and linked on the parent page.  
  • Page formatted correctly. Clean up any formatting issues you come across. Ex. Delete whitespaces, fix broken columns, add columns to make more concise.  
  • Page content is relevant to their site. For ex. The page is specific to your unit’s website. 
  • Make sure to include alt text for images
  • Videos the include spoken words should include closed captioning. If uploaded through YouTube, there are configuration options to automatically do so.
  • Check the ‘Critical Accessibility & Usability Issues’ list below and make necessary updates. 
  • Type out the data or information displayed in an image chart or graph as the image caption.

Link Accessibility Best Practices

  • Links must have discernible text and the purpose of the link must be understandable and distinguishable from the other links on the same page from the link text alone.
  • Avoid vague terms link "Link", "Click Here", "Learn More", or "Download". Link title should match the page title the link is to.
  • Links to the same destination MUST be consistently titled. Avoid linking full sentences or headings.
  • Any links that open up in a new tab or window SHOULD indicate that behavior.
  • A link to a file SHOULD indicate the type of file or destination.

Fix Critical Accessibility, Compliance & Usability Issues 

The following are NOT allowed and should be avoided and updated before publishing due to critical accessibility violations or usability issues they create.  

  • Headings or sentences as links 
  • Complete sentences that are bold or italicized.
  • No catalog content, including but not limited to course descriptions, requirements, or tuition related content is allowed on the website. Instead units should link to the catalog or tuition pages from their site.
  • Words as part of an image (unless it’s a logo). This is inaccessible since the text can’t be interpreted by screen readers. 
  • Text that is underlined on the web represents a link so should be avoided, unless it is a link.
  • Duplicated content
  • A blank page or content that has verbiage along the lines of "coming soon" or "check back later for updates." Content will only be published once it is ready to be made public.
  • Pages with the same or similar names 
  • Walls of text; Try to break up the content with headings, bulleted lists, etc. to make it easier to read. On average, users only read 20% of a page with 600 words or more.  
  • Pages with the same title. Update to be more specific or combine content into one page.  
  • Custom HTML that has not been approved by the Office of Web and Digital Strategy. Please send us a website request form if you need custom HTML first.