General Website Standards

Using "click here" as the title for a hyperlink is a common accessibility problem. The hyperlinked portion of text should be the title of the page you are linking to or a similar title that conveys where the link will take you.

 

Correct:	For more information see: Network Services
Incorrect:	Click here for more information on Network Services.
	More Information on Network Services

This is a very common usability problem. The email address should appear as the hyperlinked information for a mailto link.

 

Correct	Email the webmaster: tracey@uainfo.arizona.edu
Incorrect:	Email the Webmaster

The text within a hyperlink should match the title of the page it is linking to.

 

Correct:	Disaster Recovery
Incorrect:	Business Continuity

Never use an underline within your text! They can be confused with hyperlinks.

 

It is easy to copy graphics from the web but you need to be very careful doing so because of copyright laws. Make sure the image you use is freely available for copying.

• Gratuitous use of flash
  One of the fastest ways to make your site totally inaccessible to people with disabilities is to add flash content without carefully creating it to be accessible. Flash should be used to illustrate an important concept but should be limited when used solely for decoratation.
• Gratuitous use of graphics
  Graphics should be used to illustrate or compliment an important concept. They should not be used gratuitously as decoration.
• Animated graphics
  Animated graphics should not be used unless they illustrate an important contept within your site. Usability test have shown that animations distract from the page content. If their only purpose is decoration, they should not be used.
• Creating graphics
  Don't create or resize graphics without the proper software and skills. Inproperly created or resized graphics can look unprofessional. The UAWeb Team can create graphics for your site.